{"id":22733,"date":"2024-11-08T17:34:07","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T17:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=800654"},"modified":"2024-11-08T17:34:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T17:34:07","slug":"louisiana-community-protest-approval-process-for-ammonia-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2024\/11\/08\/louisiana-community-protest-approval-process-for-ammonia-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"Louisiana Community Protest Approval Process for Ammonia Plant"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-default-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2024\/11\/08\/800654.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2024\/11\/08\/800654.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>ELKINSVILLE, La. (AP) \u2014 A dispute over a planned ammonia plant near a historic Black town in southeastern Louisiana ratcheted up a notch with a challenge to the state\u2019s approval process.<\/p>\n<p>The battle over the plant is occurring despite the fact that part of the impetus to build it is a provision in a key climate law signed by President Joe Biden. The company claims it will store underground almost all of the climate-damaging carbon dioxide emitted in the production of ammonia, commonly used for fertilizers. Environmental groups warn this is <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/carbon-capture-removal-cop28-fossil-fuels-oil-gas-2bc53c6a8df6d337c1afcabad56377e8\">an unrealistic expectation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-topics=\"civil-unrest\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>The Tulane University Environmental Law Clinic is asking the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to recuse itself from deciding on a permit for St. Charles Clean Fuels\u2019 ammonia plant next to the Elkinsville community. The agency appears to have already decided to grant the permit, the clinic said, before weighing all public comment, which would be illegal under Louisiana law.<\/p>\n<p>The motion comes after a public hearing in September in St. Charles Parish was <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/louisiana-cancer-alley-proposed-ammonia-facility-aa73e7164e2dee1a97eb2bbe007152d6\">shut down<\/a> when more than 150 people tried to fit into a room in a public library the state had reserved.<\/p>\n<p>The agency characterized that turnout as \u201can organized attempt to hinder economic growth and prosperity for the state and local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The department said it plans to reschedule the public hearing for late December and will carefully consider public comments.<\/p>\n<p>Elkinsville resident Kimbrelle Kyereh said she is not confident Louisiana environmental regulators are doing enough to protect her community, however. She has made many complaints about fumes coming from a large existing chemical tank storage complex next door, but \u201cno one seems to truly care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>If the state agency were to recuse itself, it would fall to Gov. Jeff Landry to appoint another entity to review the permit application. Landry <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/denka-chemical-plant-pollution-environmental-justice-louisiana-0aebc3912534bb748419f1ce53b4f9d4\">strongly supports<\/a> Louisiana\u2019s petrochemical industry.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-topics=\"civil-unrest\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<h4 class=\"mb-0 pb-2 ap-font-bold\">Residents live with a long legacy of pollution<\/h4>\n<p>Like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apnews.com\/article\/grain-facility-project-canceled-cancer-alley-c85bac2fdb2a95cc6402403a50325687\">many other<\/a> communities in the region of the proposed plant, Elkinsville was established by and for free Black people on the periphery of a former Mississippi River plantation.<\/p>\n<p>About a century ago, some plantation land was sold off for an oil export terminal. Today, International-Matex Tank Terminals (IMIT) operates a large tank farm storing diesel, ethanol and other chemicals waiting to be loaded onto river vessels.<\/p>\n<p>Only a chain-link fence separates it from the homes of Elkinsville.<\/p>\n<p>In interviews and public hearings, residents said the new ammonia plant would add to what they already experience: smells so foul they wake up short of breath at night and need to clamp down their windows.<\/p>\n<p>Rose Wilright, 80, loves her community, the four streets where she grew up surrounded by relatives whose memories are held in a small cemetery in the center of the town.<\/p>\n<p>Wilright said she believes IMTT and the many other <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ap.org\/It%20is%20separated%20from%20the%20homes%20of%20Elkinsville%20by\">nearby industrial facilities<\/a> are why she has spent nights watching her grandson struggling to breathe with asthma. Now she too relies on an albuterol inhaler and has contracted bronchitis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just devastating that they trying to bring more chemicals on us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"mb-0 pb-2 ap-font-bold\">Company defends its environmental record<\/h4>\n<p>The new ammonia plant would store its ammonia in IMTT\u2019s tanks.<\/p>\n<p>IMTT CEO Carlin Conner said he takes residents\u2019 complaints seriously.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is their home,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try our best to understand what they\u2019re feeling and saying and then try to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bad smells are \u201cobviously a pain for people\u201d but \u201cwe definitely do not believe it\u2019s impacting health,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>IMTT has invested in tank venting equipment to limit odors, Conner said. He pointed out that the company partners with local charities and supports a welding training program for youth.<\/p>\n<p>Even Elkinsville residents who criticize IMTT \u2014 many of whom have relatives working there \u2014 acknowledge the company has brought economic benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Conner emphasized that his company operates within legal limits. Last year, IMTT reported releasing more than 100,000 pounds of toxic volatile organic compounds, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/louisiana-drax-air-pollution-524bba156b9a4e5ffa55d8f5e9e1f9a0\">twice the level<\/a> as qualifies as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deq.louisiana.gov\/assets\/docs\/Air\/Air_Permit_Applications\/r06_LouisianaGuidanceforAirPermittingActions.pdf\">major source of toxic air pollution<\/a> in Louisiana.<\/p>\n<p>St. Charles Clean Fuels, majority-owned by Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, said in an emailed statement that its ammonia facility was \u201cessential to fighting climate change\u201d and would generate 200 permanent jobs.<\/p>\n<p>It reports the facility will produce 8,000 metric tons of ammonia daily and release about 118,700 pounds of ammonia annually.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"mb-0 pb-2 ap-font-bold\">Ammonia buildout propelled by money for carbon capture<\/h4>\n<p>The new ammonia project is buoyed by federal subsidies intended to make chemical production less damaging for the climate. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act promises companies up to $85 in tax credits for every ton of carbon dioxide they capture and store.<\/p>\n<p>Ammonia is widely used in fertilizers but also heralded by industry groups as a potential transport fuel. It is usually made from natural gas, in a process that contributes to climate change.<\/p>\n<p>St. Charles Clean Fuels said it will clean up that process, storing its greenhouse gases deep underground. There are dozens of carbon capture and storage facilities proposed across Louisiana.<\/p>\n<p>The company said its facility will prevent 5 million tons of carbon dioxide from being released annually.<\/p>\n<p>Environmental groups have <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/carbon-capture-removal-cop28-fossil-fuels-oil-gas-2bc53c6a8df6d337c1afcabad56377e8\">generally cautioned against carbon capture and storage<\/a> as a climate solution and urged a transition away from natural gas-based production. They note that carbon capture and storage has been around for decades and has fallen far short of the 99% capture rate promised by St. Charles Clean Fuels.<\/p>\n<p>The company did not provide evidence for this figure but said it will employ innovative technology based on auto-thermal reforming, in which oxygen and steam convert natural gas at extremely high temperatures into a byproduct used for ammonia production. The process is marketed by industry groups as improving energy efficiency.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Levien, a Johns Hopkins University sociologist who is working on a book about the Elkinsville community, said he believes the Inflation Reduction Act is deepening <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/health-louisiana-new-orleans-discrimination-business-ef621bf3407ea6ec3f15d47db488f96f\">environmental and racial injustices<\/a> by encouraging more industrial expansion in heavily polluted areas through its subsidies for carbon capture and storage.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"mb-0 pb-2 ap-font-bold\">Clean air concerns near chemical tank complex<\/h4>\n<p>The conflict over the federally supported new ammonia plant comes as the Biden administration has wrestled with the state of Louisiana over air quality and environmental health issues it says <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/epa-louisiana-cancer-alley-black-discrimination-606c6803175792576d8cfcd5db55638c\">disproportionately affect Black people.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In July, the Environmental Protection Agency fined IMTT over insufficient safeguards and said the company did not conduct appropriate hazard assessments. IMTT said it has since improved its protocols.<\/p>\n<p>The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said the air quality around Elkinsville tracked by its air monitor was \u201cdeemed safe\u201d based on data measured between 2018 and 2023, leading the agency to remove its air monitor.<\/p>\n<p>Kim Terrell, environmental scientist with the Tulane law clinic, said the department only monitored continuously for a small number of pollutants.<\/p>\n<p>IMTT\u2019s modeling for air near its facility shows high levels of n-hexane, which can trigger respiratory problems, and naphthalene, which the EPA considers a possible carcinogen. Terrell criticized Louisiana\u2019s regulation for these chemicals because they are based on the assumption people will be exposed for no more than an eight-hour workday rather than day and night as residents may be.<\/p>\n<p>Louisiana allows for \u201cvastly higher\u201d exposure to these chemicals than recommended by the EPA\u2019s health guidelines based on safe levels of long-term exposure, Terrell said.<\/p>\n<p>The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said the EPA guidelines shouldn\u2019t be compared with Louisiana\u2019s rules, which are focused on short-term exposure.<\/p>\n<p>IMTT said in September it is working with a local environmental group to install several air monitors so nearby residents will know more about their air quality.<\/p>\n<p>Terrell said the monitoring system the company plans to install will not meet EPA standards.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Wilright, the lifelong Elkinsville resident whose home is up against the IMTT fence, said that if she could, she would \u201cleave tonight,\u201d despite her family\u2019s generations of memories there.<\/p>\n<p>She would go \u201cwherever they don\u2019t have chemical plants,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/location\/louisiana\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Louisiana<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/civil-unrest\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Civil Unrest<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"800654\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! 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(AP) \u2014 A dispute over a planned ammonia plant near a historic Black town in southeastern Louisiana ratcheted up a notch with a challenge to the state\u2019s approval process.&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[1083,1127,1128,79,1129,1,77],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/louisiana-community-protest-approval-process-for-ammonia-plant.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22733"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}