Sierra Club takes swipe at natural gas

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CAMERON, La., April 24 (UPI) -- Exporting natural gas from the United States is a "dirty and dangerous" game that puts people at risk, environmental group Sierra Club said.

The Sierra Club said it filed a formal protest to the U.S. Department of Energy challenging a proposal to export natural gas from a facility on Lake Charles in Louisiana.

"Exporting natural gas is dirty and dangerous, and puts American families at risk," Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement. "The Sierra Club's action today follows a series of filings in an ongoing effort to protect families from the natural gas industry's dirty and dangerous operating practices."

Last week, the Sierra Club filed a 51-page protest with the Energy Department following a decision to authorize liquefied natural gas exports from a terminal in Sabine Pass, La.

Brune said the Energy Department has a responsibility to protect U.S. citizens from the potentially dangerous consequences of LNG exports. He said more exports means more production of natural gas from hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.

The United States has some of the largest deposits of shale natural gas in the world. Fracking is viewed as a potential threat because of possible water contamination.