In Louisiana's Cancer Alley, company cancels plans for grain export facility in historic Black town

WALLACE, La. -- Residents of a historic Black community in Louisiana who've spent years fighting against a massive grain export facility set to be built on the grounds where their enslaved ancestors once lived appear to have finally halted the project.

A representative from the company, Greenfield Louisiana LLC, announced during a public hearing on Tuesday evening that the company is “ceasing all plans” to construct a grain export facility in the middle of the town of Wallace in St. John the Baptist Parish.

After a moment, opponents of the project broke out in cheers and began clapping and hugging each other.

“I’m still obviously in disbelief — I can’t believe this is happening, but I’m ecstatic and all praise to the ancestors,” said Joy Banner, a Wallace resident and one of the most vocal opponents of the project. She and her sister, Jo, founded The Descendants Project to preserve the community’s heritage.

The company’s announcement signaled a rare win for a community in a heavily industrialized stretch of the Mississippi River known as “Cancer Alley” for its high levels of pollution. Wallace is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of New Orleans.

“I think all of the fighting – it is coming from the love and the passion for our communities we have here along the river, and to show the world we can and you should fight,” Banner said. “We are recognizing that we do have power – that power comes from the love we have for our community.”

Earlier this year, the Banner sisters’ nonprofit purchased a plantation which had been the site of one of the largest slave rebellions in American History, the 1811 German Coast Uprising. They plan to transform it into an educational space.

The Army Corps of Engineers had already found the 222 acre (90 hectare) facility, could adversely impact cultural heritage sites in Wallace, and was tasked with reviewing Greenfield’s application.

Army Corps representative Brad LaBorde said his agency had not been informed in advance of the company’s unexpected decision to cancel plans for the facility.

“We don’t know exactly what that means,” LaBorde said. “We still have an active permit application so, if it is Greenfield’s intention to no longer pursue the project, then we would ask they formally submit a withdrawal to us so that we can conclude the review.”

Lynda Van Davis, Greenfield’s counsel and head of external affairs, said the long delay in government approval for the project has been “an expensive ordeal,” adding that she did not have an answer for when the company would submit a formal withdrawal to the Army Corps.

“This has been a difficult ride the whole time, we didn’t wake up yesterday and say we’re done,” Van Davis said. “We said we’ll stay in the fight a little bit longer, because we’ve become friends with this community. Unfortunately, how long are we supposed to stay in this fight?”

The Army Corps had found the project could affect historic properties in Wallace, including the Evergreen, Oak Alley and Whitney plantations. There also remained the possibility that the area contained burial sites for the ancestral Black community.

Some community members had supported the project, believing it would bring jobs to their town, even as opponents of the facility said tourism surrounding cultural heritage was already a thriving industry that deserved greater investment.

“I was looking forward to economic development in my community – jobs, new businesses, just all around better living for my community,” said Nicole Dumas, 48, a Wallace resident, who supported the project.

But the evening became a celebration for others. Angelica Mitchell, 53, held back tears as she took in the company’s announcement. Mitchell is still recovering from treatment for a rare form of cancer which had attacked her pancreas, but she chose to attend the public hearing despite her health struggles. The facility would have been built within a few hundred feet of her home.

“To hear that they are backing out, I am so excited, my prayers have been answered, because I’ve been praying for this for the last three years,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been asking God, just don’t let this plant come into our community. I don’t want this for our children.”

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This story has been corrected to show the hearing took place on Tuesday, not Monday.

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Jack Brook is a corps 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.