The Daily Fuckup

The Fifth Circuit on July 7, 2026, denied a petition for review challenging the Maritime Administration’s license for the Delfin LNG deepwater port project after concluding the environmental petitioners lacked Article III standing. Because the court found no standing, it did not decide the underlying claims under the Deepwater Port Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, or the Administrative Procedure Act.

The panel said the groups did not identify a member with a concrete injury that was fairly traceable to MARAD’s action. In the court’s view, the petitioners failed to show that any member fishes near the project, boats in the affected waters, works in the area, or otherwise uses nearby waters in a way the project would directly impair.

A Justice Department press release issued on July 8, 2026, said the case turned on standing, not the merits. The department also said the project received its first authorization in 2017, that MARAD sought additional review in 2024, and that a January 2025 executive order led the agency to reconsider whether more environmental review was needed before the license was issued.

The ruling leaves the license in place for now. It does not say whether the project is a good idea, only that the challengers did not clear the threshold required to get into court.