Trump's Permitting Process Sparks Fears for Louisiana Wetlands Amid LNG Expansion
The Plaquemines LNG export terminal in Louisiana is seeking an $18 billion expansion under a new Trump administration 'emergency' permitting process that shortens environmental review and may weaken protections for surrounding wetlands and waterways.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the terminal fast-tracked permitting under President Donald Trump's 'national energy emergency' declaration last year, which allows the facility to more than double in size from 590 acres to about 1,220.
This would make the Plaquemines LNG export terminal the largest LNG export terminal in North America, according to its owner, Virginia-based Venture Global. Environmentalists warn that the expedited review could reduce scrutiny of dredging, in-water construction, and the filling of marshlands in a region suffering from rapid land loss.
The expansion is expected to damage up to 470 acres of wetlands and water bottoms in central Plaquemines Parish, about 25 miles south of New Orleans. Critics say shipping natural gas abroad conflicts with Trump's stated rationale for declaring an energy emergency: boosting what he described as the 'nation's inadequate energy supply.'