Residents speak out on proposed Moss Lake Compressor Station
3rd March 2025 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
Residents of Sulphur. La. gathered in the Frasch Park Recreation Room to voice their concerns, support and criticisms of Venture Global’s proposed Moss Lake Compressor Station in Calcasieu Parish on February 18.
Virginia-based Venture Global wants to build the station as part of its Calcasieu Pass 2 project, which would be an export facility and express pipeline. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has authorized the project, but it is still in the permitting phase. Venture Global first began producing LNG at its first Calcasieu Pass facility in January 2022.
At the meeting, Robyn Thigpen of Fishermen Involved in Sustaining our Heritage (FISH), said, “It’s time for people to have a moral compass and stand up and say ‘No, Venture Global is not a good neighbor, they haven’t been, and they’re not going to be.’ Our people have been paying with our lives, fighting illnesses when we can’t even afford health care while Venture Global is getting millions of dollars in tax breaks…Enough is enough.”
Resident Stephen Broussard, who lives less than a quarter mile from the proposed station, also criticized the proposed project at the meeting.
“This is an export product; it’s not imported for the use of the people of the United States. It’s exported, only for the benefit of the LNG company,” Broussard said. “It perplexes me how you can say this project with those contaminants above recognized, accepted levels is somehow going to be safe and not harm the environment.”
According to a public notice issued by LDEQ, the proposed Venture Global station could emit more than 726,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year from its six compressors.
Marla Kay Landry voiced her support for the project. She said the oil and gas industry allowed her to provide a stable home as a single mother for herself and her daughter. She added that she was a local recruiter for the LNG industry.
“These liquefied natural gas projects are vital to the economic growth of Louisiana,” Landry said. “Especially after the mass destruction of our state due to hurricanes…I believe that with proper management and community engagement, the benefits of these LNG projects can be realized while minimizing any potential environmental impacts.”
Others who came forward in support of the project include former chairman of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association Brian Hanks, who touted the economic benefits the project could bring, Gulf Coast Industrial Group president Travis Woods and Sherman Broussard, an instructor at Sowela Technical Community College in Lake Charles, La.
Lori Cooke is the southwest Louisiana program coordinator for the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, a non-profit that advocates for environmental health and justice. She said the cumulative effect of all the LNG facilities is ignored by the government and that the government says one single facility won’t cause serious damage but fails to account that all of these together do cause serious damage.
“The buildout has to stop. Enough is enough,” Cooke said.
Cooke, whose family has roots in Cameron Parish dating back to the 1700s, said the community has been characterized by its resilience in the face of devastating hurricanes like Audrey, Delta and Laura. But she said the environmental effects of the LNG industry on the area will test that resiliency.
“What good are a few jobs if you can’t hunt and fish, if the local fisheries are destroyed,” Cooke said. “We are very close to being in danger of losing an entire industry.”
A 1985 UPI article cited Cameron Parish as the top fishing port nationally in terms of catch volume. But times have changed for the parish. In a 2024 press release on the Southern Environmental Law Center’s website, Hackberry, Louisiana shrimper Rickie Clark said, “Our catch used to come in with two or three thousand pounds daily. The catch has completely dried up in Hackberry, where our boats are docked. There are no longer any shrimp houses in Cameron. They’re out of business. There’s [only] one left in Hackberry. We’re pretty much out of business.”
Bloomberg News reported in November 2024 that pending arbitration claims against Venture Global from several of its customers reached nearly $6 billion. The disputes were related to Calcasieu Pass’ LNG plant. In the article, a Venture Global spokesperson said there was no contractual or other basis for the arbitration claims.
In December 2024, Yahoo News published a story referencing a Sierra Club report stating that tax breaks for the LNG export industry will cost Louisiana communities over $21 billion in infrastructure funds through 2040. Infrastructure issues in the area include the lack of a permanent hospital since Hurricane Laura in 2020.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) wrote in an email, “LDEQ will consider all public comments before a final decision is made, after which time, a written response will be released. LDEQ never rushes through the processing of applications simply because it was an expedited permit. Science and regulations are at the forefront of our decisions.”
In June 2023, the LDEQ issued a compliance order and notice of potential penalty to Calcasieu Pass LNG. The agency cited Venture Global for consistently exceeding emission limits and failing to report accidents as required by law.
Venture Global did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
This article originally published in the March 3, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
