A liquefied natural gas project can receive one government authorization while other applications remain under review. For the proposed Plaquemines expansion, the essential distinction is between authority to export gas, authority to site and construct facilities, and approvals affecting wetlands, coastal uses, air emissions and water quality.
This guide identifies the principal records for the expansion at Port Sulphur and explains what each establishes. It separates the new expansion from the existing terminal and related proceedings. Reviewed October 27, 2026. Status descriptions below are tied to the dated records cited; an application, a public notice or an applicant’s report is not a final agency decision.
The approval record, agency by agency
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| Agency and proceeding | What the record establishes | What to obtain or follow next |
|---|---|---|
| DOE: 25-143-LNG, Order 5418 | The May 6, 2026 order grants long-term export authority for countries covered by the specified free-trade-agreement standard. | Read the operative conditions. This export order is not FERC permission to construct the expansion. |
| DOE: non-FTA request in 25-143-LNG | The applicant’s October 1 status report identifies the separate non-FTA request as pending on that date. | Check the DOE docket for a subsequent order. Do not treat the May FTA order as approval of both requests. |
| FERC: CP26-27-000 | The October 1 report describes continuing environmental and engineering review. The FERC docket contains later October submissions, including comments filed October 20 and 22. | Follow this application docket for agency orders and environmental documents. The October submissions are not a construction authorization; no later final authorization is identified in this guide. |
| Army Corps: MVN-2026-00383-EPP | The June 22 public notice describes an application processed under special emergency procedures and sets July 2, 2026 as its expiration date. | Obtain the signed permit or decision, approved drawings and conditions, if issued. The notice alone does not establish issuance or denial. |
| Louisiana coastal review: P20260466; FERC accession 20261002-5075 | The September 24 OCM notice says no public hearing will be held. The October 2 FERC entry describes a submitted Louisiana determination concerning no direct and significant impact on coastal waters. | Obtain the full state determination, its attachments and the current OCM disposition. Neither the hearing notice nor a docket description establishes every approval’s scope or conditions. |
| LDEQ: air and water records | The Corps notice expressly identifies Section 401 water-quality certification as a required review. Air, wastewater and other environmental records must be matched to the expansion and its facilities. | Search LDEQ’s Electronic Document Management System for the applicant, site and related permit identifiers. Confirm the final document, effective date and conditions; no complete state permit inventory is certified here. |
Why the existing terminal’s permits do not answer the expansion question
The Corps notice identifies the previously authorized terminal separately as MVN-2015-02098-EPP. It describes additional facilities, including sixteen liquefaction blocks, another loading berth and associated infrastructure. The notice estimates impacts to approximately 470.2 acres of wetlands and waterbottoms. These are descriptions in the application notice, not a finding in this guide that every proposed impact has been approved. Read the Corps notice and attachments.
The same distinction matters at FERC. A filing may be cross-listed in CP26-27 and another Plaquemines proceeding. Read the requested relief and the facilities covered before treating a decision about increased production at the existing terminal, a pipeline, or another amendment as a decision on the expansion itself.
A short chronology of the documents
- November 17, 2025: the applicants filed the FERC application, according to their October 1 progress report.
- May 6, 2026: DOE issued Order 5418 granting the specified FTA export authority.
- June 22–July 2, 2026: the Corps notice supplied a shortened comment period under its emergency processing procedure. That period has ended.
- September 24, 2026: the OCM notice announced that the requested public hearing would not be held. A decision about holding a hearing is distinct from the final disposition of the underlying coastal review.
- October 1, 2026: the applicant reported ongoing FERC review and a pending non-FTA export request. Its suggested 2029 start of operations was conditional on receiving authorizations.
- October 2, 2026: FERC recorded the submission of a Louisiana coastal determination under accession 20261002-5075.
- October 20 and 22, 2026: FERC recorded additional comments cross-listed in CP26-27. Their presence establishes continuing docket activity, not agreement by the agency with the commenters.
The October 1 report is the applicant’s account of progress. The May 6 order is an agency decision. The Corps notice opens a process. The legal significance of these documents differs even when each appears on an official website.
What emergency processing changes—and what the notice does not decide
The Corps notice invokes Executive Order 14156 and 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(e)(4) as the basis for special emergency processing. It nevertheless describes public-interest review and other applicable requirements. It also identifies a separate Section 408 permission process because the proposed activity would alter, occupy or use a Corps civil works project, along with water-quality and coastal-zone requirements. The notice does not state that one emergency designation supplies every authorization needed to build.
For a particular construction activity, request the signed decision covering that activity, the authorized drawings, special conditions and any separate permission to begin work. Match the legal entity and project limits to the expansion. A press announcement, anticipated schedule or expired comment notice is not a substitute.
How to follow the FERC record
- Open FERC eLibrary and search CP26-27. Use a date range broad enough to include the document you need. Review both agency issuances and applicant or public submissions.
- Keep the accession number, filed date, document title and public attachments. For example, 20261002-5075 identifies the October coastal submission; the number is more reliable than a shortened description alone.
- Use FERC eSubscription for docket notices. A subscription is a monitoring tool; it is not a comment, motion to intervene or extension of a deadline.
- Read the current notice for the filing route and deadline applicable to that step. Some engineering material may be withheld from the public docket as Critical Energy Infrastructure Information; a public transmittal letter does not contain every attachment.
A comment and a motion to intervene serve different purposes
A comment supplies information or a position for the record. Intervention seeks party status in the proceeding and brings procedural obligations. FERC explains these separately in its eComment instructions and intervention guidance. An ordinary comment does not itself make the writer an intervenor.
Do not assume that discovering an old notice starts a new filing period. The Corps’ July 2 deadline has passed, as has the February 13, 2026 comment deadline listed on the DOE docket for the non-FTA notice. No new open comment window is established by this guide. Ask the responsible agency whether a later notice applies. A late intervention request has separate requirements, and its acceptance should not be assumed. FERC’s Office of Public Participation can assist with navigating the process at 202-502-6595 or [email protected].
A records request that asks for the decision, not just the application
For the Corps or a state agency, identify the applicant, location and file number, then ask for: the latest application and revisions; public notices; the final permit, determination or denial; approved plans; conditions; any modification or suspension; and existing records showing permission to begin the particular work. Ask for the nonexempt portions of records and an explanation of any withholding. The applicable federal or state records procedure depends on which agency holds the file.
Suggested wording: “Please provide the final decision and approved attachments, if any, for [project and file number], together with amendments and conditions effective through [date]. If no final decision has been issued, please identify any existing status record responsive to this request. Please distinguish the expansion from the existing terminal and related pipeline applications.”
Where local officials or economic-development agencies also hold project records, see our Louisiana development NDA and public-records guide. Other source-based guides appear in Louisiana Legal Research. This article addresses records and procedure; it does not determine whether a particular permit is valid or establish a deadline for an individual challenge.