Stopping LNG in the RGV

Posted bybekah hinojosaPosted inUncategorized

For about ten years, the Rio Grande Valley community and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas have resisted three proposed LNG projects, including Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, and the Rio Bravo Pipeline, from being built on the South Texas Coastline. Below are some details about the proposed projects and some of the work SOTXEJN and its partners have done to prevent these dangerous projects.

What is LNG in the RGV?

LNG stands for liquefied natural gas, which is natural gas (sourced from fracking) that is supercooled to -260 degrees Fahrenheit into a liquid state. This reduces the volume to 600 times smaller than its volume in the gaseous state. The liquefied form is easily transported and stored for use in areas without a pipeline network or to serve as reserve energy for peak demand (DOE/EIA source). LNG is typically exported through large LNG ships or tankers and is regasified at import terminals to be used in natural gas pipelines.  

Around 2015, the US became a major LNG exporter with a drastic increase in shipments (NY Times/EIA source). LNG was never a major fuel source, this dramatic increase was largely due to the expansion of fracking.  According to Rainforest Action Network (RAN), the continuation of LNG production “ would contribute to the expansion of hazardous fracking in the Eagle Ford and Permian shale basins in Texas” (RAN Report). Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process of extracting oil and gas from shale rock. It involves drilling into the earth and injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure to extract the trapped oil and gas beneath the bedrock(source BBC). Fracking is protested by many environmental activists, experts, and communities worldwide because of its highly detrimental impacts on the environment. The injection of fluids at high pressure causes tremors which can be felt by local residents (source BBC). The injection fluid also uses hazardous chemicals (Wayback Machine (archive.org))  and excessive water, and the drilling process causes air pollution (source BBC).  The export increase is usually in excess, and the fossil fuel industry artificially creates a demand. LNG companies lobby politicians and use propaganda techniques to push for overproduction to create this demand and take advantage of military sanctions (Russia and Europe) and impoverished countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh) to secure buyers (NYTimes).  Federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Energy, journalists, and some experts claim that LNG or fracked gas can be “transition” away from importing gas, or is an alternative to coal NYTimes, source BBC, NatGeo], which is simply untrue. The entire process, or frack cycle, from extraction to transmission to export and then regasification of fracked gas has shown to be just as terrible for the climate as coal. 

Texas LNG, Rio Grande LNG, and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline
In the Rio Grande Valley, there are two major proposed LNG facilities, Texas LNG and Rio Grande LNG. Texas LNG is a proposed gas liquefaction export terminal that is planned to be built at the Port of Brownsville, about a mile away from the City of Port Isabel. The facility would span 625 acres with storage tanks for liquified natural gas. These storage tanks would be  the size of 210,000 m^3, which is around (3x the size of the historic Port Isabel lighthouse).  The facility will also include a large network of pipelines, fiery flare stacks, and tanker ships ( 3 football fields long). Rio Grande LNG will be located nearby Texas LNG and will affect the same region. The proposed site will span 984 acres and it will include 5 trains with the capacity to transport 27 million metric tonnes per year and 4 storage tanks the size of 180,000 m^3. Rio Grande LNG plans to receive gas from the proposed Rio Bravo Pipeline that would be owned and operated by the Enbridge corporation. 

Together, the LNG terminals would be the largest single-source polluters in the South Texas region.  Rio Grande LNG would “ spew just as much greenhouse emissions as approximately 40.4 million cars on the road per year” according to the RGV report by RAN. Texas LNG, Rio Grande LNG would release toxic emissions, such as sulfur oxides, into sensitive wildlife habitats near the LNG sites like Bahia Grande, Laguna Atascosas Wildlife Refuge, and Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Refuge. High concentrations of sulfur oxides can harm trees and plants by damaging foliage growth. Sulfur oxides can contribute to acid rain by reacting with other particles and causing haze. 

The proposed projects would pave over a “greenfield” of undeveloped wetlands, pollute nearby wildlife refuges, and divide a national wildlife corridor. The construction and operation of LNG projects would destroy habitats for multiple endangered species. Habitat loss, industrial noise, and LNG ship traffic would mean “permanent and significant” impacts on the endangered ocelot, northern aplomado falcon, the Rice’s Whale, and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle. LNG export terminals would also damage unique ecosystems, such as the Lomas at the Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Refuge and Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge.

These LNG plants would emit thousands of tons of harmful pollutants into the air, impacting the health of nearby low-income Latinx and Indigenous communities. The facilities would significantly degrade the local fishing, shrimping, and nature tourism industries, which make up large parts of the local economy. These projects will negatively impact all the investments made into the Laguna Atascosas Eco-Tourism Center. Directly-impacted communities formally oppose the projects: the City of South Padre Island, the City of Port Isabel, the Town of Laguna Vista, Long Island Village, the Laguna Madre Water District, and the South Padre Island Business Owners Association

The proposed LNG projects will also encroach on sacred Indigenous sites of the Carrizo/Comecrude Tribe of Texas, like the Garcia Pasture (link). The company behind the Rio Grande LNG and the Texas LNG projects has never consulted with the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe about the negative impacts on historic sites. The Tribe opposes the LNG projects.

Timeline of Community Campaign to Stop LNG

  • 2015: Five proposed LNG terminals at the Port of Brownsville — Sideco LNG, Gulf Coast LNG, Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, and Annova LNG. 
  • 2015: Victory! The City of Port Isabel, the Town of Laguna Vista, the Long Island Village residential community, City of South Padre Island, and the Laguna Madre Water District pass resolutions opposing LNG. 
  • 2015: Victory! Point Isabel School District rejects 313 tax abatement for Annova LNG.
  • 2016: Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, Annova LNG, and Rio Bravo Pipeline apply for permits with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
  • 2016: Victory! Point Isabel School District rejects 313 tax abatement for Rio Grande LNG.
  • 2017: Cameron County Commissioners approve 312 tax abatement for Rio Grande LNG.
  • 2017: Victory! French bank BNP Paribas ditches the Texas LNG project.
  • 2019: Cameron County commissioners approve 312 tax abatement for Annova LNG.
  • 2019: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorizes Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, Annova LNG, and Rio Bravo Pipeline.
  • 2021: Victory! The City of Port Isabel, Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, a Vecinos para el bienestar de la comunidad costera from Laguna Heights, and the Sierra Club won a lawsuit that demanded the FERC to re-review the permit applications for Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, and the Rio Bravo Pipeline. A major setback from the LNG projects. 
  • 2021: Victory! Ireland cancels Cork LNG project that would have imported gas from Rio Grande LNG.
  • 2021: Victory! Annova LNG cancels project at the Port of Brownsville because of the unstable gas market and community opposition.
  • 2021: Victory! Cameron County tables letter of support for Carbon Capture after community pressure.
  • 2022: Victory! Point Isabel School District rejects 313 tax abatement for Texas LNG.
  • 2023: Rio Grande LNG announces final investment decision on phase 1 (trains 1-3) of the project.
  • 2023: Victory! French bank Societe Generale ditches the Rio Grande LNG project.
  • 2023: The Sierra Club, Vecinos para el bienestar de la comunidad costera, South TX EJ Network members, and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas sue FERC for reapproving the permits for Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, and the Rio Bravo pipeline.
  • 2024: Cameron County Commission approves massive tax abatement deal for Texas LNG project.
  • 2024: Victory! After months of protests by the Rio Grande Valley community, a major insurance company, Chubb, withdraws from the Rio Grande LNG project.
  • August 6, 2024: Victory! Court decision cancels the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s permits for Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, and the Rio Bravo Pipeline.

European Delegations

  • August 2017: Bekah Hinojosa and Tribal Chair Juan B. Mancias travel to Paris, France to pressure European banks to divest from LNG projects proposed for the RGV including French bank BNP Paribas who by the end of that year pulled out of the the Texas LNG project in October 2017. Read blog post about the delegation here.
  • September 2019: Dr. Christopher Basaldú journeyed to Gothenburg, Sweden to join international activists to participate in direct action at the Port of Gothenburg against the expansion of gas pipeline infrastructure that would connect new fracked gas imports to the Swedish gas grid. Dr. Basaldú spoke about the ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples across the world to feed the greed of the European lust for energy, wealth, and power at the expense of the Global South and the environmental destruction of Indigenous lands. The Swedish Government eventually canceled the permit for the new pipeline connections.
  • November 2019: Bekah Hinojosa traveled to Madrid, Spain, for the United Nations Conference of Parties COP25 to advocate against the fracking cycle (from fracking extraction to gas export) in the Rio Grande Valley, Gulf Coast, and Permian Basin. Bekah traveled to Ireland and Paris to meet with and urge the Port of Cork, Ireland to stop importing fracked gas and continue campaigning against the French bank Societe Generale supporting Rio Grande LNG. In 2021, the Port of Cork scrapped its plans to build Cork LNG, canceling the import contract with Rio Grande LNG. Societe Generale withdrew from the Rio Grande LNG project in 2023.
  • July/August 2021: Dr. Basaldú leads a delegation representing Coastal Texas, consisting of Josette Hinojosa (STEJN) and Elida Castillo (Chispa,TX) from Coastal Texas to Hamburg, Germany, to join in solidarity with European, German, and other Indigenous and Global South organizers and activists to protest and disrupt the expansion of LNG import terminals at the port of Brünsbittle.
  • July/August 2022: Josette, Elida, and Christopher return to Germany to join German and European led mass action against proposed expansion of LNG terminals at the Port of Hamburg.
  • October 2022: Bekah Hinojosa and Dr. Basaldú traveled to Switzerland, England, and Paris to meet with various bank officials. They meet with executives of the Bank of Switzerland, HSCB, and Barclays. Read more here. After enduring months of pressure, both Credit Suisse and UBS, which took over Credit Suisse, have stopped providing financing for the Rio Grande LNG project.
  • November 2022: Christopher Basaldú traveled to Brussels, Belgium to join a delegation of Indigenous climate activists from Africa, South America, and Mexico to lobby Members of the Parliament of the European Union to regulate fossil fuel financing. 
  • October 2023: Bekah and other Texas Gulf Coast community members travel to Germany, Portugal, and Spain to meet with community organizers impacted by LNG import terminals in Europe, including the Portugal LNG terminal that plans to import from Rio Grande LNG. Read the blog post here.
  • April 2024: Tribal Chair Mancias traveled to Turin, Italy to represent the Esto’k Gna resistance to the ongoing colonial destruction of our sacred homelands, sacred sites, and our ecosystems due to LNG development and SpaceX presence, operation, and expansion.

Resources & Fact Sheets