Short updates and quick hits — the news between the big stories.https://kingfish.la/en-UStips@kingfish.la (Kingfish)tips@kingfish.la (Kingfish)CC BY 4.0 The Kingfish ProjectNews/Investigative Journalismhttps://kingfish.la/favicon.svghttps://kingfish.la/https://kingfish.la/comment-on-the-sunstripe-permit/https://kingfish.la/comment-on-the-sunstripe-permit/The only public comment window on the 10,356-acre Sunstripe Solar project closes August 2, 2026. Here's the permit number, the address, and how to weigh in.Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:06:15 GMT<p>Right now, there is exactly one public process open on the&nbsp;<a href="https://kingfish.la/about-sunstripe-solar/">10,356-acre Sunstripe Solar project</a>&nbsp;near Hineston — a 16-square-mile buildout on the Rapides–Vernon parish line — and it closes soon. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking comments on the project's federal wetlands permit until&nbsp;<strong>August 2, 2026.</strong>&nbsp;After that, this window is gone. The bigger local moments — the parish-mandated community meeting, the planning commission review, the police jury votes — are all still ahead, but this is the one that's live today.</p><p>You don't need to be an expert, and you don't need to oppose the project. By law, the Corps has to consider what you send.</p><h2 id="the-essentials">The essentials</h2><ul><li><strong>Permit number:</strong>&nbsp;MVN-2026-00184-WLL&nbsp;<em>(put this on whatever you send)</em></li><li><strong>Deadline:</strong>&nbsp;August 2, 2026</li><li><strong>Read the notice first:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/Article/4537854/mvn-2026-00184-wll/?ref=kingfish.la">permit MVN-2026-00184-WLL</a></li></ul><p>Three ways to comment:</p><ul><li><strong>Online:</strong>&nbsp;the Corps' Regulatory Request System —&nbsp;<a href="https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs?ref=kingfish.la">rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs</a>&nbsp;— search "MVN-2026-00184-WLL" and attach your comment.</li><li><strong>Email:</strong>&nbsp;Project Manager Michael Herrmann,&nbsp;<strong>michael.h.herrmann@usace.army.mil</strong></li><li><strong>Mail:</strong>&nbsp;U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, Attn: Michael Herrmann, Public Notice MVN-2026-00184-WLL, 7400 Leake Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118-3651</li></ul><h2 id="what-to-actually-say">What to actually say</h2><p>A comment is evidence, not a vote — five hundred identical postcards count as one argument made five hundred times. What carries weight is specific, local, firsthand knowledge tied to the factors the Corps must weigh: flood hazards, water quality, fish and wildlife, and the rest. The road that floods, the well you drink from, the creek the transmission line would cross.</p><p>We've written the full playbook in two evergreen guides:</p><ul><li><a href="https://kingfish.la/how-to-read-a-public-notice/"><strong>How to read a public notice</strong></a>&nbsp;— how to pull the facts out of the Corps document in five minutes.</li><li><a href="https://kingfish.la/how-to-comment-on-a-federal-permit/"><strong>How to comment on a federal permit</strong></a>&nbsp;— what makes a comment count, the two rights most people don't know they have, and a one-page structure that works.</li></ul><p>For how this permit fits into the three other approvals the project still needs, see&nbsp;<a href="https://kingfish.la/how-solar-projects-get-permitted-in-louisiana/">How a solar project gets permitted in Louisiana</a>.</p><hr><p><em>Part of Kingfish's coverage of the&nbsp;</em><a href="https://kingfish.la/about-sunstripe-solar/"><em>Sunstripe Solar project</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Spot an error? Receipts welcome: tips@kingfish.la.</em></p>Bentley HenselNews