(The Center Square) – Houston-based Caturus Energy filed an application for a state coastal use permit that would allow it to convert a site about 5 miles from the company’s proposed liquefied natural gas export facility in Cameron Parish into a park-and-ride lot for construction workers, Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy records show.
According to a state public notice filed July 5, Caturus is seeking a coastal use permit to clear and excavate a 5.35-acre property along Highway 82 in Johnson Bayou for use as a transportation hub that would bus up to 2,000 construction workers to the Commonwealth LNG construction site.
Because of its deepwater access to the Gulf of America and the large local supply of natural gas, this 25-mile strip of coastline has become a major hub for LNG exporters. An area west of the Calcasieu Ship Channel stretching to the Texas state line has become a legal battleground between environmental groups and energy companies over six different, multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas export terminals.
The plans for the parking lot near the Commonwealth construction site require that contractors excavate 8,631 cubic yards of coastal soil and haul in an equal amount of aggregate stone fill, an estimated 575 full loads carried by commercial dump trucks on the two-lane coastal highway.
Environmental groups contend separate regulatory reviews of different parts of liquefied natural gas infrastructure projects amount to what they describe as “project piecemealing” or segmentation.
In October, Judge Penelope Richard in Louisiana’s 38th Judicial District ruled that state regulators violated public trust duties by failing to analyze the cumulative climate impacts of the Commonwealth LNG marine terminal in conjunction with five other nearby LNG facilities. The judge’s ruling vacated the facility’s coastal use permit, forcing state regulators to revise the previous environmental assessment.
In November, less than a month after the court’s ruling, Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy staff drafted a revised decision on the coastal use permit, as reported by The Center Square. Agency staff publicly disagreed with the court but reapproved the project, determining its economic benefits outweighed the local ecological costs.
Robyn Thigpen, executive director of Fishermen Involved In Sustaining Our Heritage, or FISH,-which filed a separate lawsuit June 26, contesting the nearby 44-mile Marais Pipeline-said the parking lot is being presented as a just another minor construction project.
“Companies break these projects into smaller pieces, making each permit appear insignificant on its own, while the cumulative impacts on our coastal communities, fisheries, wetlands, and quality of life are ignored,” Thigpen told The Center Square.
A 5.35-acre parking lot doesn’t exist in a vacuum, added Thigpen. “It exists because of a massive LNG export project that is still facing significant legal challenges and widespread community opposition. Every new permit tied to Commonwealth LNG moves this project further down the road before the courts and the public have had their full say,” she said.
Thigpen said Cameron Parish roads and infrastructure are already under strain from the local buildout of LNG facilities. “Residents have watched traffic increase dramatically, serious crashes become more frequent, and emergency response become more difficult. Adding thousands more construction-related vehicle trips to a two-lane highway is not a minor inconvenience-it’s a public safety issue,” said Thigpen.
In May, when Caturus finalized financing on the$13 billion Commonwealth LNG facility, company chairman Ben Dell noted the project will not participate in Louisiana’s local Industrial Tax Exemption Program, guaranteeing millions in revenues will flow almost immediately to Cameron Parish schools and infrastructure. Once operational, the Commonwealth LNG facility is projected to employ about 275 permanent, high-tech engineers and administrative staff.
Louisiana Bucket Brigade Director Anne Rolfes said more LNG plant construction will make the area more vulnerable to the impacts of hurricanes. “If there is one thing we know from Hurricanes Rita, Laura, Delta and so many more, it’s that we desperately need even more protection from storms, not less,” Rolfes told The Center Square. “But here is another company planning to ignore common sense and put cement where our coast should be. We are ruining our home so that some big corporation can get rich,” Rolfes said.
At a groundbreaking ceremony in May attended by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said the Commonwealth project helps to ensure that “the next generation of economic growth and energy leadership runs directly through Louisiana.”