FERC Temporarily Halts Construction of Controversial CP2 LNG 

WASHINGTON – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order setting aside its approval for Venture Global’s massive CP2 export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The order modifies and, in part, sets aside the Commission’s previous authorization order to conduct a supplemental environmental impact analysis on the project’s cumulative air quality and emissions impacts. The order states that FERC will not authorize construction until the Commission completes this process. 

The order follows a request for rehearing filed by For a Better Bayou, Fishermen Involved in Sustaining Our Heritage, other impacted commercial fishermen and landowners, NRDC, and the Sierra Club, which highlighted the significant errors in FERC’s authorization of the CP2 export facility.  

“I, along with the fishermen in Cameron, Louisiana, know firsthand how harmful LNG exports are, and see the total disregard they have for human life as they poison our families and seafood,” said Travis Dardar, indigenous fisherman of Cameron, Louisiana, and Founder of FISH – Fishermen Involved in Sustaining our Heritage. “FERC’s pause on construction may give us some temporary reprieve, but this Project never should have been authorized in the first place. As far as anyone who believes in the fairytale of LNG being cleaner, we have paid with our communities and livelihoods. It’s time to break these chains and turn away from this false solution.”  

“Through the lenses of optical gas imaging, we’ve seen massive plumes of toxic emissions, undeniable proof that these projects poison the air we breathe,” said James Hiatt, Director of For a Better Bayou. “Modeling must use the latest data from the most local sources to fully capture the harm these facilities inflict on Cameron Parish. Anything less is a betrayal of our community. FERC must choose justice over profit and stop sacrificing people for polluters.” 

“This order reveals that FERC recognizes that CP2 LNG’s environmental impacts are too great to pass through any real scrutiny,” said Megan Gibson, SELC Senior Attorney. “And while the pause on construction may offer the community some temporary relief, it is, at best, a short-term fix to a much deeper problem. FERC’s original authorization was deeply flawed, and instead of addressing those critical issues, FERC has essentially doubled down on its previous errors in this order. This continued failure to fulfill its regulatory duty is not just an oversight—it is a failure to protect vulnerable communities and our economy from the real potential harms of this massive export project.” 

Caroline Reiser, Senior Staff Attorney, NRDC, said: “This pause of these two massive LNG facilities is a fundamental step toward holding developers accountable for the harm they inflict on communities and the environment. Families in Southwest Louisiana have endured enough toxic emissions and health risks. In the supplemental environmental review, FERC must take meaningful action to protect the air, water, and future. Local residents deserve justice, not pollution.” 

Nathan Matthews, Sierra Club Senior Attorney said: “With this order, it seems FERC is finally willing to acknowledge that it has not done enough to properly consider the cumulative harm on communities caused by building so many of these LNG export terminals so close together. Prohibiting construction of CP2 LNG while FERC takes another look at the environmental impact of this massive, polluting facility is the right thing to do. Still, FERC must take concrete steps to properly evaluate the true scope of the dangers posed to communities from gas infrastructure moving forward and avoid making unwarranted approvals in the future.” 

FERC’s initial approval of CP2 violates the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and illustrates FERC’s failure to consider and approve projects that are truly in the public interest, and to fulfill its duty to protect frontline communities, U.S. consumers, and the environment.    

FERC’s approval of this infrastructure project would continue the pattern and practice of sacrificing communities and the environment in the Gulf for the interests of the fossil fuel industry. The Project is estimated to emit approximately 8,510,099 metric tons per year of CO₂e, which is equivalent to putting more than 1,850,000 additional gas-fueled automobiles on the road.