Appeals court sends Louisiana LNG terminal project back to regulators

Federal regulators will have to reconsider its review of a proposed liquified natural gas terminal in southwest Louisiana based on an appellate court ruling Tuesday, but judges stopped short of pulling its approval.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. District determined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not adequately assess the cumulative and direct environmental and health impacts from the Commonwealth LNG near Cameron. Environmental groups have sued to block the project, which the commission approved in November 2022.

Commonwealth’s plan calls for construction to begin on the 150-acre site on the Calcasieu Ship Channel in the first half of 2025 and LNG production to start by the end of 2028.

In Tuesday’s ruling, Judge Brad Garcia wrote that FERC “inadequately explained its failure to determine the environmental significance of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

Garcia, an appointee of President Joe Biden, heard arguments in the case in February along with Judge Karen Henderson, who former President George H.W. Bush named to the appellate court.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuits, which have been consolidated, include Healthy Gulf, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and the Turtle Island Restoration Network.

“This decision is a big win for communities facing the already very real and growing threats caused by expanded gas exports,” Sierra Club senior attorney Nathan Matthews said in a statement. “Commonwealth LNG would just be one of eight terminals either proposed or operating in Southwest Louisiana. FERC’s own modeling shows that air pollution in the area will exceed national standards.”

Neither FERC nor Commonwealth had immediate comment on the appellate court ruling.

“By using the best available technology, our facility is designed to operate well within all regulatory requirements, mitigate impact to local wildlife, preserve wetlands, and demonstrate industry best practices to minimize methane leaks and maintain air quality,” the Commonwealth LNG website reads.

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