Regarding your recent article about gas storage on Cote Blanche Island, Henry Gas Storage has considered very carefully key features of its proposal to develop salt cavern gas storage capacity on the island with the intent of minimizing environmental and community impacts. That is why, for example, we are using the Intracoastal Waterway as a source of water for solution mining so as not to compete with community or agricultural use of groundwater.

That is also why we have submitted extensive data to the state in support of our permit application to discharge brine into the Gulf of Mexico – data that shows no adverse environmental impacts on marine species. We believe that our brine discharge is environmentally safe and a far better option than using disposal wells.

We are fortunate in this instance that Louisiana has considerable experience in both modeling and actual observance of the effects of brine discharge on marine species in the Gulf. The state in fact has more than 30 years of observed impacts from the brine discharge at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, and those observations support the state’s conclusion in the draft permit that there will be no adverse impacts on marine species.

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Louisiana has hundreds of active hydrocarbon storage salt caverns, and the state’s regulations for this activity are well developed and have resulted in decades of safe and environmentally sound operation. We welcome public review of our plans for salt cavern gas storage on Cote Blanche Island and are confident the state’s draft brine discharge permit will protect Gulf marine species.

Mike McCall

Henry Gas Storage

Houston, TX

Franklin, LA