Fire official cancels hearing for ammonia plant amid overflowing crowd and surging public interest
ST. ROSE, La.– A fire department official closed a public hearing on a proposed ammonia production facility in Louisiana as public interest increased and crowds flooded a public library in St. Charles Parish.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality scheduled the hearing to receive public comment on the proposed $4.6 billion St. Charles Clean Fuels ammonia production facility.
Many St. Rose residents who came to the hearing said they were concerned about the prospect of more pollution. The city is located along a heavily industrialized stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge known as ‘ Cancer alley ” for being high levels of chemical pollution.
St. Rose resident Kimbrelle Eugene Kyereh said she and other community activists have distributed thousands of flyers to encourage their neighbors to attend the hearing and voice their concerns to St. Charles Clean Fuels.
“People had never heard of it, so they were very opposed to having an ammonia plant to add to what we already have here,” Kyereh said.
More than 150 people tried to force their way into a small public library room with a capacity for 50 people, according to a fire official who arrived to end the meeting. Many were forced to remain in the parking lot.
An official with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality told residents that the meeting would be rescheduled and the public comment period would be extended.
Ramesh Raman, CEO of St. Charles Clean Fuels, said at the start of the hearing that his company is eager to hear from the community.
St. Charles Clean Fuels would be capable of producing 8,000 tons of ammonia daily, which is often used for fertilizer. The company said it plans to reduce pollution by using technology capture and store carbon dioxide emissions.
The ammonia would be stored at an adjacent site owned by International Matex Tank Terminals, which reportedly released more than 100,000 pounds of toxic volatile organic compounds last year. state registrations. This is about twice the level needed to qualify as a significant source of toxic air pollution in Louisiana, said Kimberly Terrell, director of community engagement at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.
Basic community activism in response to concerns about pollution in Cancer Alley stopped several industrial projects in recent years.
“They’re taking us seriously now,” St. Rose resident Arthur Blue said. “They know they’re waking a sleeping giant.”
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This story has been corrected to say that a fire official, not a fire chief, canceled the public hearing on a proposed ammonia production facility due to overcrowding.
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Jack Brook is a staff member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.