Trump's Emergency Permitting Process Spills Gas on Louisiana Wetlands

The Plaquemines LNG export terminal in Louisiana is seeking to expand its operations under a new Trump administration 'emergency' permitting process. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted fast-tracked permitting, cutting the public comment period from 30 days to just 10. This expedited review could reduce scrutiny of dredging and waterway construction, which would allow the terminal to more than double in size.

The expansion would make the facility the largest LNG export terminal in North America, with a capacity of around 2.3 trillion cubic feet of gas per year. The Army Corps estimates that the $18 billion expansion could damage up to 470 acres of wetlands and water bottoms in central Plaquemines Parish.

Environmentalists warn that this would accelerate land loss in the region, which is already suffering from subsidence, sea level rise, and erosion. Since the early 1900s, nearly 2,000 square miles of Louisiana's coast have vanished, an area roughly the size of Delaware.