{
  "id": 692841,
  "title": "Trump’s ‘energy emergency’ could fast-track massive expansion of Plaquemines LNG export terminal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/12/trumps-energy-emergency-could-fast-track-massive-expansion-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-12T19:07:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Winnipeg Free Press",
    "slug": "winnipeg-free-press",
    "url": "https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/greenpage/2026/08/12/trumps-energy-emergency-could-fast-track-massive-expansion-of-plaquemines-lng-export-terminal"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Less than two years after its 2022 opening, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near New Orleans is requesting a massive $18 billion expansion under a Trump administration emergency permitting process. This process significantly reduces environmental review and could weaken safeguards for nearby wetlands and waterways.\n\nThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers accelerated the permitting process for Plaquemines LNG by cutting the public comment period from 30 days to just 10 days. The agency is expected to quickly approve the expansion, which would increase the terminal's size from 590 acres to about 1,220 acres, making it the largest LNG export facility in North America.\n\nEnvironmental groups warn that the rushed approval could lead to the destruction of up to 470 acres of wetlands and water bottoms in central Plaquemines Parish, located 25 miles south of New Orleans. Louisiana has already lost over 250 square miles of land due to subsidence, sea level rise, and erosion over the past 60 years. The state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority projects that another 300 square miles could disappear in the next 50 years.\n\nThe Army Corps and Plaquemines LNG owner, Venture Global, declined requests for comment. The emergency declaration also allows hundreds of other energy projects to receive expedited permitting, potentially accelerating the growth of the LNG industry. Over 30 LNG export terminals are currently under construction or proposed in the U.S., with Plaquemines LNG being one of four in Louisiana.\n\nCritics argue that expanding an LNG export terminal does not contribute to domestic energy independence and reliability, as claimed by the administration. Instead, they claim it sacrifices Louisiana's coastal region for the benefit of billionaires. In 2022, most of the 833 billion cubic feet of gas exported from Plaquemines LNG went to Europe, with Germany receiving the largest share at 19%.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}