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Supporting Organizations Acadiana
Fly Rodders To add your organization to this list, please email us. |
Join
Mr. Bill in telling Shell "Noooo!"
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals pose a developing threat to commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil and gas corporations import natural gas in a super-chilled, liquefied form, warm it to return it to gas form, and then deliver it to our natural gas pipelines. As of July 2005, eight of the 23 facilities proposed for the Gulf are designed to use an open-rack vaporizer, or open-loop system, which would run Gulf seawater through radiatorlike racks. One terminal alone could use up to 270 million gallons of Gulf water a day to vaporize the natural gas. The drastic temperature change, chlorination, and physical damage caused by the process would destroy fish eggs and larva by the billions. The cumulative impacts of these facilities would be a significant blow to our fisheries. Open-loop LNG terminals are currently proposed in essential habitat for shrimp, redfish (red drum), king mackerel, red snapper, blue fin tuna and other important species. Oil and gas corporations have alternatives: closed-loop or forced-air vaporizer systems, though more expensive to operate, would be significantly less destructive to our fisheries while allowing the oil and gas corporations to profit significantly. The energy industry is important to Louisiana and the Gulf, but so are our commercial and recreational fishing industries, which generate $800 million in commercial landings and $5.6 billion in recreational expenditures annually. The Gulf of Mexico is the exclusive target for open loop. All eight proposed and approved offshore LNG terminals in the Gulf of Mexico would use the open-loop system. Yet, the 36 other proposed and existing LNG terminals across the country would use a closed-loop system. This includes one terminal proposed off the coast of Massachusetts and two terminals proposed off the coast of California. The Deepwater Port License Application for the Neptune LLC Deepwater Port off of Massachusetts states that “although lifetime operating costs would be higher for the closed-loop mode, the environmental considerations related to year-round open-loop operation would be significant and remain as the key discriminating factor in this analysis. Therefore, the closed-loop operating mode is considered the preferred alternative for LNG vaporization.” Citing water temperature and "cultural acceptance," oil and gas corporations have made the Gulf the exclusive sacrifice area for their fish-killing, open-loop LNG facilities. See the Gumbo Alliance’s ad in the Baton Rouge Advocate, thanking the Governor for her support for fish-friendly LNG terminals. (PDF) To read the release and see photos from the Gumbo Alliance press event and boat parade at One Shell Square, click here. |
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