Venture Global has come under fire in recent years for violating environmental regulations at its facility in Cameron, Louisiana, once the top seafood-producing town in the nation. On Tuesday night, residents gathered to discuss how the Liquefied Natural Gas exporter has transformed their community, and what a pending request to allow the company to increase its emissions means for the town’s future.
Commercial fishermen claim that the massive shipping containers transporting LNG down the Calcasieu River to the Gulf, as well as pollution and noise from the facility have destroyed its formerly vibrant estuaries.
“Since the plant started, the catch went to nothing,” said Anthony Terio, a Cameron resident and shrimper. On windy days the smells emanating from the plant, located less than a quarter of a mile from where he catches shrimp, often leave him uneasy.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and I don't want to live here anymore,” said Terio, “I don't want to take no chances.”
Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, residents complained of the poor air quality and respiratory illnesses they attribute to Calcasieu Pass, the name of the LNG plant Venture Global opened in 2021.
John Allaire, a former BP engineer took the stage to outline Venture Global’s skirting of regulations. He helped Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental group, compile a report that found the plant only complied with its air permit a meager 17% of operating days.
“They continue to operate knowing this was happening,” said Allaire. “They didn’t shut it down and fix it.”
Their report also noted that the company failed to report numerous incidences of flaring, a maintenance process that burns excess gas and releases toxic pollutants into the air.
The public hearing, organized by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, came after a request from Venture Global to increase its air permit which would raise emissions for Calcasieu Pass from 3.9 million tons to 4.6 million tons per year. Those include particulate matter linked to respiratory illnesses, carcinogens like benzene and formaldehyde, and carbon dioxide. The company is also asking to increase flaring from 60 hours to 400 hours per year.
Several residents expressed frustration with LDEQ, arguing the state agency has allowed the company to effectively regulate itself.
“If I were going 85 mph on the highway and the cops stopped me, would I be able to say let's just change the speed limit to 95?” said one resident. “That's what's happening with this proposed permit modification.”
“It is the LDEQ’s job to stand up for us people,” said Robin Thickman, a representative of Fisherman Interested in Saving Our Heritage (FISH). “We can’t afford to fight the illnesses the facilities are causing us…it needs to be transparent.”
Thickman and others questioned why the agency wouldn’t support technology to monitor air quality in the area, despite the LDEQ collecting air quality data in neighboring Calcasieu Parish and other industrial parishes such as St. James.
“Nobody is monitoring what is in the air in Cameron Parish at all,” said Jonathan Haitt, another resident. “What are they actually emitting?”
Venture Global, which is based in Arlington, Virginia, reported 2,000 permit violations in its first year of operation, which led to an order from the LDEQ last year for the facility to come under compliance or face fines. Since then, no further action has been taken.
“It's been 13-plus months without a resolution,” said Allaire. ”I think that's a little excessive.”
However, the hearing was not without LNG supporters. Residents like Stephanie Rodrigue argue the jobs brought in by the industry have revitalized a community plagued by hurricanes and a previous mass exodus of major oil companies.
“The excellent paying jobs offered at Venture Global have enabled these families to set aside income and have a family vacation,” said Rodrigue. “That's not something that used to happen on a regular basis.”
She also pointed to the Cam-Mart grocery store and the town’s RV campgrounds, both businesses she believes are alive and thriving because of the workers Venture Global brings in.
“All of that has improved the quality of life for our residents,” she said.
Primarily methane cooled to its liquid form, LNG is touted by the industry as a cleaner alternative to oil and coal because it is easier to transport and releases fewer greenhouse gases when burned. The United States has become the world’s top LNG exporter, with Louisiana responsible for 61% of those shipments.
“LNG has found a perfect home in southwest Louisiana,” said Mike Moncla, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association who attended the meeting. He claimed the burgeoning industry has added $1 billion to the state's economy.
Recently, the Biden administration attempted to pause LNG exports as a part of their climate-focused agenda before a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the order. By the end of the year, Venture Global will have reaped $17.5 billion in revenue since 2022 and is pursuing the construction of a second facility in Plaquemines Parish. Calcasieu Pass is slated for a 500-acre expansion, but Tuesday’s hearing suggests the plan will likely receive increased pushback from Cameron residents.
