Kudos to County Commissioners for Supporting Rio Grande LNG

I support bringing the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry to Brownsville because it has proven to be safe and will bring a large number of badly needed jobs. For these reasons, I applaud the Cameron County Commissioners who approved the Chapter 312 agreement with Rio Grande LNG on Oct. 3.

When you consider that the Brownsville-Harlingen area has a 7-percent unemployment rate, how can people be against bringing thousands of jobs to Cameron County?

Maybe the opponents are retired and already set for life. I would ask those opponents to think about younger adults who are working hard to build good lives for themselves and their families.

As a lifetime Brownsville resident, I know many skilled, talented young people from Brownsville who have left the area in search of jobs in their fields. We need to give these bright young people more opportunities to work closer to home.

Also consider that once businesses like Rio Grande LNG and SpaceX are established, they will put Cameron County on the map as a progressive, pro-growth area. I believe in the saying “Success breeds success” and that these large businesses will attract other businesses to our area.

I would not support bringing the LNG industry to Cameron County without doing my own research. I’ve studied the industry and know that it has a strong track record for safety and environmental performance. I also know that LNG is not stored under pressure, is non-explosive and is non-flammable.

Exporting LNG is a safe, reliable business that will bring huge economic investments and jobs to our region. Again, I want to thank the commissioners who supported the Chapter 312 tax incentives agreement to bring Rio Grande LNG to our region.

John Hohn
Brownsville