Earlier this month, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans heard a landmark case challenging a federal permit for a Liquefied Natural Gas terminal 38 miles off the coast of Cameron Parish. The suit ' filed by the Gulf Restoration Network, the Sierra Club and the Louisiana Charter Boat Association ' contends the Maritime Administration did not adequately consider the environmental impacts of the $700 million Gulf Landing terminal it permitted in February 2005. Represented in court by a student attorney from the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, the coalition says it is not opposed to the LNG terminal being built but insists it should be required to use a closed loop system to reheat the imported gas.
Open loop LNG terminals take in up to 150 million gallons of seawater in a single day to help reheat sub-freezing LNG. Closed loop systems burn off gas and use recycled water to reheat LNG.
An initial study by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which has advised against using open loop terminals, showed the Gulf Landing terminal alone could kill up to 3.8 percent of Louisiana's annual redfish landings. Environmentalists fear the impact could be much worse, especially with the combined affect of multiple LNG terminals now proposed for the Gulf ' three of which may eventually operate off the coast of Cameron Parish. Cameron's coast has been a popular location for LNG terminals due to its extensive network of gas pipelines.
Shell and the Department of Transportation argued in court that the effects of an open loop LNG terminal on fisheries would be minimal, and that closed loop systems are not as safe, reliable or cost-efficient. Shell has estimated a closed loop terminal would cost $43 million more annually to operate than an open loop terminal. The company issued a statement after the hearing: "Shell remains confident that we can operate Gulf Landing in a way that ensures no significant impacts on fishing and shrimping in the Gulf of Mexico." In addition, Shell told The Independent Weekly that "the government imposed strict and enforceable conditions on the Gulf Landing license that require a comprehensive prevention, monitoring and mitigation program" in order to ensure the safety of marine life.
Gulf Restoration Network officials say the environmental risks of operating an open loop system outweigh the added financial costs of closed loop systems. "I think our little David matched up against the Goliath pretty well," says Aaron Viles, campaign director with GRN. "I think these judges understand that fishing is instrumental to the way we live here."
Viles also says the judges made note of the fact that Louisiana, as an adjacent state to the offshore terminal, was given a 45-day window of opportunity to veto Gulf Landing's permit ' an option that Gov. Blanco did not exercise. Blanco has since come out in opposition to open loop terminals. The state's veto authority may now be a moot point since last year's energy bill contained a provision that allows the Maritime Administration the authority to override state opposition to LNG terminal permits.
With the hearing complete, Viles hopes for a court ruling within the next month, but decisions can sometimes take more than a year. The case represents the first court challenge to a federal permit of an LNG terminal.
While eagerly awaiting the court's decision, the GUMBO Alliance was not letting up pressure on other proposed LNG terminals. At a series of public hearings this week, the group plans to file statements opposing two other Gulf LNG terminals still in the permitting process. The Coast Guard recently completed its final environmental impact statement for Freeport MacMoRan's Main Pass Energy Hub, a terminal the company plans to build off the coast of Plaquemines Parish. Last week, Freeport MacMoRan announced modifications to the terminal that it says will further reduce the impact to fisheries. Gumbo Alliance says the changes do not go far enough and remains opposed to the open loop terminal. It is lobbying the state to block the project during the 45-day veto window that starts this week.
Initial public hearings are also slated to begin this week for Conoco Phillips' Beacon Port terminal, to be located south of Cameron Parish.
The Maritime Administration has issued three permits to date for offshore LNG terminals ' only one of which has been built. While Shell's permit has been tied up in court, Chevron Texaco withdrew plans for its permitted terminal, planned for south of Vermilion Bay, due to issues over securing an adequate supply of imported LNG.
The Energy Bridge terminal, owned by the Texas company Excelerate Energy, began operating 116 miles off the Cameron Parish coast last year and has taken in only two LNG shipments thus far.
Viles says he has already had conversations with Excelerate about working toward a more marine-friendly terminal. He also hopes a favorable ruling in the Gulf Landing case will send a message.
"Hopefully, if a clear sign is sent from the Gulf of Mexico, from our governor and our fisheries managers, that open loop is not acceptable. We hope that Excelerate at some point will be able to operate 100-percent closed loop in this region as well."
MAY 23 Here's a story in the Picayune about some statistics that must come as a blow to folks who believe that any private school can do a better job of educating kids than any public school: Danielle Dreilinger reports that only 30 percent of the voucher kids are passing. That's less than half of the state wide average, she says. It's an interesting statistic because most of the schools (if not all) taking voucher kids have never had their students' standardized test scores released to the public before.
MAY 23 Stephen Sabludowsky blogs on Bayou Buzz about auditor requests here. Recently the state GOP started crowing about a request from the Legislative Auditor, claiming they were being targeted because of their anti-tax stance. (Uh, your what?) Denial and hyperbole aside, the state Democratic party blew holes in that theory with an email announcing they'd received the same request, Sabludowsky writes here.
MAY 23 Jim Brown blogs about the senate race in this post. He says that, given Bobby Jindal's "lack of traction" on the national stage, it might make more sense for the governor to consider running against Mary Landrieu for the senate seat. Since Tim Teeple left the Cassidy team, it makes sense he might land on a Jindal for Senate team, Brown opines.
MAY 23 In this Louisiana Voice post, blogger Tom Aswell writes of rumors that his nemesis, state Superintendent of Education John White, may be soon departing Louisiana for a federal post. It's hard to believe, given his performance, Aswell says, but stranger things have happened. An anti-White BESE member says that, if true, White is quitting before he can be fired.
MAY 23 In this post on American Zombie, blogger Jason Berry writes about the Mother's Day shooting. Mayor Landrieu said that "this is not who we are," but the fact is, this is New Orleans, Berry writes. The violence infused in the city is the result of a culture created by "sins of omission or sins of commission," Berry writes. It's not a problem that can be solved by legislating, policing, praying or publicizing, he says: Someone's got to understand what's happening first.
MAY 23 This post in the Westside Journal tells us what Port Allen Mayor Deedy has been up to lately: vetoing ordinances, apparently. This story is most interesting, however, when it delves into a petition that has been circulating around the city lately. It accuses the former mayor of a lot of nasty things; the former mayor says it is full of lies and "broken syntax" which may be a larger offense in his eyes.
MAY 23 This editorial posted in The Advocate is a bit confusing. The writing is poor - definitely not up to the usual editorial writing standard there - and the point is hard to grasp. Apparently, the writer is saying that privatization of state efforts is OK, as long as there is oversight and transparency, but Jindal's not good at that, and the legislature shouldn't over-react. Okey Dokey. Can't they get one of them Pulitzer-winning people to write an editorial?
MAY 23 This post on The Lens gives you links to a new Google Earth tool that allows you to see any spot on earth transform over the past 30 years. Bob Marshall, who covers the coast for the paper, says that in the case of Louisiana's coastline, it's possibly something you don't want to see, because it's not a pretty picture. There are several clips here, showing critical areas erode away. For Marshall, it was vindication for all those times he was met with eye-rolling when he talked about erosion.
Most Read
in case you missed it
Subscribe to this comment's feed