A Message to the LNG Companies — Don't You Go Breaking Our Hearts, Now
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
This past Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave the go-ahead to three companies wanting to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants at the Port of Brownsville. The Brownsville Herald and El Rrun Rrun both broke the story in yesterday's edition of their respective outlets. The three companies gearing up to build their pipeline transfer plants are Texas LNG, Anova LNG, and Rio Grande LNG (whose parent company is NextDecade Corporation).
The Port is pleased with the FERC decision, as this opens the door for the companies to move their plans forward. If everything goes according to plan, this means three multi-billion dollar plants will bring thousands of jobs to the region. As far as economic development is concerned, this is a big leap forward for Brownsville, for the Port of Brownsville, and for the entire Rio Grande Valley.
For those who see this as a positive thing for the Valley, we can only hope these companies deliver on all the promises they've laid out for Brownsville. We've heard this song before. Other companies have painted a pretty picture for Brownsville. Other companies have wanted to start up their business here with the promise of jobs and an economic boom. We've heard it from Titan Tire, SATA USA, and most recently, from SpaceX. Unfortunately, all these companies failed to deliver on all those promises they made.
I am all for economic development, but I really am torn between economic progress and the potential damage these plants will do to the community. Perhaps it is coincidence, but perhaps it is fate that the announcement of the FERC's decision to allow the LNG plants to move forward comes on the heels of a rocket prototype blowing up at the SpaceX launch pad/test facility at Boca Chica, spewing a cloud of chemicals in the air. God only knows what the impact of those chemicals will be on the area. I certainly hope the LNG companies were paying attention to the local news. The construction needs to proceed very carefully. They aren't building a swing set out by the port. These plants are going to be dealing with some pretty dangerous and hazardous materials. I hope all the regulatory agencies will be paying close attention during every phase of construction.
While there are a lot of people who are looking forward to these plants being built, there are those who vehemently oppose their construction. Local environmentalists argue these pipelines and plants will make Brownsville look more like Corpus Christi. They argue the large tankers that will make their way through the Brownsville Ship Channel will clog up the waterways and disrupt local traffic — and the local shrimping industry. They argue that while there will be jobs created in the chemical industry, other jobs will be lost.
There are those who say local ecotourism will also suffer as a result of the LNG plants. According to local environmentalists and opponents of these LNG plants, people like visiting our South Texas beaches because there aren't any heavy industrial or petrochemical plants disturbing the landscape. Opponents of these plants also express concern with the levels of toxic chemicals being released into the air and the impact that will have on our local air quality. According to the article written in the Herald, "The Sierra Club says all three projects still require approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Texas LNG is still awaiting a biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and neither Texas LNG nor Annova LNG have been granted air pollution permits from state regulators."
It isn't my job to sway you one way or the other. I have carved out my little corner of the internet, and I have decided to use it to share my opinion on the goings on of Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley. This is a difficult nut to crack. On one hand, you have companies wanting to build multi-billion dollar plants that have the potential to bring millions of dollars of revenue and jobs to one of the poorest communities in the United States, and on the other, these companies building their plants may very well have a negative impact on the environment and ecosystem.
I encourage my readers, and anybody interested, to research other LNG projects and the impact on the communities they exist at. Find out what your elected officials think, and see if they align with your thoughts on the LNG projects. These plants will have a long-lasting impact on the region for generations.
If these LNG plants do move forward, I hope they do everything in their power to ensure the plants are safe and the impact on the environment is not as negative as many people think it will be.
LNG companies, don't you go breaking our hearts, now.
This past Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave the go-ahead to three companies wanting to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants at the Port of Brownsville. The Brownsville Herald and El Rrun Rrun both broke the story in yesterday's edition of their respective outlets. The three companies gearing up to build their pipeline transfer plants are Texas LNG, Anova LNG, and Rio Grande LNG (whose parent company is NextDecade Corporation).
The Port is pleased with the FERC decision, as this opens the door for the companies to move their plans forward. If everything goes according to plan, this means three multi-billion dollar plants will bring thousands of jobs to the region. As far as economic development is concerned, this is a big leap forward for Brownsville, for the Port of Brownsville, and for the entire Rio Grande Valley.
For those who see this as a positive thing for the Valley, we can only hope these companies deliver on all the promises they've laid out for Brownsville. We've heard this song before. Other companies have painted a pretty picture for Brownsville. Other companies have wanted to start up their business here with the promise of jobs and an economic boom. We've heard it from Titan Tire, SATA USA, and most recently, from SpaceX. Unfortunately, all these companies failed to deliver on all those promises they made.
I am all for economic development, but I really am torn between economic progress and the potential damage these plants will do to the community. Perhaps it is coincidence, but perhaps it is fate that the announcement of the FERC's decision to allow the LNG plants to move forward comes on the heels of a rocket prototype blowing up at the SpaceX launch pad/test facility at Boca Chica, spewing a cloud of chemicals in the air. God only knows what the impact of those chemicals will be on the area. I certainly hope the LNG companies were paying attention to the local news. The construction needs to proceed very carefully. They aren't building a swing set out by the port. These plants are going to be dealing with some pretty dangerous and hazardous materials. I hope all the regulatory agencies will be paying close attention during every phase of construction.
While there are a lot of people who are looking forward to these plants being built, there are those who vehemently oppose their construction. Local environmentalists argue these pipelines and plants will make Brownsville look more like Corpus Christi. They argue the large tankers that will make their way through the Brownsville Ship Channel will clog up the waterways and disrupt local traffic — and the local shrimping industry. They argue that while there will be jobs created in the chemical industry, other jobs will be lost.
There are those who say local ecotourism will also suffer as a result of the LNG plants. According to local environmentalists and opponents of these LNG plants, people like visiting our South Texas beaches because there aren't any heavy industrial or petrochemical plants disturbing the landscape. Opponents of these plants also express concern with the levels of toxic chemicals being released into the air and the impact that will have on our local air quality. According to the article written in the Herald, "The Sierra Club says all three projects still require approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Texas LNG is still awaiting a biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and neither Texas LNG nor Annova LNG have been granted air pollution permits from state regulators."
It isn't my job to sway you one way or the other. I have carved out my little corner of the internet, and I have decided to use it to share my opinion on the goings on of Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley. This is a difficult nut to crack. On one hand, you have companies wanting to build multi-billion dollar plants that have the potential to bring millions of dollars of revenue and jobs to one of the poorest communities in the United States, and on the other, these companies building their plants may very well have a negative impact on the environment and ecosystem.
I encourage my readers, and anybody interested, to research other LNG projects and the impact on the communities they exist at. Find out what your elected officials think, and see if they align with your thoughts on the LNG projects. These plants will have a long-lasting impact on the region for generations.
If these LNG plants do move forward, I hope they do everything in their power to ensure the plants are safe and the impact on the environment is not as negative as many people think it will be.
LNG companies, don't you go breaking our hearts, now.
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