ELR Citation: 56 ELR 20089
No(s). 25-60282 (5th Cir. Jul 7, 2026)

The Fifth Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review the Maritime Administration's approval of a modified deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project. The groups argued the agency violated the Deepwater Port Act by declining to require an amended application, reconsider the statutory environmental criteria, and reopen public comment; violated NEPA by declining to prepare a supplemental EIS; and violated the APA by issuing a license after previously determining that the 2017 record of decision no longer supported the modified project. The court found the groups failed to establish a significant geographic nexus between their members' activities and the project's alleged harms, and did not distinguish harm caused by the project from harm caused by other industrial development in the region. It denied the petition for lack of standing.