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A federal court has struck down liquified natural gas permits for two companies attempting to expand their presence in the Rio Grande Valley.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday that the agency overseeing the permits, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, failed to sufficiently update environmental impact standards before approving them.
“Here, the pertinent ‘new information’ includes the updated demographic and environmental data submitted by the developers, as well as the Commission’s entirely new analysis and interpretation of that data, which are substantially different from the previously conducted environmental justice analysis in the final EIS (Environmental Impact Statement),” the three-judge panel found.
FERC officials first approved Texas LNG Brownsville’s project to build and operate an LNG export terminal in Cameron County’s Brownsville Shipping Channel in 2019, three years after the company applied.
At the same time, Rio Grande LNG, LLC and Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC—both subsidiaries of NextDecade LNG, LLC—were approved to establish a new interstate pipeline running from Nueces County to the Rio Grande terminal.
Port Isabel, a Texas city that would have been affected by the projects, filed a lawsuit over the proposals two years later, alongside the Sierra Club and other groups, including the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas.
The same federal court took up the legal challenge that year and sided with the plaintiffs, arguing that the environmental standards were lacking. However, the FERC reapproved the projects in 2023, arguing that the necessary changes were made to move forward.
Judges on Tuesday disagreed, holding that the agency was still in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act with its current approvals.
“Given the nature and severity of the flaws in the Commission’s second effort to properly assess the projects, we vacate the reauthorization orders and remand to the Commission for further consideration,” they wrote.
Dave Cortez, director of the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, celebrated the move in a statement released shortly after the decision.
“This is a major victory for working class people of the Rio Grande Valley, the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribal Nation, and the growing alliance they’ve built of everyday Texans and supporters across the country and world,” argued Cortez.
“I’m so thankful for them and the attorneys who stood strong in court and persisted despite years of silence and outright support for climate injustice from most major public officials in the valley,” he added. “Today is a win for the people, the land, and our future.”
NextDecade stated that the energy project development and management company was “disappointed in the Court’s decision and disagrees with its conclusions.”
“The Company is reviewing the Court’s decision and assessing all of its options,” the company continued, noting that it will evaluate its position as construction continues on some already-approved infrastructure.
The decision follows a ruling from the U.S. District Court in Western Louisiana, which sided with Texas in a lawsuit against the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to halt LNG exports to countries without a free trade agreement with the U.S.
Earlier this week, the administration appealed Judge James D. Cain Jr.’s ruling.
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