Some residents in Person County are expressing frustration and disappointment after state environmental officials issued an air permit to the Moriah Energy Center, a liquified natural gas storage facility.
Andrea Childers, who lives half a mile away from the facility, said she believes Person County is becoming a sacrifice zone for the state of North Carolina.
"I'm devastated. This is our home. We've lived here 32 years. My husband and I planned on living here and retiring here and spending the rest of our lives here," Childers said. "What do we do? Do we stay here? Risk our health?"
The Moriah Energy Center plans to receive natural gas during periods of excess capacity. The gas will be turned into liquid and stored in large tanks.
The liquid will remain there until periods of high demand, particularly during cold winter days. Then, it will be converted back into gas and sent out to customers.
Dominion Energy was originally overseeing the project, but sold it to Canadian company Enbridge Gas in early October.
Earlier this year, the North Carolina Division of Air Quality received critical public feedback regarding this air permit. Several community members in Person County called on the division to deny the permit, citing concerns around air and water pollution. Others asked for the permit to include stronger protective measures, like an independent air quality monitoring system.
In response to these public comments, DAQ said “the final permit increases the frequency at which Moriah Energy Center will be required to report its emissions (data) … from annual to quarterly.”
“The final permit includes conditions that ensure ambient levels of all pollutants… comply with emission standards,” DAQ said in a press release.
The division added the Environmental Protection Agency reviewed the air permit and agreed “that the permit is enforceable and adheres to federal air quality rules.”
Katie Moore, a member of Neighbors Opposed to Moriah Energy Center, argued state officials “made no changes to make the project safer.”
“Methane gas infrastructure, like the (Moriah Energy Center), is going to worsen climate change and we are simply out of time,” Moore said in a statement.
Childers is pushing for more air monitors to be installed throughout Person County.
"We need to know what is in the air that the residents of Person County are breathing now, and what they will be breathing in the future," Childers said. "That's the only way I foresee being able to protect residents of this county."
Construction on the project began earlier this year. The facility is expected to be online by 2027.
