(The Center Square) – Louisiana regulators are considering a revision to an existing coastal use permit that would allow LNG export terminal operator Venture Global to expand dredging along the Calcasieu Ship Channer near the mouth of the Gulf of America, an area commercial fishermen and shrimpers contend is vulnerable to adverse impacts on water quality, according to a recent filing at the Office of Coastal Management.
At a site on Monkey Island between the Calcasieu Ship Channel and Calcasieu Pass, Venture Global plans to build its second LNG export facility in Cameron Parish, named CP2 LNG, subject to government approval.The Arlington, Virginia-based company seeks to create two berths for loading ships at the terminal, which would be located adjacent and to the north of the company’s existing Calcasieu Pass plant. Venture Global plans to move the dredged materials about 9.7 miles along an established pipeline route for beneficial placement in the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge.Venture Global’s nearby Calcasieu Pass plant began producing liquified natural gas in January 2022 at a 1,000-acre site on the east bank of the Ship Channel, close to the entrance to the Gulf. Environmental groups and area fishermen and shrimpers are suing to block the new facility, claiming regulators have not adequately assessed the cumulative environmental impacts of it when considered alongside other LNG export facilities in the area currently operating or in the planning stages.Two of the groups, For a Better Bayou and Fishermen Involved in Sustaining our Heritage, claim the project threatens their existence. They argue that intensive dredging, sometimes occurring seven days a week during peak fishing seasons, smothers oyster beds, shrimp and fish with sediment.The Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy, which includes the Office of Coastal Management, will take public comments on the proposed dredging expansion until Jan. 14.The permit would allow Venture Global to move watterbottom and materials dredged during the construction of the CP2 LNG marine terminal, along with other materials produced in maintenance work at the company’s existing Calcasieu Pass facility, for placement within 729 acres of open water and highly fragmented marsh inside the wildlife refuge.In August, environmental groups and local fishermen complained when the Venture Global dredge spilled mud they said made its way into Big Lake and covered hundreds of acres of marsh. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in September confirmed claims that mud released during the August dredge spill entered Big Lake and affected the fisheries.In October, For a Better Bayou, FISH, Natural Resources Defense Council, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Sierra Club, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Healthy Gulf and others filed a lawsuit challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the terminal and feeder pipeline in southwest Louisiana. The brief argues that the commission failed to consider significant, concrete harms to local industry and communities.A Lake Charles restaurant filed a lawsuit in November seeking less than $10,000 in damages from its local oyster supplier, Pig & Rooster Oyster Farms, which has filed a third-party demand with Venture Global, alleging the company’s dredging spill last August caused silt and mud to cover the company’s floating oyster cages, according to a report by KPLC-TV.The restaurant, Salt Revival House, claimed it received oysters “that were “dead, contaminated, discolored, or otherwise unfit for use and consumption,” according to the report. The farm states that the “vast majority” of 5.2 million oysters harvested since the spill have been unfit for sale or consumption.Additionally, the oyster farm is asking a judge to halt Venture Global’s dredging operations until it complies with permits.Venture Global, the second largest exporter of LNG in Louisiana and the U.S. behind Cheniere Energy, expects to have more than 27 million tons of annual production capacity by the end of 2026. The company opened its Plaquemines export terminal in December 2024.To advance integration across its LNG supply chain, Venture Global has signed contracts with South Korean shipbuilders to buy nine LNG-powered tankers, all of which are which are expected to operational by the end of the year.
