Every fully operational liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the U.S. has violated federal pollution limits in recent years, according to a new report.
Public records analysis is Trump administration is seeking to speed up the approval of new export terminals in a bid to sell more domestic LNG to Europe and Asia. Joe Biden previously suspended LNG exports, which Donald Trump canceled on the first day of his return to office.
“The LNG industry markets itself as environmentally friendly, but companies do not always comply with the air and water pollution control laws that LNG terminals must follow,” the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit research organization, said in a report.
The Guardian has contacted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for comment.
The United States is the world's largest LNG exporter as of 2023. The US president has sought to further boost exports, including directing agencies to speed up approval of new terminals and threatening foreign countries with high tariffs if they refuse to buy LNG from the US.
Late last year, seven U.S. LNG export terminals were fully operational: three in Louisiana, two in Texas and one each in Maryland and Georgia.
Between October 2022 and July 2025, all seven of those terminals failed to comply with the Clean Air Act for at least one quarter, according to an analysis of data from the Environmental Protection Agency and state governments.
“Given the LNG industry's poor compliance record, state and federal agencies should slow down and take a closer look at new permitting applications rather than speeding up permitting reviews,” he said. Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project.
Some factories violated the rules more often than others. The biggest offenders, the Sabine Pass and Calcasieu Pass terminals, both in Cameron, Louisiana, have failed to meet certain air pollution standards under the Clean Air Act since 2022.
But the most enforcement orders—and the highest financial penalties—were imposed on the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas, which suffered a major explosion in June 2022 that forced the facility to close for eight months. State and federal regulators fined the plant $493,804 after the explosion, and the plant received another $175,800 in fines over the previous two years.
Five of the seven LNG export terminals also failed to comply with the Clean Water Act during the same period, with four terminals in violation for at least two quarters between April 2022 and July 2025.
In some cases, violations included proven releases of illegal amounts of bacteria, zinc, oil and other pollutants into waterways. In other cases, terminal managers failed to submit water discharge monitoring reports. In Maryland, for example, Cove Point LNG has a valid wastewater discharge permit, but the plant has not filed wastewater discharge reports since 2017, the report said.
The review shows that export terminals routinely violate key environmental laws, the authors say.
“These results are absolutely not surprising to anyone who has spent time near these sites,” said Ann Rolfes, executive director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, which opposes fossil fuel development.
Despite this evidence, managers of the three LNG terminals most affected by the violations are seeking permission for major expansion in the coming years.
They include Sabine Pass and Cameron LNG, both in Louisiana, which have violated the Clean Air Act in 12 and 11 of the last 12 quarters, respectively, as well as Texas-based Corpus Christi LNG, which has had nine water pollution violations over the past five years.
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Venture Global, the company behind the Calcasieu Pass terminal in Louisiana, which has also violated the Clean Air Act on a quarterly basis for the past three years, also plans to build two new LNG terminals nearby.
“The consequences of allowing Venture Global to build them could be devastating,” Rolfes said.
The Guardian has contacted Venture Global for comment.
In addition to the planned expansions and new terminals, four new LNG terminals are already under construction: three in Texas and one in Louisiana. Work is also underway to expand the Elbe gas liquefaction terminal in Georgia.
These five projects are already on track to increase US LNG exports by 60% annually and create more opportunities to put the public at risk. The companies also proposed 28 more projects – 19 new export terminals and nine expansions of existing facilities – that could pose further health risks.
Rapid growth in the LNG industry is also likely to harm consumers, the authors of the new report say, citing a Biden-era Department of Energy study that found increased LNG exports would increase domestic prices for natural gas for Americans by more than 30%.
This expansion will also harm the climate. Exported LNG emits far more greenhouse gas emissions than coal, despite fossil fuel producers' claims that it is a cleaner alternative. one large study found it last year.
“In a sane world, we would immediately stop permitting any gas export facilities,” Rolfes said.
