Local residents from Ascension Parish stood up last night at a public hearing to denounce a project that would destroy the historic community of Modeste. “This permit application fails to consider the current pollution burden in the parish, and in its modeling uses air quality measurements from New Orleans,” said Ashley Gaignard, founder and President of Rural Roots Louisiana. “The Department of Environmental Quality should not accept this. It wasn’t done right.”

The hearing, hosted by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) in Donaldsonville, was held to solicit public comments regarding the Ascension Clean Energy facility. Despite the name, the facility would add significant pollution to the area. Its own permit application detailed 142 tons of ammonia that would be emitted into the air each year, yet failed to acknowledge the other facilities in the parish that are already emitting significant health harming chemicals. This includes Methanex, a facility right across the Mississippi River from the proposed site, that already releases 700 tons of ammonia a year.

“I lost my nine year old son to an asthma attack,” said Ascension resident Twila Collins. “We are a loving community. We don’t need more destruction.”

The community received additional support from St. James Parish neighbors, including the leaders of Inclusive Louisiana and RISE St. James. The usual boosters of the project – including the Donaldsonville mayor, chemical industry lobbyists, and the parish economic development officer – acknowledged the poverty in the area but did not acknowledge the long-standing neglect of the communities that would bear the brunt of the proposed facility.

“There is a sickening dynamic all across our state, and it’s at work here in Ascension. Historic Black communities have been neglected for decades, and suddenly these companies and our government officials claim to be concerned, with industrial expansion as a proposed remedy,” said Anne Rolfes of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. “If they really cared about economic development they could support small businesses and preserve the cultural resources of the area. Instead they propose utter annihilation, with a smile.”

The proposed permit, while deeply flawed, is likely to be approved by the LDEQ, an agency that has rubber stamped permit applications for generations. One gentlemen testified that the community had been excluded from the process, and the project seemed like a done deal. The permit’s fatal flaws, however, should be a red flag for the LDEQ.

“There is so much wrong with this permit, til I can’t see how an agency that is created to protect us can allow this to go forward,” said Ms. Gaignard.

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The mission of Rural Roots Louisiana is to introduce kids to environmental justice, provide literacy and promote community stewardship and earth care and stop industrial expansion in our community.

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade uses grassroots action to support communities impacted by the petrochemical industry and hasten the transition from fossil fuels.