Louisiana regulators will allow a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal along the Mississippi River south of New Orleans to discharge tens of millions of gallons a day of wastewater into the river and a nearby lake.

On July 1, 2024, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality issued a wastewater discharge permit to the Venture Global Plaquemines LNG Terminal. The permit authorizes the facility to discharge up to an average of 128 million gallons per day of stormwater and other wastewaters into Lake Judge Perez, as well as up to an average of nearly 10 million gallons per day to the Mississippi River.

The facility, capable of exporting up to 24 million tons of LNG per year, began partial operations in May by starting up its first combustion turbine to provide electrical power to the site.

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