On Tuesday evening, dozens of local residents packed into the Frasch Park Recreation Room to defend their homes, community, and livelihood. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) was holding a public hearing to address the fast-tracked air permit requests for Venture Global’s proposed Moss Lake Compressor Station in Calcasieu Parish.

While three people with a financial interest in the project spoke in support, everyone else who spoke opposed the compressor station. They pleaded with LDEQ to protect their families and communities by holding Venture Global accountable for its many violations, halting the company’s expansion along the Gulf Coast in Cameron Parish, and denying their permit requests.

Stephen Broussard, who lives less than a quarter-mile from the proposed Moss Lake Compressor station, stressed the destruction this project would bring to his property, without adding anything in benefits for local people. “This is an export product, it’s not imported for the use of the people of the United States, it’s exported, only for the benefit of the LNG company…It perplexes me how you can say that this project with those contaminants, above recognized, accepted levels, is somehow going to be safe and not harm the environment.”

Stephen Broussard speaking at the public hearing.

Unlike project opponents, none of the supporters live or work near the proposed Moss Lake Compressor Station. The compressor station is part of the proposed Calcasieu Pass (CP) Express Pipeline Project, a 91-mile-long pipeline that would transfer flammable gas to the CP2 LNG Terminal – a facility that has not yet been authorized for construction.

In its application (and on the public hearing notice), Venture Global admits the compressor station would dump more than 900 tons of criteria pollutants and over 700,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually. This is an area already plagued by industrial pollution and petrochemical expansion.

Speakers also criticized the plan’s lack of effective air monitoring and Venture Global’s dismissal of cleaner electric turbines as “not cost effective,” when Venture Global has already reaped millions of dollars in state and local tax breaks. They criticized LDEQ for its history of failing to hold Venture Global accountable, and begged the agency to finally regulate the company.

Robyn Thigpen of Fishermen Involved in Sustaining our Heritage (FISH) pleaded, “It’s time for people to have a moral compass and stand up and say “no,” Venture Global is not a good neighbor, they haven’t been and they’re not going to be. Our people have been paying with our lives, fighting illnesses when we can’t even afford health care, while Venture Global is getting millions of dollars in tax breaks…Enough is enough. And if the people at LDEQ don’t have enough moral integrity to do the right thing, it’s time to step down and let someone else step up.”

In addition to its Calcasieu Pass Export Terminal, Venture Global has plans to build a second facility in Cameron Parish. A third terminal – Plaquemines LNG – is under construction in Plaquemines Parish.

Since beginning its operations, The Calcasieu Pass Export Terminal has had countless problems, as documented in its reporting to the Department of Environmental Quality. In the first half of 2023, the plant had operational problems on at least 63% of days. The incidents have been compiled in a series of reports available on the Louisiana Bucket Brigade website.

Link to Livestream | Photos of and near the compressor station, attribute to Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Southwings.

ABOUT LOUISIANA BUCKET BRIGADE

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade collaborates with communities on the fenceline of polluting industry in Louisiana. We engage in grassroots action to hasten the transition from fossil fuels.

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