Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois said the Riverplex Megapark projects have received the appropriate approvals.
A community group, Baptist church and other plaintiffs have filed a trio of lawsuits aimed at halting industrial activities in Ascension Parish involving Hyundai Steel and other companies until public agencies “take basic legal steps” to uphold state and federal statutes.
Rural Roots Louisiana and the Mt. Triumph Baptist Church are plaintiffs in two of the April 2 lawsuits in state courts against Louisiana Economic Development (LED) and the Port of South Louisiana. The third lawsuit was filed in the District of Columbia federal court against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its commanding general.
In a complaint filed in the 19th Judicial District in East Baton Rouge Parish, Rural Roots and other plaintiffs accuse LED of failing to submit its agreement with Hyundai to the State Bond Commission in violation of Louisiana law. The agreement provides Hyundai with more than a billion dollars worth of reimbursements, parish tax exemptions and other guarantees, according to the lawsuit.
The other state lawsuit, filed in the 40th Judicial District Court in St. John the Baptist Parish, alleges that the Port of South Louisiana failed to comply with public notice requirements when it agreed to issue up to $400 million in revenue bonds for the industrial development in West Ascension Parish.
The federal complaint alleges the Army Corps of Engineers failed to protect the burial sites of enslaved people from the adverse effects of the industrial development, as required by the 13th Amendment, National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The industrial site in the town of Modeste was at one time the location of several sugarcane plantations that operated during the period when slavery was legal, according to the lawsuit.
“The government agencies have not followed basic public process and notice requirements in Louisiana law and the state constitution,” the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which represents the plaintiffs, said in a news release. “In a rush to incentivize industrialization, the state and federal governments have ignored legal requirements to identify and preserve important cultural and historic sites, including burial grounds of enslaved people.”
But LED’s secretary, Susan B. Bourgeois, said in a statement that her agency followed the appropriate protocols in advancing the project.
“The state followed all laws and established processes in securing this project, and we are confident in the cooperative endeavor agreement,” Bourgeois said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record. “These types of claims from organizations and individuals trying to halt progress in this state do not change the fact that this project went through appropriate channels.”
She added that the plaintiffs’ efforts were counterproductive.
“It is both unfortunate and ironic this small audience continues to try and limit opportunities for the very same citizens they claim to champion,” Bourgeois said.
But Rural Roots member Twila Collins said in a statement that residents were never consulted about the industrial plans.
“Money is flowing, and dump trucks are already rolling all day and night,” Collins said. “We have had to fight just to understand when and how huge companies are being allowed to threaten our homes and our heritage using our own tax dollars.”
The federal complaint urges the court to find that the Corps of Engineers failed to meaningfully consult with Rural Roots Louisiana and others in the community before engaging in “extensive, ground-disturbing activities” at the project location that could threaten unmarked gravesites. The plaintiffs also seek to revoke CF Industries’ authorization for its construction activities and to begin talks with descendant community members about how to preserve any historic gravesites.
