‘Trump speed’ permits for CF fertilizer plant due by Friday

(The Center Square) – A push to “Trump Speed” environmental permits has put the proposed $4 billion Blue Point ammonia plant in Ascension Parish on the edge of a mandated 45-day regulatory deadline on Friday.

The Trump administration’s 45-day mandate, intended to fast-track new U.S. fertilizer production, applies to critical environmental reviews of the Blue Point ammonia project pending before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. None of these permits had been filed by late afternoon Thursday, online records show.

At a May 19 press conference, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins declared the multi-agency push ensures critical infrastructure projects “will move at Trump speed” to bypass bureaucratic delays.

Funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation, the U.S.D.A.’s newly launched $500 million FIELDS Program drives this fast-track effort by providing infrastructure grants ranging from $15 million...