LIVINGSTON PARISH — Air Products unveiled its decision today that it will not proceed with the Louisiana Clean Energy Project. The project would have had large impacts especially in Ascension and Livingston Parishes.
Livingston Parish Councilman Dean Coates said he got the news early today. “It was a great way to wake up this morning.”
Coates, who has been fighting the project for years, said the decision still took him by surprise.
“We’re very pleased the way things came out, and we hold no ill will toward Air Products, because they’re just doing their job, and we support oil and gas. We just don’t support utilizing practices that are new techniques that have not been properly tested before utilization,” Coates told UWK.
On its website, Air Products posted the following:
On June 30, 2026, Air Products announced it will not proceed with the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex (LCEC) project.
We appreciate the commitment and dedication of the people who worked on the LCEC, and we want to express our sincere appreciation to the many agencies, business and community partners, government officials, legislators, and regulators who worked professionally with us across every aspect of the project.
As a responsible corporate citizen, we are committed to exiting this project properly. That includes responsibly and ethically winding down activities and fulfilling outstanding contractual obligations at the proposed plant site in Ascension Parish, at Lake Maurepas and surrounding area, and pipeline rights-of-way. We will also close out our regulatory/permitting processes and partnerships related to the project, as well as work collaboratively with Parish staff, emergency responders, contractors and other parties during this time.
Operating in Louisiana for more than five decades, Air Products remains committed to safe and reliable operation of our 18 industrial gas facilities across the state, which employ over 330 people, and the world’s largest hydrogen pipeline network, serving numerous refinery customers along the U.S. Gulf Coast. We will continue to advance profitable growth in Louisiana and support the communities where we live and work.
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Livingston Parish President Randy Delatte issued a statement on social media, calling today’s announcement “welcome news” to the people of Livingston Parish.
Some homeowners in Livingston Parish expressed their reactions to the announcement to UWK, one of them calling it a “big relief.”
Mayhew Barnum has lived at his current home all 57 years of his life. “I’m happy and relieved that this ain’t going to happen to Lake Maurepas, a recreational lake for families and stuff to come to that’s never really been touched by industry until now,” he said.
Mayhew explained that if the project were to continue, “Our way of life would have been diminished. Our camps and our livelihood down here, of being able to come down here and run fish nests, being able to turn your kids loose on the lake, not worry about them hitting no obstacles and stuff; it would have been just a big safety hazard, I would think.”
“I am jumping for joy today,” said Bill Whittington, president of the Lake Maurepas Preservation Society.
Whittington lives in Killian—where he’s retired—and said that the project would have lowered property values all over the area, in addition to forcing residents to leave because they wouldn’t want to stay in the parish.
However, Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment felt differently than many in Livingston Parish. He issued the following statement: “This is a tough day for Ascension Parish and for Louisiana. We’re talking about the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in potential investment.”
Cointment added that while projects of this size are never guaranteed, they take years of planning, significant investment, and cooperation at multiple levels. “While we’re disappointed, our commitment hasn’t changed. We’ll continue working to attract responsible investment, create good-paying jobs, and keep Ascension Parish moving forward.”
What’s next
Coates said that the ball is now in Gov. Jeff Landry’s court for the industrial project in the Holden area. This is after the Livingston Parish Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the permitting and establishment of “Class VI” injection wells and pipelines in 2025. At that meeting, over 70 residents showed up to voice their concern over carbon capture.
MORE: Concerns about proposed carbon dioxide pipeline prompt upcoming town hall in Livingston Parish
“We’re not receiving any of the benefits of having an industrial facility in our parish;, all we’re doing is getting the waste off of the plant that’s in our neighboring parish,” he added.
Coates said more work still needs to be done to preserve the state’s natural waterways and land for residents, saying that Louisiana is lucky that its bayous are not littered with industry.
“I would like to see if there’s something that we can do to try to protect our waterways and make sure nothing like this is tried again.”
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