Trump's 'Energy Emergency' Could Fast-Track a Huge Expansion of a Louisiana Gas Terminal

A large natural gas facility near New Orleans wants to more than double its size. The facility is called Plaquemines LNG, and it sits along the Mississippi River in southern Louisiana. It ships liquefied natural gas — natural gas cooled into a liquid — to other countries. President Donald Trump declared a 'national energy emergency,' which allows the government to speed up reviews for energy projects like this one.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is handling the approval process for the expansion. Normally, the public gets 30 days to share opinions about big projects. But under Trump's emergency order, that time was cut to just 10 days. The Army Corps is expected to approve the plan quickly, which would grow the terminal from about 590 acres to around 1,220 acres.

If approved, the terminal would become the largest LNG export facility in North America. It is owned by a Virginia company called Venture Global. The $18 billion expansion could damage up to 470 acres of wetlands and waterways in Plaquemines Parish, about 25 miles south of New Orleans. Many people who care about the environment are very concerned about that.

Plaquemines Parish is already losing land fast. Over the past 60 years, it has lost more than 250 square miles due to sinking ground, rising seas, and erosion. Experts say another 300 square miles — about half of what's left — could disappear in the next 50 years. Since the early 1900s, Louisiana has lost nearly 2,000 square miles in total, an area about the size of Delaware.

Environmental groups say the fast-track process makes it harder to study these risks carefully. Matt Rota of a group called Healthy Gulf said the region cannot afford to lose more land. 'Louisiana is already dealing with a coastal crisis,' he said. 'Destroying 400 more acres in Plaquemines Parish is ridiculous.' He worries that rushing the review puts the coast in even greater danger.

Plaquemines LNG is also one of Louisiana's biggest sources of air pollution. The terminal is allowed to release about 8.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases every year. That equals the yearly pollution from about 1.7 million gas-powered cars. The only Louisiana facility that pollutes more is a chemical plant in Donaldsonville.

Those greenhouse gases trap heat and contribute to climate change, which speeds up sea level rise and makes storms worse. Both of those things cause more land loss along the Louisiana coast. Rota said the connection is simple: more natural gas burned means Plaquemines Parish disappears faster. 'Burning more natural gas means we lose Plaquemines Parish even faster,' he said.

The expansion would increase the terminal's gas production from about 1.4 trillion cubic feet per year to around 2.3 trillion. The larger facility could release at least 9 million tons of greenhouse gases each year. Venture Global plans to use carbon capture technology to store some of that carbon dioxide underground. Critics say that step alone may not prevent serious environmental harm.

Some Louisiana leaders support the expansion because they say it creates jobs and boosts the economy. U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise visited the site in April and celebrated how fast it was built. 'This was a cow pasture four or five years ago,' he told reporters. He called it the most modern and efficient LNG facility in the world.

Critics question whether the project truly helps American energy needs. Trump said the emergency was needed to make sure the U.S. has enough affordable energy. But most of the gas from Plaquemines LNG is shipped to Europe, not kept in the U.S. One analyst said it is hard to see how exporting more gas helps America's own energy supply or independence.