Plans For Massive South Texas Gas Terminals Hit Roadblock In Federal Court
A coalition of South Texas organizers, environmental advocates and a non-profit legal group claimed another victory Tuesday in their battle against a planned set of massive liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia told federal regulators to do a better job evaluating the “social cost” of greenhouse gas emissions from the proposed plants.
Jennifer Richards, staff attorney with the non-profit Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, said the groups were excited by the ruling.
“It’s an order from a court telling federal agencies that they have to take seriously their obligations to evaluate the harms that projects will have on low-income communities and communities of color who have historically borne the burden of industrial development in this country,” she said. “It also tells agencies that they have to take seriously the public’s concerns about climate change.”
The terminals — Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG and the since-canceled Annova LNG — would receive a huge amount of natural gas from other parts of Texas, process it and load it onto tankers for international export. The plants would be built along the Brownsville Ship Channel in the Rio Grande Valley. Community advocates have raised alarms about the effect of emissions on low-income, majority Latinx residents, as well as the impact of increased shipping traffic on people who rely on fishing and tourism.
Read more: https://www.tpr.org/environment/2021-08-04/plans-for-massive-south-texas-gas-terminals-hit-roadblock-in-federal-court