Sept 27: Attend the public meeting & protest to stop LNG!

On Sept 27 in Port Isabel, we need to pack the public meetings to stop liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in the Rio Grande Valley!

Next week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is hosting two public meetings for the not-yet-built “Rio Grande LNG” project and their plans to expand the gas facility to include a destructive Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) and pipeline in Cameron County, Texas. Fossil fuel companies, like Rio Grande LNG, want to use carbon capturing technology to attempt sucking carbon dioxide from the facility and injecting it underground. With or without CCS, Rio Grande LNG would be the biggest polluter in the our community. The Rio Grande Valley community has made it abundantly clear that we oppose Rio Grande LNG because it would pollute our environment and negatively affect our health. We especially do not want a carbon capture storage facility for LNG either. 

At the FERC meetings on Tuesday, local people can voice their opinions and concerns about Rio Grande LNG and this CCS proposal. We need everyone to show up and tell FERC to stop Rio Grande LNG once and for all.

Who: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Public Meetings

What: FERC will host two public meetings for the public to give an oral comment about the proposed LNG project and their plans to expand the gas facility to include a destructive pipeline and a carbon capture storage in Cameron County. Please attend one of the public meeting sessions and give an oral comment. Here’s a link to a fact sheet we put together to help you make your public comment.

When: The public meetings are on Tuesday, September 27

• Morning Session: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM or
• Evening Session: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Where: Port Isabel Events Center 309 Railroad St, Port Isabel, TX 78578

Residents will also host an anti-LNG protest outside the Events Center. Join us!

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What is Rio Grande LNG? Why does the RGV community oppose LNG?

If built, Rio Grande LNG would construct massive fossil fuel industrial structures on our coastline unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the RGV, but are unfortunately found in Corpus Christi and Houston. LNG facilities’ processes would include fiery flare stacks and ground flares and include storage tanks more than 15 stories tall near the Port Isabel H-E-B. The facilities also require the development of massive pipelines carrying flammable gas that could force an evacuation in the event of a leak, explosion or other catastrophe. LNG tanker ships approximately three football fields long carrying hazardous cargo would congest the ship channel that is essential for shrimpers, fishing guides and dolphin watch tours, and could kill sea turtles among other marine life.

FERC should listen to local people and stop Rio Grande LNG and the project’s proposal for carbon capturing because it is an attempt to make the project appear environmentally friendly when in reality, CCS will not fix the dangerous environmental, public health, and community impacts of the proposed Rio Grande LNG gas project. If built, Rio Grande LNG, with or without a CCS facility, would still release toxic cancer-causing pollution like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and dangerous particulate matter that exacerbates respiratory illnesses into the Rio Grande Valley communities, like Port Isabel, TX. The communities of South Padre Island, Port Isabel, Laguna Vista, and Long Island Village have all passed anti-LNG resolutions.  Rio Grande LNG has never consulted with the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, the original Indigenous people of the Rio Grande Valley region. These communities have made it abundantly clear that they do not want Rio Grande LNG, and they especially do not want a carbon capture storage facility for LNG either. We must continue to oppose the Rio Grande LNG facility and their proposal to build CCS, and stop it once and for all. 

What is Carbon Capture for LNG?

The Rio Grande Valley community opposes the carbon capture storage facility for Rio Grande LNG. Last year, public pressure stopped the Cameron County commissioners from sending a letter supporting the CCS proposal to the Department of Energy. Carbon capture technology has yet to be applied to any gas export facilities in the U.S and has been unsuccessful for other fossil fuel projects. Rio Grande LNG has partnered with the Mitsubishi company for its clean carbon storage facility. But Mitsubishi failed at a previous attempt to capture carbon for coal plants because of cost and technology problems. CCS remains an untested and unproven technology, and the risks and hypocrisies of its application at the Rio Grande LNG facility are already obvious. CCS is also in general a very water intensive process;  the Rio Grande Valley is  currently experiencing a severe drought and water shortage and cannot afford to waste water, especially on a project like CCS.