An export company that spearheaded a now-defunct grain elevator project in St. John the Baptist Parish is being sued for failing to make payments in lieu of taxes to the Sheriff’s Office and other public agencies in the parish.
The Descendants Project, a nonprofit environmental group that opposed the grain elevator, filed the latest lawsuit on Jan. 13 in the 40th Judicial District Court against the Port of South Louisiana, Sheriff Mike Tregre and Greenfield Louisiana LLC. The complaint accuses the defendants of violating state constitutional provisions against “gratuitous donations” through their payment agreements.
Greenfield planned to construct and operate a grain elevator in the parish using land purchased for $40 million in 2021, according to the lawsuit. The company sought to avoid property taxes through an agreement whereby Greenfield would sell its land to the port and the port would lease it back to the company for 30 years, the plaintiffs argue. Ad valorem taxes would then be avoided since the land would be owned by the port, a public entity.
Last year, the company decided to abandon the grain elevator project in the wake of litigation by The Descendants Project, other local opposition and delays. But prior to doing so, it agreed to make certain payments in lieu of taxes, including a one-time payment of $4 million to the Sheriff’s Office in 2022; $2 million annually to the sheriff during the life of the lease; $300,000 annually to the port for five years; and $200,000 annually to the port during the length of the lease.
“These payments were far less than what Greenfield would pay in ad valorem taxes – saving Greenfield roughly $200 million in avoided taxes over the length of the lease,” the lawsuit alleges.
But even the payments of these agreed-to funds were delayed for years, and eventually the parties signed an agreement releasing Greenfield from the terms of the initial agreement. Instead, the company agreed to pay the port a $538,020 termination fee and almost $88,000 to the Sheriff’s Office – nowhere near the millions previously negotiated in what was called a “cooperative endeavor agreement,” according to the legal complaint.
Port officials, however, stand by their actions as legal and above-board.
“"We are confident that the Port of South Louisiana did no wrong and the court will rule in PortSL's favor." Micah Cormier, the port’s spokesman, said in an email to the Louisiana Record.
Proponents said the grain elevator project would have provided a boost to the parish’s economy, but The Descendants Project called the proposed facility dangerous due to potential explosions.
“Most devastatingly, grain elevators produce particulate matter and dust containing mold, bacteria, rodent feces, shredded metal and cancer-causing silica that emits into the air, contributing to the ongoing pollution along River Road,” the environmental group said in its website.
The group is also challenging the rezoning of property in the parish from residential to industrial land, contending that such development would negatively affect historic properties in the region.
Greenfield announced in August of last year that it was pulling out of the grain elevator project.
“Permits for similar projects usually take six months,” the company said in a statement. “We’ve been waiting nearly three years. We did everything in our power to keep this project on track because we believe in this community.”
Greenfield blamed the Army Corps of Engineers for repeated delays in the project’s timetable and for catering to special interests that opposed the development.