Elise Plunk | Louisiana Illuminator

(Louisiana Illuminator) – New research shows a continuous pattern of air pollution violations from liquified natural gas export facilities in Southwest Louisiana. 

Three LNG export facilities in Cameron Parish are featured in a report from the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit research organization. 

Sourced from federal and state data, the report documents federal Clean Air Act infractions for each of the past 12 quarters – spanning three years – at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG terminal and Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal. The Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry has been out of compliance with the Clean Air Act for 11 of the past 12 quarters. 

Report author and Environmental Integrity Project research manager Alexandra Shaykevich spoke at a press event about the “terrible compliance record” for the LNG industry, noting that Southwest Louisiana facilities in particular have been in “nearly continuous” violation of the Clean Air Act for the past three years.

Venture Global and Cameron LNG did not respond to requests for comment on the report. Cheniere Energy had no comment. 

Cameron Parish resident John Allaire lives within 30 miles of the three LNG facilities highlighted in the report – and six more that are planned or under construction.

“I live in the eye of this LNG hurricane,” Allaire said at a news conference this week announcing the report’s release.

Allaire’s home sits close enough to the Venture Global facility for him to see fiery plumes of methane flares from his patio. The Commonwealth LNG facility is planned 750 feet away from his property line, he said. 

“I’m surrounded on all sides,” he said. “It’s not the same coastal wetland estuary that it used to be.”

While each terminal provided varying explanations for its violations, Shaykevich said, common ones include: 

failure to report excess emissions and permit deviations to state regulators; 

exceeding allowed pollution limits for contaminants such as nitrous oxide, volatile organic compounds and sulphur dioxide; and 

failure to properly operate equipment meant to control pollution levels. 

Cameron LNG’s Clean Air Act violations included at least 89 instances of excess pollution that released thousands of pounds of benzine, a known carcinogen, from the facility into the surrounding environment, according to the report’s analysis of Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality records. 

“We need these companies to actually be good neighbors and not to continue causing suffering in the communities in which they operate,” said James Hiatt, director of local nonprofit For a Better Bayou at the news conference. 

Each of the three facilities had only two air enforcement actions opened from LDEQ, according to the report. Cheniere Energy had paid $225,000 in fines as of July 29, when state records were analyzed, for air quality violations. Financial penalties hadn’t yet been finalized for the other two facilities before the Environmental Integrity Project published its report. 

The report also included tallies of Clean Water Act violations for LNG terminals in Southwest Louisiana. Sabine Pass was out of compliance with the act’s standards for 8 of the past 12 quarters. Cameron LNG had violations in seven quarters, and Calcasieu had just one quarter with water-related infractions.

Cameron LNG had 27 effluent violations from July 2020 through June 2025. Sabine Pass had nine and Calcasieu Pass recorded one over the same period, according to the report’s analysis. The violations at Cameron LNG and Sabine Pass involved fecal coliform and suspended solids, such as algae, bacteria and industrial particles. The lone issue at Calcalsieu Pass involved only suspended solids. 

Shaykevich said the pattern of permit violations for existing facilities should be a factor in approving new facilities as the LNG industry continues its rapid expansion. 

“President Trump has aggressively promoted the liquefied natural gas industry, including by directing agencies to fast track certain approvals for LNG projects,” he said. “State and federal agencies should be slowing down and more carefully scrutinizing new applications for LNG export projects instead of speeding up permit reviews.”