LNG in Coastal Louisiana: Who tells the story?

Liquified Natural Gas is natural gas that has undergone a cooling process in order to liquefy and reduce the volume of the substance. The main purpose of this process is to make large quantities of natural gas easier to export across longer distances, as LNG has about 600 times less volume than it does in its gaseous state and can be transported on shipping tankers rather than requiring a direct pipeline to its destination. From an economic perspective, this makes LNG ideal for the United States to export natural gas to areas in Asia, South America, and Europe; but processing LNG comes with environmental consequences. In 2021, the countries that the United States exported the most LNG to were South Korea, China, Japan, Brazil, and Spain (EIA).

 _{Information sourced from EIA: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/natural-gas/liquefied-natural-gas.php} 

In 2022, Liquified Natural Gas has become deeply intertwined with the developing conditions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In recent years, Russia has been one of the world's largest international suppliers of LNG, exporting significant amounts of natural gas to Europe in particular. In the wake of current events, the European Union and the United States have agreed to drastically reduce their consumption of Russian imports in retaliation to Russia's invasion. Although these actions have been put into motion with the intention of weakening Russia's economy, Russia has not had much difficulty finding other nations to purchase Russian oil and LNG. Europe, on the other hand, has been facing an energy crisis without access to Russia's natural gas. In response, the United States has planned to significantly increase LNG production in order to aid our European allies.

Liquified Natural Gas is sometimes advertised as an eco-friendly alternative to other traditional processing of fossil fuels, but it is important to know that LNG facilities still release significant levels of greenhouse gases into the environment and present very serious dangers. People who live near LNG facilities are not only exposed to heavy hydrocarbon pollutants, but are also at risk of serious harm in the face of an accident. Although LNG in itself is not explosive, the vapors will become flammable if they are exposed to air. In her article about LNG safety risks, Stefanie Herweck of the Sierra Club notes that LNG facility accidents have "required the evacuation of communities up to  two  and even  three miles away " (Herweck 2016). This kind of forced evacuation is devastating for a community, especially for families with lower incomes who do not have the savings required for an unexpected evacuation.

 _{Herweck's article provides many details about the potential dangers of LNG facility accidents: https://www.sierraclub.org/texas/blog/2016/08/straight-talk-not-sales-pitch-about-lng-dangers} 

Use the slide bar to display the census data on poverty levels in Louisianan counties. Zoom in to the location of each LNG facility and click on the surrounding county(s) to reveal details. Do you see any economic trends in counties with an LNG facility nearby?

While looking into the effects that LNG facilities have on the nearby populations and environments, we must also consider who is responsible for protecting these areas. In coastal Louisiana, environmental protection and restoration are the responsibility of the CPRA.

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority was founded in 2005 in response to the unprecedented destruction Louisianians faced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Before the CPRA, Louisiana’s environmental and coastal restoration projects were managed individually by small, state-run local agencies.  The local and state government was in charge of restoration projects prior to 2005, but the work was regionally divided among the small local agencies without state-wide coordination of their efforts. In December of 2005, the Louisiana Legislature altered the structure of the State’s Wetland Conservation and Restoration Authority to conglomerate the state’s restoration efforts into one combined effort, the CPRA.

See the CPRA's page on the organization's structure for more information: https://coastal.la.gov/whats-at-stake/a-changing-landscape/

"The vision of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is to establish and support a thriving and sustainable coastal Louisiana, achieved through a harmonious balance of ecological, cultural, and economic interests of the region" (CPRA Strategic Five-Year Plan)

How does the CPRA work?

The CPRA organizes Louisiana's coastal restoration projects, funding, and goals in the format of Five-Year Master Plans. In 2022, we are in the final months of the CPRA's 2017 Master Plan and will soon be transitioning to the 2023 Five-Year Master Plan. Below, you can look through the official projects of the 2017 Master Plan.

 _{Click on the icons to see details about the projects} 

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