Starbase Louisiana: SpaceX Files Coastal Use Permit Application for Heavy-Haul Road, Bridge and Wharf in Vermilion Parish

What was filed

The Starbase Louisiana project has its first major state permit filing. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. filed a joint coastal use permit application, number 36343, with the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District. The state recorded it as received Sept. 25, 2026 (state application record). The project is called the Southwest Louisiana Coastal Infrastructure Improvement Project. Duplantis Design Group of Lafayette is listed as the agent (state application record; WECU News).

The site is at the end of Highway 3147 (Freshwater City Road) at Freshwater City, south of the Pecan Island community in Vermilion Parish (state application record; Acadiana News First).

What this is not: The application is not an approval. It is a request, and the state and the Army Corps have not issued a permit.

Road and bridge

The filing describes a heavy-haul access road running about 15.75 miles from Louisiana Highway 82 south to the wharf sites, with an 8,110-foot (about 1.53-mile) elevated bridge so that Humble Canal is not filled in (state application record; WECU News; Acadiana News First). The Advocate reported the road as 15.5 miles, with four 12-foot travel lanes, 12-foot raised concrete medians and two 10-foot shoulders (The Advocate). The state filing gives 15.75 miles.

The Advocate reported that the application calls Highways 3147 and 82 too narrow for the expected loads and unable to carry their weight. It quoted the document as saying that routing that cargo onto public roads "would conflict with existing public use, accelerate pavement and bridge wear and does not create lock-free Gulf vessel access" (The Advocate).

Wharves and dredging

The filing describes a Gulf wharf on the Freshwater Bayou Channel south of the Army Corps lock at Freshwater City, a temporary laydown yard north of the locks, inland barge wharves along existing navigation channels connected to Freshwater Bayou and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and maintenance dredging of existing channels (state application record). The Advocate reported that the wharf would be 3,500 feet long, that the plans include 133 acres of staging south of the locks and 90 acres north of them, and that dredging would go to a depth of 16 feet (The Advocate).

The form lists 5,188,732 cubic yards of excavation over 565.33 acres and 11,190,103 cubic yards of fill over 540.10 acres. That adds up to 887.67 acres of wetlands and water bottoms filled or excavated (state application record; WECU News). The application proposes using suitable dredged material for marsh creation consistent with the state Coastal Master Plan (WECU News; The Advocate).

Schedule and funding

The filing lists a proposed start of March 1, 2027, a proposed completion of Sept. 1, 2032, and private funding (state application record; Acadiana News First).

What the filing does not include

The application does not describe launch pads or rocket towers (WECU News; Acadiana News First). WECU News reported that no launch application has been filed in this docket (WECU News).

Wildlife and wetland concerns

In an Oct. 7 report, Acadiana News First (published by KPLC) covered wildlife and wetland concerns about the planned launch site (KPLC / Acadiana News First). Rick Owens, advocacy director of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, said an expected 30 launches a day could put constant pressure on wildlife. "There's no real opportunity for wildlife to return as we've heard them say in their initial comments on wildlife," Owens said. "If you're having a launch every 45 minutes, and not just launching, but you're also catching rockets, then that really is limited opportunity for wildlife to coexist with a project of this size."

The federation says the impact analysis should consider the total amount of wetland loss. "Coastal restoration and coastal protection, we've heard some initial commitments from industry, but really those numbers aren't to scale with what they're going to need for their footprint," Owens said (KPLC / Acadiana News First).

The same report quoted LSU assistant professor Erik Johnson, who said, "It's estimated about one mile of coastal wetland reduces storm surge by a foot" (KPLC / Acadiana News First).

Background

SpaceX and Gov. Jeff Landry announced the $100 billion launch and recovery facility on Aug. 25 (The Advocate).

Update, Oct. 13: Starbase Louisiana permit application framed as a cargo hub

New coverage of the Starbase Louisiana coastal use permit application (No. 36343) describes the proposed Freshwater City site, south of Pecan Island in Vermilion Parish, as a cargo-transfer facility. It is still an application, not an approval.

The Center Square called the project "a major new industrial shipping hub along Freshwater Bayou." It reported about 3,500 feet of docking space and "approximately 15.5 miles of heavy-haul roads" (The Center Square, also carried by Just The News). The Waterways Journal described "a multimodal cargo facility" with a Freshwater City wharf, inland barge facilities and "a 16-mile road" (Waterways Journal). The state filing gives the road as about 15.75 miles from LA Hwy 82 (state application record).

The Center Square also reported that, "according to a state project database," the development "would accommodate vessels beyond those operated by SpaceX." The outlet did not name the database. The application form we reviewed does not say this. It states that the project's purpose is cargo transfer between "moderate-draft Gulf vessels that require lock-free access to the Gulf of America," Intracoastal Waterway barges, and a heavy-haul road, and it does not say who would use the facility (state application record). The Waterways Journal reported that the filing "doesn't describe what loads the barges would carry" (Waterways Journal).

The Center Square reported that spokespersons for Louisiana Economic Development, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "all declined requests for more information" (The Center Square).

Independent. Not affiliated with SpaceX, Vermilion Parish, or the State of Louisiana.