Two community organizations today filed suit against the Ascension Parish Council in the 23rd Judicial District Court, alleging that votes made by the council related to industrial expansion in Ascension Parish were cast in violation of the Louisiana Open Meetings Law. Subsequently the groups, Rural Roots and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, argue that the votes are invalid and must therefore be voided by the court.

The suit stems from the parish council’s pattern of granting blanket approval for matters brought before the body by industry without council members voicing their votes. The rapid expansion of industry in the area has overwhelmed Ascension Parish residents, including the multiracial and historic Black communities of Donaldsonville and Modeste. Given the burden of pollution and the proposed significant increase and impact on these communities, the organizations contend that it is especially important for council members to be accountable and to comply with state law so that the public may know how elected officials are voting.

“It’s time that members of the Ascension Parish Council voiced their votes on the record for voters to see and hear,” said Ashley Gaignard, an Ascension Parish resident and founder of Rural Roots, one of the plaintiffs in the case. “When council members are transparent, residents can make better decisions during upcoming elections and choose leaders who listen and advocate for the people.”

The Open Meetings Law requires that each member of the council voice their vote on each item before the council. Indeed, the Louisiana Attorney General has recently pointed out that Louisiana law requires that voting by parish councils must be “viva voce” – meaning voting with “the living voice.”

However, when the Ascension Parish Council has taken up votes related to  industrial expansion, the council chair has only asked for any objection to these agenda items – and then hearing none, decided that the matter is approved. The council’s minutes reflect that each councilmember voted “Yea” – even though not a single councilmember actually voiced anything at all. In other instances, the Council has skipped voting entirely – but has still marked items as having been approved by unanimous “Yeas.”

“The state of Louisiana is giving our tax dollars away to some of the biggest corporations on the planet,” said Anne Rolfes, Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, also a party to the suit. “Everyone in Louisiana has the right to understand how Ascension Parish Council members are voting. There must be a clear record so that voters can hold accountable these officials who support this rotten plan to further destroy our beautiful state at the hands of industry.”

“It’s time that the council follow the law, face their constituents, and vote on the record,” added Rolfes.

As alleged in the complaint, these actions violate a core principle of transparency and accountability incorporated into Louisiana law, by which elected officials must say how they vote. Voting in silence – or approving items without voting at all – plainly violates the Louisiana Constitution and the Open Meetings Law.

Donaldsonville, the parish seat of Ascension Parish, is already the site of the largest ammonia production complex in the world, located less than one mile from an elementary school. This site is owned and operated by CF Industries, which, by its own reports to the federal government, is the largest toxic air polluter by pound in the country. Now, CF Industries is planning to join others to form the “RiverPlex MegaPark,” an expansion that could displace as many as 800 residents, and that could more than quadruple ammonia production in Ascension Parish. The RiverPlex MegaPark site abuts Modeste’s remaining agricultural fields, and planning maps show that Modeste would be fully surrounded by this expansion.

The plaintiffs argue that the council’s pattern of skipping the voting process and neglecting the legal requirement of voicing votes has paved the way for abuse by the petrochemical industry and abandonment of historic and majority-Black communities in the parish. Through this suit, the plaintiffs hope to create transparency, reinstate a transparent voting system, and open the process to proper public participation and scrutiny.

“Ours is a multiracial community and a place rich in African-American history that must be protected,” continued Gaignard. “Our elected officials must be accountable to us as residents, and especially when they vote on any matter concerning our health and safety, those votes must be made aloud and recorded.”

About Rural Roots and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade

Ashley Gaignard founded Rural Roots Louisiana in 2023 to promote environmental justice, care for the land, and to educate the children of this historic community about the impacts of industrial pollution and environmental racism. Ms. Gaignard is a lifelong resident of Ascension Parish.

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade partners with communities most impacted by pollution, like Modeste and Donaldsonville, to help protect their homes and our state.

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