- A judge has dismissed a lawsuit over the Plaquemines Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facility in Louisiana.
- The lawsuit was filed by environmental justice groups concerned about the facility’s potential impact on the environment and public health.
- The court’s decision allows the facility to proceed as planned.
- The environmental justice are reviewing their options and considering whether to appeal the decision.
- The Plaquemines LNG facility is a major energy project that is expected to create jobs and provide economic benefits to the region, but environmental justice advocates are concerned about impacts on low-income and primarily diverse communities in the area.
By The Lens | March 15, 2023
Environmental groups opposed to the construction of an enormous liquified natural gas (LNG) facility in Plaquemines Parish are reviewing their legal options after a state judge dismissed their case for lack of proper venue.
The Sierra Club, Healthy Gulf and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice had argued in their petition that construction for Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG plant must halt unless the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources decides to issue a coastal use permit.
Judge Wilson Fields of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge on Monday sided with the state in dismissing the group’s petition but did not rule on the merits of their case. The groups are now evaluating their legal options…
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources issued a coastal use permit (CUP) exemption for the project in 2019.
But data collected since then, including from Hurricane Ida, demonstrates the facility would have a direct impact on coastal waters, which is why the agency must reconsider its decision to grant the exception, the groups said. They argued that neither the existing levees, nor the 26-foot storm wall and levee system the company has committed to build, would adequately prevent damage to the facility.
The changes sought by the company would exert substantially negative impacts on the environment and communities’ health in Plaquemines Parish, according to the group’s response letter.
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