Tax breaks to the liquified natural gas export industry could deprive Louisiana communities of more than 20 billion in much needed infrastructure funds through 2040, according to a new report. The report, which the Sierra Club released Monday with other environmental advocacy organizations in Louisiana, criticizes Gov. Jeff Landry’s decision to leave the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) untouched during the recent special session to overhaul state tax policy. Lawmakers raised sales taxes to compensate for flat personal and corporate income tax rates, and a handful of business tax incentives will end to help balance the state budget. Calcasieu, Cameron and Plaquemines parishes are listed in the report as those most negatively affected by the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry as far as lost tax revenue. The three operational LNG export facilities in Louisiana are all in Cameron parish. Six additional facilities are either under construction or proposed, with two in Cameron, three in Calcasieu and one in Plaquemines Parish. The rapid acceleration of growth in LNG export terminals in Louisiana has sparked safety concerns from residents as well as fear of poor environmental and economic impacts. “Local and state officials forgo vast sums of public money in tax giveaways, sacrificing everything from public health to local fishing and tourism industries, in exchange for inadequate promises of jobs or investment,” Alison Kirsch, Sierra Club senior analyst and report author, said in a news release. The governor’s office declined to comment on the report. Every proposed or operating onshore LNG export terminal in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes has secured ITEP breaks for at least 80% of their property tax bills, according to the report. That will result in $20.2 billion in lost tax revenue through 2040 from their ITEP agreements if all the planned LNG export terminals are built. Peak revenue loss would occur in 2029, the report states, after planned terminals in the three parishes are projected to become operational. The three existing LNG export operations in Cameron Parish have ITEP deals in place with a 10-year combined value of $11.5 billion in tax breaks. The report also included data on $492 million worth of rebates for LNG export terminals under Louisiana’s Quality Jobs tax incentive program. The state offers companies a break on state payroll taxes for each job they create, and the report criticized the LNG industry for not delivering on promises to bring economic prosperity. The Quality Jobs program is set to phase out based on changes made during the recent legislative special session. No new applications will be accepted after June 30, 2025. The Sierra Club report argues that the lost tax revenue is much needed for infrastructure improvements in the parishes where LNG export facilities conduct their operations. Infrastructure issues the report suggests could be addressed with lost industrial tax revenue include: the lack of a permanent hospital in Cameron Parishsince Hurricane Laura in 2020; saltwater intrusioninto the drinking water system in Plaquemines Parish; and the dilapidated Interstate 10 Calcasieu River Bridge that received a score of 6.6 out of 100 on the National Bridge Inventory Commonwealth LNG, which plans to open an export facility on Calcasieu Pass in early 2024, recently donated $450,000 to open a mobile health care unit in Cameron Parish as a temporary fix for its shuttered hospital. It has also committed “long-term funding to help rebuild South Cameron Memorial Hospital,” according to a Nov. 1 news release. Commonwealth LNG’s ITEP exemptions are valued at $746 million dollars over 10 years. “This lopsided deal with the industry means that communities are left cleaning up the mess, literally and figuratively, without proper resources,” Kirsch said. “These tax exemptions are a burden to our communities, and bring absolutely no economic prosperity,” James Hiatt, founder of Louisiana advocacy group For a Better Bayou, released in a statement. For a Better Bayou participated in the release of the report.