ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS OF LNG DEVELOPMENT
Since
2005, Louisiana sportsmen, commercial fishermen and environmental
organizations have expressed growing concerns over one of the
re-gasification techniques currently proposed by energy companies.
Generally speaking, companies can elect to use one of two processes
for LNG vaporization, open or closed-loop systems. The current
debate centers on the environmental impact of the open-loop system,
commonly called open rack vaporization or ORV.
An ORV system
would use ambient temperature seawater drawn from the Gulf of
Mexico to return super-cooled LNG to a gaseous state. Hundreds
of millions of gallons of water per day (mgpd) are necessary to
regasify LNG, which opponents assert has the potential to negatively
impact ichthyoplankton (larval fish and eggs) populations through
entrainment, e.g. organisms being sucked into the water intake,
or impingement, e.g. organisms trapped against the intake screens.
Additionally, normal operating procedures cause both thermal and
chemical shock to entrained organisms resulting in 100 percent
mortality.
Click on the
following to learn more about LNG demand and impacts to Gulf fisheries.
