In southwest Louisiana, James Hiatt still considers the Calcasieu River to be sacred fishing grounds. 

But for decades, Hiatt and other locals have been told that they can get sick from the seafood they catch in the river, which contains mercury and other toxins. As increasing numbers of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals rise up along the river, locals fear that the contamination could worsen rapidly.

Though community anglers have relied on the river for generations to provide food for their dinner tables, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) advises residents to limit fish and shellfish consumption to no more than two meals per month. The department also warns against swimming, water sports and contact with bottom sediments of the Calcasieu, because of the pollutants there.

Hiatt, founder and executive director of For a Better Bayou, believed that the Calcasieu River’s longtime dire conditions – along with the incursion of more petrochemical facilities along its banks – merited a top spot on this year’s “most endangered rivers” list, compiled by the nonprofit American Rivers.

The national conservation group agreed, naming the Calcasieu as the ninth most endangered river in the country for 2025 because of its historic and continuing pollution. “Far from being able to support the vibrant communities and local economies of Louisiana, the Calcasieu itself is on life support,” said Chantel Dominguez, director of community campaigns and engagement for American Rivers. 

And it could get worse, Dominguez warned. “With a number of new chemical facilities already planned along the river and its estuary, any further unchecked pollution without current and common-sense safety standards in place threatens to compound the problems beyond repair,” she said. 

Those who live and work near the river feel that same urgency. “Today, the wetlands along the Calcasieu are among the most biologically significant yet heavily polluted regions in the country,” said Alyssa Portaro, founder and director of the nonprofit Habitat Recovery Project, which works to help contaminated communities recover, in southwestern Louisiana. 

Together, Habitat Recovery Project and For a Better Bayou proposed the Calcasieu to American Rivers.

The future of the Calcasieu River and its adjacent communities depends on a “commitment to stop the ongoing assault of deadly dioxins and other toxic chemicals,” Portaro said. Dioxins are highly toxic, long-lasting pollutants that can cause cancer, problems with reproduction and development, damage to the immune system, and interference with hormones. 

For decades, chemical plants and refineries have dumped wastewater, including dioxins and other toxic chemicals, directly into the river. The Westlake Eagle US 2 Lake Charles plastics plant is one of the country’s leading dischargers of dioxins into waterways, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) records. 

American Rivers creates the annual Endangered Rivers list based on concerns about current regulatory actions. The Mississippi River topped this year’s list because of federal cuts to flood-relief support despite growing threats of severe weather. 

In its report on the Calcasieu, American Rivers encourages the EPA to add limits for toxic pollutants like dioxins, benzene and heavy metals, as the federal agency works on a two-year review and update to technology standards that could influence water-pollution standards.

Along Louisiana’s coast, LNG exports have become a dominant and growing industry. This month, Venture Global began exporting contractual deliveries to its long-term customers from its first LNG terminal, Calcasieu Pass, one of two massive LNG facilities currently operating on the Calcasieu River, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico through a deep, local shipping channel.

Fishermen have chronicled shrimp population losses since Calcasieu Pass began producing LNG in 2022. It’s unclear whether the losses stem from the construction of the 423-acre site or whether river life is affected by spills, contamination or other pollution. But something happened, Hiatt said.

“We can’t say definitively that these LNGs have wrecked the ecosystem and are the reason there are no shrimp coming up the river,” said Hiatt. “It’s all circumstantial evidence that they put this thing right at the mouth of the river in 2022 and since then the catch has been terrible and gone down every year.”

In March, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright approved an LNG export authorization for Venture Global to build CP2, a second terminal along the already overcrowded Calcasieu River. A third Calcasieu Pass terminal is also in the development phase.

But even as the U.S. races to approve permits under President Trump’s National Energy Emergency, a major LNG importer has severed business relationships. China, one of the largest buyers of U.S. LNG, stopped imports in April amid an escalating trade war between the two countries. 

In Louisiana, questions about pollution from LNG terminals are compounded by concerns of worker safety in the petrochemical industry. In March, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) closed 11 field offices of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), including Louisiana’s office in Baton Rouge. 

New research has also confirmed a common complaint from predominantly Black communities that typically surround petrochemical plants—while bearing the brunt of pollution, people of color are not seeing promised employment. A recent study led by Tulane University found that inequity in the U.S. petrochemical industry is especially pronounced in Louisiana, where people of color were underrepresented in both high- and low-paying jobs at chemical plants and refineries.

As a result, the over-burdened communities of southwest Louisiana see little benefit from the burst of new industry, which is drastically changing a beloved landscape.

Lake Charles itself exists because of the Calcasieu River, Hiatt emphasized. “It’s not because of oil extraction. [The town exists] because of this freshwater source with a connection to the Gulf of Mexico.” 

And long before the facilities came to Calcasieu, there was the water, the interconnected bayous and marshes where fish and wildlife thrived and supported commercial fisherpeople, who took their catches to market and also spent leisure time along the river, fishing, boating, and swimming with their families.

”The port and the people who use this river call it a ship channel,” said Hiatt. “But it is more than just a way to facilitate the movement of goods. It is the lifeblood of this area.”