After nearly a year of planning, permitting and protests, construction of the $670 million Bayou Bridge Pipeline—which will cut through the heart of the Atchafalaya Basin in its run from Lake Charles to St. James Parish—could begin in a matter of weeks.
That is, according to a Business Report feature in the current issue, if the project receives the necessary permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a final permit from the state.
Owner Energy Transfer Partners is confident the pipeline is on the verge of getting the green light, despite the Corps staying mum on the status of its permits.
The project has already been given the go-ahead by other state agencies.
“We anticipate we’ll start construction by the end of the year,” says Vicki Granado, spokesman for ETP. “We are at the tail end of the permitting process.”
Environmental groups and other opponents continue to fight the proposed project.
If approved, the 162-mile-long pipeline would eventually cross 11 south Louisiana parishes as well as portions of the Atchafalaya Basin, create 2,500 construction jobs and 12 permanent jobs. The first leg of the pipeline connecting Nederland, Texas, to facilities and refineries in Lake Charles was completed in 2016.
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