LNG Legal Wrangling of the David v. Goliath type
So this week was the legal showdown over Shell's fish-killing machine. The Gumbo Alliance was represented by our friends the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic. On the other side of the court room was the U.S. Department of Justice, Baker-Botts (yes, former Secretary of State James Baker's firm), and Bracewell & Giuliani (represents all aspects of the energy industry - from grids to coal-fired power plants). I must say - we did alright.

The three-judge panel seemed pretty up-to-speed on the fish impacts of these open-loop terminals - with one quipping "we may have cheaper natural gas, but we may not have anything to cook!" The decison as to whether the Maritime Administration violated NEPA by not fully considering cumulative impacts or violated the Deepwater Ports Act by not requiring the "best available technology for the marine environment" will take quite a while to come down - anywhere from two months to two years! We're eager, but we won't hold our breath. We gleaned decent media coverage: the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and the Baton Rouge Advocate. Here's our release.
We can't sit on our hands and wait, we've got a ton to do: ConocoPhillips' Beacon Port terminal will be the subject of public hearings on their draft environmental impact statement - three meetings, two weeks from now. Here's the Federal Register notice:

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) announce the availability of the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for this license application. The application describes a project that would be located in the Gulf of Mexico, in lease block High Island Area 27, on the outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Main Terminal would be located approximately 45 miles South of High Island and 50 miles East-Southeast of Galveston, Texas, with a riser platform in lease block West Cameron 167, approximately 27 miles South of Holly Beach and 29 miles South-Southeast of Johnson’s Bayou, Louisiana. The Coast Guard and MARAD request public comments on the DEIS.

DATES: The public meeting in Lafayette, Louisiana will be held on March 21, 2006; the public meeting in Galveston, Texas will be held on March 22, 2006; and the public meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas will be held on March 23, 2006. Each public meeting will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and will be preceded by an open house from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The public meeting may end later than the stated time, depending on the number of persons wishing to speak. Material submitted in response to the request for comments must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before April 17, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting and informational open house will be held at:

Holiday Inn Central, 2032 NE. Evangeline Thruway, Lafayette, LA 70501; telephone 337–233–6815;

Galveston Island Convention Center at the San Luis Resort, 5600 Seawall Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77551, telephone 409–763–6564; and

Omni Bayfront Tower, 900 North Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, TX 78401; telephone 361–887–1600.

So we've got to get as many concerned sportsmen, conservationists, fish-kissers, tree-huggers and others who care about the Gulf as possible, out en masse to these three meetings. The more folks we engage, the more likely we are to earn some media, and communicate to the Governors of the affected states that we need an open-loop veto to secure our fisheries. Two things seemed clear from the Judges questions:

1. They really wanted the DOJ lawyer to conceed that future LNG terminals would have a damned hard time getting a permit for open-loop technology, given the cumulative impacts - he wouldn't.
   
2. They were highly aware of the Governors' ability to veto these terminals - and seemed to be feeling around to see whether that should play into the MARAD secretary's decision to permit the terminal - it shouldn't.
   

We're really going to need to lean on the Govs to get them to pull the veto trigger. No one likes to piss off huge energy corporations in the Gulf of Mexico - esp. politicians who count on those same corporations for their campaign contributions. BUT, they also don't like to piss off an engaged citizenry - that's where we come in. We need to be engaged, and engage others. So tell your friends, make your plans and get your rear-end to Lafayette, LA on Tuesday 3/21, Galveston on Wednesday 3/22, or Corpus Christi on Thursday 3/23. We need your voices! Watch our website for further plans - we'll be putting together press conferences prior to the Galveston and Lafayette meetings - if you're in Corpus and can help out - please contact us.

For the fish, for the future,

Aaron

Aaron Viles is the GRN's Campaign Director