12/19/2023
My letter to the President:
Dear President Biden,
I have been delighted with your statements and concern about climate change and your determination to do what we need to stop the pollution of our atmosphere. Thank you for the Inflation Reduction Act.
Now I learn that the corporation Venture Global's & Commonwealth has applied to the DOE for a license to export liquefied methane gas (LNG) at a proposed area in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
As you probably know, this proposal would be the largest LNG facility ever, emitting almost 200 million tons of polluting CO2 annually. According to the research, this would be the equivalent of creating 51 coal-fired power plants ... an absolutely HUGE THREAT to our climate!
Another LNG facility nearby has already committed over 2,000 air permit deviations and violated its permit on 286 days during its first year of operation.
In addition, these LNG facilities create traffic congestion, sprawl, and GHG pollution which harm many communities including Creole, Grand Lake, Cameron and the Texas communities of Vinton, Starks, and Deweyville.
At least 100 acres of wetlands, marshes, and cheniere with stands of Evergreen Oaks along the Louisiana Coast which protect these communities from storm surges are endangered. These coastal wetlands are spawning grounds for many species that the people of the area need. Shrimpers and fishermen's livelihood and their way of life will disappear if this LNG plant is okayed by you and the Department Of Energy.
Please have the DOE change its criteria and add strong consideration of the public interest in granting new LNG export licenses. The DOE currently fails to look at the devastating effect on the climate, our domestic energy prices and national security. LNG plants threaten the climate targets you speak about and the well-being of many communities.
Please make these new LNG facilities follow your own Executive Order on Environmental Justice for All. That would keep the impacts of LNG from having such heavy affects on low-income communities and communities of color. The subsequent rising domestic economic strain is particularly felt by low-income households.
I urge you to deny Venture Global's & Commonwealth's application for LNG export permits and protect us from more inflation and increases in gasoline prices and also the pollution that they cause. Please reconsider what is in the public's best interest and stop this permit.
Thank you for advocating for the climate and signing the Inflation Reduction Act. Stopping the permit for new LNG plants is another huge opportunity to protect our climate.
Yours truly,
Mary Francis
405.474.0695
848-A Cardinal Creek Blvd
Norman, OK 73072
