Port Arthur LNG Project emissions permit was removed by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Court’s decision came after concluding that the Texas Comission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) failed to impose the required emissions limits on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and non-FTA countries approved Port Arthur plant.
The court expected the commission to apply the same emissions limits, it used for its Rio Grande LNG Project, to show that it’s treating permit applications consistently.
The application will be revaluated
The Port Arthur LNG permit application will be sent back to TCEQ for revaluation.
Executive Director of the Port Arthur Community Action Network John Beard said, “We’ve won by standing up for Port Arthur communities of color to breathe free from toxic pollution. When attacked, we fight back – and win!”
It may cause global price instability in the long run
Director of Global Gas & LNG Research at Rapidan Energy Group, Alex Munton said on the ruling, “This creates additional risk, that are already high due to the difficulties the industry faces from building several large scale projects at the same time. The increased environmental pressure could potentially lead to fewer projects being built in the U.S. as well as global price instability in the long run if demand continues to grow without U.S. expansion of production of the superchilled gas.”
The project won’t be delayed
However, analysts from the research firm ClearView Energy Partners suggests that since the construction of Port Arthur is in its early stages, the permit revision will not disrupt the construction schedule.
Reuters
