The first major permit SpaceX has filed for its Vermilion Parish project is not called Starbase Louisiana, and it never mentions rockets or launches.
State records reviewed by The Vermilion Times show Space Exploration Technologies Corp. applied on Sept. 25 for a coastal use permit for the ”Southwest Louisiana Coastal Infrastructure Improvement Project.” The joint application went to the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New Orleans District, which both must approve work in the coastal zone.
The application describes a cargo operation: a Gulf wharf, barge docks, a heavy-haul road and canal dredging, all at the southern tip of the parish near Pecan Island. In its 12 pages, the only “launch” is the existing Freshwater City Boat Launch, which the plan says it will avoid. “Rocket” appears only in SpaceX’s own mailing address, 1 Rocket Road in Starbase, Texas.
The FAA told the Times on Thursday that SpaceX has not yet applied for the federal review needed to launch Starship from Louisiana. [Read that story.](/news/faa-spacex-no-application-starship-louisiana/)
What SpaceX wants to build
According to the application:
- A Gulf wharf for “moderate-draft” ships, just below the Corps’ Freshwater City Lock on the Freshwater Bayou Channel, with a temporary laydown yard north of the lock.
- Inland wharves along existing channels where barges can reach the Intracoastal Waterway and Freshwater Bayou.
- A heavy-haul access road about 15.75 miles long, running from LA 82 south to the wharves, mostly on an earthen berm through marsh, with an 8,110-foot elevated bridge (about 1.5 miles) to keep boat traffic moving on the Humble Canal.
- Maintenance dredging of the Humble Canal, Freshwater Bayou and nearby channels so vessels can reach the docks.
The site is at the end of LA 3147, Freshwater City Road. The application says the work is privately funded.
Why, in SpaceX’s words
The project is needed for year-round cargo transfer between Gulf ships that need “lock-free access to the Gulf of America,” Intracoastal barges and a heavy-haul road, the filing says, for oversized, overweight and bulk cargo that cannot practically move on existing public roads or through the parish’s existing shallow-draft facilities. The application does not say what the cargo is.
How big it is
The numbers in the application:
- 887.67 acres of wetlands and water bottoms filled or dug out.
- 5.19 million cubic yards of excavation across 565 acres, and 11.19 million cubic yards of fill across 540 acres.
- About 125,000 cubic yards of concrete, 215,000 cubic yards of asphalt, 1.3 million cubic yards of crushed stone or gravel and 1.7 million cubic yards of sand.
- Proposed schedule: start March 1, 2027; finish Sept. 1, 2032.
Other sites considered
SpaceX’s engineers evaluated four Gulf wharf sites in Vermilion and Cameron parishes, four road routes and three dredging approaches, according to the filing. Other wharf sites were ruled out for lack of road access, utilities, waterway connections or room, and one sat inside the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge. The Freshwater City site was picked as the least damaging practical choice because it already has commercial development and direct Gulf access, the application says. Widening existing highways was rejected because they cannot carry the loads, and a fully elevated causeway was called too expensive.
Wetlands and mitigation
SpaceX says it will fully make up for unavoidable wetland losses under federal mitigation rules, with the final amounts set by the Corps and the state. It also proposes using dredged material to build new marsh on the landowner’s property west of the site, in line with the state’s Coastal Master Plan.
Who is involved
The permit agent is Duplantis Design Group of Lafayette. The application lists a pre-application meeting with Corps and state coastal staff on Aug. 27, two days after SpaceX’s Abbeville announcement. Landowners notified include the parish Industrial Development Board, the state transportation department, the Office of State Lands, the Corps, the Vermilion Parish School Board and several private owners.
What’s next
The Corps and the state will review the application. The Times has not yet found a public notice or comment period for it, and will report one when it is posted. The filing lists several attachments, including a project narrative, an alternatives analysis, a cultural resources report and a threatened and endangered species report; they were not part of the public application record the Times reviewed.
Follow every development on the Times’ [Starbase Watch page](/starbase/).