Delaware County’s riverfront is currently being targeted as the site of a potential LNG (liquified natural gas) export facility, a $7+ billion, 60+ acre project proposed by Eddystone Energy LLC, formerly Penn America, to process 1 billion cubit feet of gas daily to export overseas.

LNG export terminals are massive and typically located on the coast in remote locations. This would be the largest LNG export facility on the East Coast, located on a highly trafficked river in a densely populated area. LNG facilities are extremely dangerous, polluting and will have devastating impacts on community health and well being, including reduced property values.

Since 2016, Penn America’s CEO Franc James has been working quietly behind the scenes to garner support for this project, meeting with local elected officials and trying to make in-roads with the community. The Trump administration reversed Biden’s pause on LNG permits in 2023 and is moving to push these types of projects forward.

Whats the status? Eddystone Energy LLC, formerly Penn America, is considering Chester City or Eddystone as potential site locations. In an April 2025 op-ed, Senator McCormick mentioned the Penn America project being located in Eddystone. In 2025, Franc James created a new LLC “Eddystone Energy LLC” that is now engaging in non-disclosure agreements with state and local bodies, including the Department of Community & Economic Development and Eddystone Borough.

As of March 2026, no permits have been filed that we are aware of. A coalition of regional organizations has several right to know requests out and is actively monitoring the situation. We do not want to wait until permits are filed to demonstrate public opposition to this project.

Past Events

• Watch our NO LNG in Delco Webinar from 2/9/26- click here
• WATCH our Virtual Info Session on 6/24/25 – click here
• View our “No LNG in Delco” presentation slides & sources

What is LNG?

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is an odorless and colorless form of natural gas. Once extracted and moved through pipelines, natural gas is cooled and compressed into a liquid state. It is cooled to -260 F and compressed by approximately 600 times making it much easier to transport, and more explosive.

How is it used? A majority of the LNG is being shipped overseas to Europe. Once shipped, it is used for industries, electricity, plastics manufacturing and other uses. European activists and leaders like Svitlana Romanko from Ukraine and German Chancellor Lisa from Germany visited Chester in 2024 about their concerns about LNG from the import side, and growing movement in their countries away from fossil fuels.

Where would it be located?

After being rejected by Philadelphia, Penn America has had it’s eyes on a 60-acre site at 800 W. Front St for a $6.4 billion plant in Chester. Due to strong community opposition in Chester, the company may be looking at Eddystone as a potential location. Below are the renderings from Penn America’s 2016 proposal.

Penn America mentioned in an interview with WHYY in Feb. 2024 his intent to build an export terminal in Chester. Senator McCormick specifically mentioned the location of Eddystone in an op-ed he wrote in April 2025. There is not a suitable location for a facility of this magnitude in either municipality, or anywhere along the Delaware river in Delaware County.

Potential Chester Sites:

Potential Eddystone Sites:

False Promises – Economic Impact:

Delco residents will not benefit from the proposed jobs that Eddystone Energy LLC/Penn America says it will create. LNG operators require years of experience at similar facilities. These projects often contract out staffing from other areas of the United States. This project will not benefit our energy independence! All of the gas will be exported overseas for private profit, while Pennsylvanians bear all the harm and risk.

LNG also contributes to higher gas prices for Pennsylvanians¹. A recent study published by the Department of Energy found that unfettered LNG exports would result in a “triple-cost increase” for American households and businesses and increase domestic natural gas prices by over 30 percent².

In states like Louisiana, LNG companies receive extensive tax breaks through abatement or rebate programs, therefore the public is subsidizing the very industry that is polluting them and raising gas prices. A 2024 Sierra Club report noted that Louisiana LNG export terminals have deals to receive $492 million in rebates.

Take Action! What can you do:

• Contact your state, county and municipal government representatives. Calling your elected representatives is an important way of making sure your voice is heard! Use this script to tell them to oppose LNG. If you live in Chester or Eddystone, make sure you contact your mayor and council and tell them you are against any LNG project in your community.
• Ask your municipality to pass a resolution. Resolutions are useful ways for local governments to make a statement against a project and can be a useful tool to educate municipal leaders and residents.
  • Media Borough Council passed a “No LNG in Delco” resolution on Feb. 19, 2026 stating their opposition to a LNG facility in Delaware County.
  • Swarthmore Borough Council passed a resolution on March 2, 2026 also stating their opposition to a LNG facility in Delaware County
    • CRCQL has a resolutions working group that meets on Wednesday at 4:30pm on Zoom. Email [email protected] to learn more.
• Write an op-ed. Letters to the editor are crucial methods of bringing issues to the attention of the public and legislators. Follow this guide to get started and make a massive impact on the fight against LNG.
• Talk to people about LNG. Talk to your friends, your family, and your neighbors about the threat LNG poses to our communities and loved ones, here and now. Don’t let polluting industries enter our communities without resistance.
• Sign up for our action alerts! Click here to sign up. Learn how we engage with the community and lend us your support!
• If you are interested in getting a “NO LNG” lawn sign, please contact us!

Why is LNG so hazardous?

#1. EXPLOSION RISK

Liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities can have uncontrolled releases of odorless and flammable gas due to equipment leaks or the liquid getting hotter than -260 F. Failures are especially a concern since cooled liquid LNG can weaken metals (embrittlement). Gas released from LNG expands rapidly (reversing the 600 times compression) and can easily be carried downwind in clouds.  In confined spaces, the gas can cause suffocation and explosion.  If at any point it contacts ignition (spark, fire, static electricity), it can create a massive fiery explosion. Past explosions have required evacuations of up to a two to three mile radius. The pipelines and vehicles delivering the natural gas and LNG have also demonstrated to create dangerous fires and explosions.

In June 2022, there was a massive explosion at an LNG facility in Freeport, Texas. View the clip below to learn more about the impact of this catastrophe and the community fighting back.

On February 3, 2026, a LNG pipeline explosion occurred in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Listen to local residents in the video below to see how they were affected by the explosion.

#2. HEALTH RISKS

Besides the immediate dangers of fire and explosion, LNG plants pollute the air  by emitting carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Studies have shown that these pollutants are associated with a range of health impacts, including headaches, respiratory illnesses, cancer, and other ailments. They can also irritate skin, eyes, nose, and lungs. The boats and trucks used to transport natural gas and LNG will also emit methane, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone, and particulate matter.

Chester’s air is already being polluted by the largest incinerator in the country, a sewage waste treatment plant, a paper mill, and more. Chester’s asthma rate is five times the national average. Below is cancer data from Chester and Eddystone. Rates of cancer are up to 247% higher that national averages for areas of Delco. Delaware County does not need yet another polluting industry coming in, releasing hazardous emissions into the air, and further endangering the health of residents!

*Visit https://pcist.net/ to learn more about People’s Cancer Incidence Screening Tool (PCIST).

#3. CLIMATE CHANGE

LNG is primarily made of shale gas (methane) drilled from the earth. Methane is 86 times stronger greenhouse gas than CO2 are emitted at every point in the process from extraction, to transport, to processing, to end-uses through leaks, intentional or not. Production of shale gas, as well as liquefaction to make LNG and LNG transport by tanker, is energy-intensive, which contributes significantly to the LNG greenhouse gas footprint.

LNG facilities use venting and flaring to prevent pressure build up in an emergency, though facilities often do it in non-emergencies. Just the equipment used to liquefy natural gas accounted for over 2 million tons of methane released in the US in 2017. And if LNG continues to expand, according to the Environmental Integrity Project, the new LNG terminals could emit 90 million tons of greenhouse gases per year.

LNG is also an energy intensive process due to its pressure and temperature needs. Between 8-10% of the natural gas at an LNG facility is typically used just to cool the natural gas. During our current climate emergency, fossil fuels are not the answer.

Breakdown of footprint from LNG¹:

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) from end-use combustion of LNG contributes only 34% of the total LNG greenhouse gas footprint, when CO₂ and methane are compared over 20 years global warming potential (GWP₂₀) following emission.
• Upstream and midstream methane emissions are the largest contributors to the LNG footprint  (38% of total LNG emissions, based on GWP).
• Adding CO₂ emissions from the energy used to produce LNG, total upstream and midstream emissions make up on average 47% of the total greenhouse gas footprint of LNG.
• Other significant emissions are the liquefaction process (8.8% of the total, on average, using GWP₂₀) and tanker transport (5.5% of the total, on  average, using GWP₂₀).
• Emissions from tankers vary from 3.9% to 8.1% depending upon the type of tanker. Surprisingly, the most modern tankers propelled by two- and four-stroke engines  have higher total greenhouse gas emissions than steam-powered tankers, despite their greater fuel efficiency and lower CO₂ emissions, due to methane slippage in their exhaust.
• Overall,  the greenhouse gas footprint for LNG as a fuel source is 33% greater than that for coal when analyzed using GWP₂₀ (160 g CO₂-equivalent/MJ vs. 120 g CO₂-equivalent/MJ). Even  considered on the time frame of 100 years after emission (GWP₁₀₀), which severely understates the climatic damage of methane, the LNG footprint equals or exceeds that of coal.

¹ Howarth, Robert W. “The greenhouse gas footprint of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from the United States.” Energy Science & Engineering. 03 October 2024. https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.1934

PAST ACTIONS

See News & Updates page for recent updates

In August 2023, the Pennsylvania LNG Task Force held a public meeting at Widener University about the prospect of an LNG facility in Chester and hundreds of members from the community showed up in protest. CRCQL has also held multiple community meetings to educate residents of this threat. View their final report here.

Resources:

• Health & Climate Impacts:
  • Environmental Integrity Project: Terminal Trouble – Pollution Violations at America’s LNG Export Terminals (October 2025)
  • Physicians for Social Responsibility White Paper on LNG Risks
  • Environmental Health Project: Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): Health and Climate Impacts
  • The Louisiana Bucket Brigade issued a report in 2023 that found LNG facilities underreport pollution events. One facility, Cameron LNG, has had an average of two accidental releases due to equipment failures each month since beginning full operations in August 2020, according to the report.
  • EarthJustice “PA Government Transparency Process Guideline” Fall 2024
  • Howarth, Robert W. “The greenhouse gas footprint of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from the United States.” Energy Science & Engineering. 03 October 2024. https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.1934
• Economic Impacts:
  • ¹ Martinez, Chris. (2023, 6 November). LNG exports raise natural gas prices for Americans. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/lng-exports-raise-natural-gas-prices-for-americans/
  • ² Sierra Club, “The People Always Pay: Tax Breaks Force Gulf Communities to Subsidize the LNG Industry,” December 2024, Link: https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/default/files/2025-01/lng_taxabatement_report-1.pdf.
  • “The Failed Economics of Fracking” – Webinar hosted by Delaware Riverkeepers Network
• Other handouts & slides:
  • No LNG in Delco Handout – May 2025
  • LNG Informational Session: Slides & Sources – updated 3.10.2026

• C4 Instagram Posts:

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Campus Coalition Concerning Chester (C4) (@chester.c4)

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Campus Coalition Concerning Chester (C4) (@chester.c4)

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Campus Coalition Concerning Chester (C4) (@chester.c4)

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Campus Coalition Concerning Chester (C4) (@chester.c4)