Sierra Club objects to Maryland LNG plans

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COVE POINT, Md., April 27 (UPI) -- Damage from a liquefied natural gas project planned for the Maryland coast will be disastrous, the Sierra Club said in its latest swipe against LNG.

Environmental advocacy group Sierra Club announced plans to formally oppose an LNG export facility planned for Cove Point, Md.

In a letter to Dominion Transmission Inc., operator of an import facility at Cove Point, the Sierra Club offered a reminder that a 2005 settlement stipulates the facility won't be used for exports.

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said his organization plans to reject proposals to expand the facility for exports of LNG.

"The damage that this project would bring to the Maryland coast as well as the disastrous effects of the fracking boom on communities in states like Pennsylvania make it clear that exporting liquefied natural gas is bad news for Americans' air, water and health," he said in a statement.

The group issued several challenges to LNG export facilities planned for Louisiana. The Sierra Club said it believes exports of LNG means more hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of shale natural gas deposits.

The United States holds some of the richest shale gas deposits in the world. Extraction is controversial because fracking fluid used in the process is considered by many to be an environmental threat.