LAGUNA MADRE – A local woman is concerned about the air pollution caused by Liquefied Natural Gas projects in her area.

Marianna Poythress tells KRGV’s Christian Von Preysing that she developed Ménière's disease from working next to a paper mill out-of-state.

“I never knew which side was up, where I was in space and all that kind of stuff,” Poythress says.

She says she moved to Laguna Madre after becoming allergic to just about everything.

Now three companies plan to build large facilities in the area to turn natural gas into liquid.

The LNG companies have not been approved yet.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS spoke to Annova LNG and Next Decade's Rio Grande LNG to ask them to respond to these concerns about emissions.

In an effort to minimize impacts on its surrounding community, Annova LNG proposed liquefaction trains that will be principally electric motor-driven, using power from the local utility grid and resulting in much lower on-site emissions than typical LNG facilities.  Annova LNG’s proposed emissions are well below the major source thresholds established by federal and state air regulations.  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality evaluated Annova’s proposed air emissions with respect to federal and state ambient air quality standards and health effects review criteria, and the project’s predicted off-property impacts are well below these standards.   Annova LNG’s minimized air emissions and associated ambient air impacts are demonstrated in FERC’s cumulative impacts analyses for the three projects’ air emissions.  (For example, please see page 599, Figure 4.13.2-1 of the Rio Grande DEIS.)

Annova LNG will ensure that emissions from the project comply with applicable U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality standards and regulations for criteria air pollutants (oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone [volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen as precursors], particulate matter) and hazardous air pollutants to protect human health and the environment.

“NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project is subject to review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and other agencies. The project meets all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for the issuance of permits, which will ensure the protection of human health and the environment. We remain engaged with multiple agencies involved in the review of U.S. LNG projects. We look forward to a positive final investment decision on our project in the third quarter of 2019, and to bringing thousands of jobs to the Rio Grande Valley.”

Quote attributed to Patrick Hughes, Vice President of Corporate Strategy for NextDecade.

If you would like to voice your concern, visit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission website.

For more information watch the video above.