Startling new emissions data self-reported to federal authorities reveals that Ascension Parish’s CF Industries is the #1 most toxic air polluter in the United States. The data, analyzed for the first time, reveals the extent to which area residents are exposed to dangerous toxins in a manner unlike any other across the nation. Concerningly, CF Industries, along with other polluters, have plans to expand their footprints in the parish, making the most polluted parish in the country even more lethal.

On Tuesday, May 27, Rural Roots and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade will release Ammonia Parish, the first report in a series urging a reckoning about the future of the parish. The series, Ascension Parish: Pollution or Prosperity, will highlight the harms of unfettered industrial expansion in Ascension Parish while advocating for a different economic future. This first report in the series highlights plans to make the parish the ammonia capital of the world.

The report comes as petrochemical corporations CF Industries, Ascension Clean Energy, and Air Products are proposing expansions that would quadruple ammonia production in the parish. The report analysis was conducted by Mike Belliveau, a national expert on emissions and public health.

Joining Belliveau will be Ashley Gaignard, founder of Rural Roots and a lifelong resident of Ascension Parish. Gaignard, who for years lived near the existing CF plant, has not only survived breast cancer, but raised three children, all of whom were born prematurely and underweight, one of whom has gone on to have lifelong respiratory difficulties. Also joining will be Anne Rolfes, Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. Rolfes co-authored the report and has a track record of protecting her home state from industrial expansion.

WHEN: 12:15 PM CENTRAL, TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2025

WHERE: On Candid Conversations with Lou on KKAY, Donaldsonville, LA and streaming on Instagram Live at instagram.com/labuckets/

WHO:

Ashley Gaignard is Founder of Rural Roots, an education and advocacy organization focused on protecting communities and building a strong Ascension Parish.

Mike Belliveau is Founder and Director of Bend the Curve, a campaign to transform the petrochemical industry. Mr. Belliveau has advanced safer chemistry, sustainable production, and environmental justice in the United States for more than forty years. He has led successful chemical policy reform campaigns in California and Maine, shaping more than 35 state and local laws. Mr. Bellliveau earned an environmental science degree from MIT with an emphasis on chemistry.

Anne Rolfes is Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an organization partnering with Louisiana’s fenceline communities to challenge the petrochemical industry and build a different economy.

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