The Army Corps of Engineers ordered a comprehensive environmental impact review of the proposed Formosa Plastics project in St. James Parish this month, a development that the petrochemical project’s opponents called a legal victory.
The Sunshine Project, a proposed 2,300-acre industrial and marine facility, saw its federal permit put on hold last November after opponents sued to block the $9 billion project. They argued the facility would generate greenhouse gases and toxic pollution that would harm the quality of life of neighboring residents.
“FG (Formosa Group) LA LLC’s unwavering commitment to the parish and to Louisiana has remained constant as the company continues to invest in community needs and build meaningful community partnerships,” Janile Parks, the project’s spokeswoman, told the Louisiana Record in an email.
The company pledged to work in cooperation with federal officials as they decide whether to modify the original permit issued in September 2019, reinstate the permit or revoke it.
“The tweet and accompanying letter from the acting assistant secretary of the Army posted online provided little detail on (environmental impact statement) procedure the Corps intends to use in its additional evaluation of the project,” Parks said. “As a result, the company will continue to work with the Corps as we receive more guidance on the additional evaluation. …”
The federal analysis will investigate the impact the project, which includes ship docks, a rail connection, pipelines and a wastewater treatment plant, would have on 62 acres of wetlands and 56 acres of waters the Army Corps oversees.
“This long-overdue review will show the unacceptable harm Formosa Plastics’ massive petrochemical complex would inflict on this community, our waterways and our climate,” Julie Teel Simmonds, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a prepared statement. “... Climate action and environmental justice mean we have to stop sacrificing communities and a healthy environment just to make throwaway plastic.”
The project is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in a region environmentalists have dubbed “Cancer Alley.”