Fire official cancels hearing for ammonia plant amid overflowing crowd and surging public interest

Associated Press/Report for America

ST. ROSE, La. (AP) — A fire department official shut down a public hearing overseen by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for a proposed ammonia production facility as public interest surged and crowds overflowed a public library in St. Charles Parish. Residents said they were concerned about chemical exposure from the proposed $4.6 billion St. Charles Clean Fuels ammonia facility in their community. The parish is part of heavily industrialized corridor along the Mississippi river between New Orleans and Baton Rouge known as “Cancer Alley” for high pollution levels. Grassroots activism in response to pollution concerns has halted multiple industrial projects in recent years.