The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will hold a public meeting and is seeking comments this month on a proposal to use underground salt caverns for natural gas storage in Southwest Louisiana.

The Black Bayou Gas Storage Project is proposed in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, Louisiana, and would consist of four salt storage caverns with a total working gas capacity of 34.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. It would also include a compressor station and two 27.1-mile-long pipelines, among other facilities.

Louisiana has a fraught history with the oil & gas industry and underground salt domes. In 2012, a sinkhole opened in a salt cavern near Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish, forcing the evacuation of 350 residents. In 1980, a drilling company pierced a underground salt cavern in the Lake Peigneur, causing a vortex that sucked in nearby boats and permanently changed the lake from fresh water to brackish.  

FERC will hold a public meeting on Sept. 25, 2024, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Ward 7 Community Center (1615 Horridge Street) in Vinton, Louisiana, to discuss the environmental issues associated with the Black Bayou Gas Storage Project. For more information on the project and the public meeting, please view the public notice.

FERC is also requesting comments on the scope of issues to address in its environmental review of the project. Comments are due by 5 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 27, 2024. For more information on how to submit comments, please view the public notice.

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