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Coalition Against Death Alley

On May 30, Coalition Against Death Alley (CADA) started a 50 mile march from St. John the Baptist Parish to Baton Rouge to protest and demand an end to the poisoning of Black communities by petrochemical companies located throughout Louisiana’s Mississippi River parishes.

Residents of St. John the Baptist Parish decided to organize a fightback after the EPA confirmed that their community and areas surrounding a nearby Denka plant have the highest risk of air pollution-caused cancer in the country.

Governor Edwards illegally blocked the march from crossing the Sunshine Bridge near Donaldsonville and the Mississippi River Bridge over Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge but the fight for justice continues.

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St. James Residents, Water Protectors Battle Anti-Protest Laws

Protest at a Bayou Bridge pipeline site in Maurice, LA, May 12, 2018. Photo credit: Julie Dermansky.

By Sasha Irby

Around the country, big energy companies are bribing politicians to pass laws that severely criminalize the protest of dangerous and costly oil and gas projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Bayou Bridge Pipeline.

These anti-protest laws have gone into effect in eight states already. In Texas, the legislature is currently considering a bill that would that would make the protest of a pipeline a third-degree felony. This means that a peaceful water protector would do the same amount of time as someone convicted of attempted murder. In Louisiana, a law (HB 727) went into effect last year which makes it a felony offense to trespass on “critical infrastructure”—a category that the law expands to include pipelines, any pipeline construction site, and “all structures, equipment, or other immovable or movable property” located within the pipeline site. More than a dozen peaceful protesters have been arrested under the new law.

On May 22 a federal lawsuit was filed by three organizations—RISE St. James, 350 New Orleans, and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade—as well 10 individuals affected by the new law. They argue that the law could be used to criminalize anyone who happens to be near the 125,000 miles of mostly unmarked pipelines that criss-cross the state of Louisiana. St. James residents are concerned the law would prohibit them from speaking out against the petrochemical industries that have turned their home into “Cancer Alley.”

How it is that we live in a state that is willing to spend millions of dollars attacking peaceful water protectors in the name of “critical infrastructure” while New Orleanians live with Sewerage and Water Board infrastructure so broken that we have frequent boil water advisories and pumps that can’t keep our streets from flooding in routine rainstorms? Is a water system that provides safe drinking water not critical infrastructure? Are safely navigable streets not critical infrastructure?

Why aren’t we issuing felonies to the crooked bureaucrats selling our wetlands off to petrochemical companies which are killing local ecosystems and threatening the very existence of our coastal communities? Because the state cares more about protecting the profits of the energy companies than it does about our public health or safety.

Among the many petrochemical and energy companies that pushed HB 727 were Energy Transfer Partners, Embridge, and Transcanada, all of which were involved in the construction of pipelines that have been met with protest in Louisiana. All three of these companies also financially contributed to Louisiana state representatives who co-sponsored the bill. At least 16 of the bill’s co-sponsors are affiliated with ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), a right-wing task-force controlled by billionaires like the Koch brothers. Across the country, ALEC has pushed to enact laws that favor corporations—mainly oil and gas companies—at the expense of the public.

It is obvious that these laws do not protect the people or infrastructure that is “critical” for the public good. The energy companies are buying off politicians and fast-tracking these laws because they hope that they can stop communities from protesting the destruction of their homelands. The politicians are criminalizing free speech while subsidizing the planet-killing corporations. Worse, they are criminalizing those who fight for the future of our planet. We cannot stand by idly while our water protectors are made into criminals. We must unite with other communities in the struggle against the oil and gas executives and the state which is attempting to silence us. We must not let fear swallow our voice.

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St. James Residents Are RISING Up to Fight the Oil Industry!

By Peyton Gill

I drove to St. James, LA, a slightly rural town 55 miles west of New Orleans along the Mississippi River, to meet up with a local woman born and raised in the town, Ms. Sharon Lavigne. She started RISE St. James, an organization in her living room with 10 people, then increased to dozens. They spend time outside their homes and work life, not getting paid, organizing to fight the oil and gas industry plaguing their parish, polluting the air and causing the citizens to have deadly health issues.

This town was deemed an Industrial Zone in 2014 by Parish Council members without open discussions amongst the townspeople. In September 2017, a couple of local organizations and church groups held a rally and march, ‘Rise for Cancer Alley,” which was a success for the residents. It brought New Orleanians out there to engage in the struggle. We got a firsthand look at these homes, sitting not even a mile from gas plants spewing toxins ‘round the clock.

Burton Lane, also known as Cancer Alley, is currently still waiting for an evacuation route. In the case of an explosion or oil leak, these residents would have no way to escape as the street has only one way in, one way out and is surrounded by oil reservoirs. The latest court hearing for the evacuation route will probably be delayed once again as city officials keep messing with the date, probably to deter angry citizens from being able to attend and demand a route.

Ms. Sharon said the latest news is that a Formosa plastic manufacturing company wants to build a plant two miles from a school! But Formosa does not have a 100% greenlight yet, because residents like RISE St. JAMES are showing up to the meetings between town council members and Formosa board members to state their disgust at the idea of adding another pollution factory to an already over burdened area. The organization put in an appeal to the court opposing the decision to welcome Formosa and are currently awaiting to hear the verdict.

Another resident organizing is Travis London. Travis stated, “The council members say that Formosa is supposed to pay for and build the evacuation route [for Burton Alley residents]. If Formosa wants to build here, Formosa has to agree to fund it. It’s the government getting away with not using their funds, and it makes the citizens think, ‘Ok we need Formosa to put a plant here so we can finally get an evacuation route!’ But residents don’t want any more industry here!” The people organizing in RISE St. James are fighting for their lives, and they have the power to win. They are banding together, and collectively stopping the capitalist oil thieves from coming in any more giving cancer to families and destroying their environment.

Ms. Sharon said, “It was about time someone said NO. HELP (another local group ‘organizing to stop’ the industry) was not doing anything. All they would do is tell us at the meetings when another oil plant would be coming in, and they would say there is nothing we could do about it.” Well, RISE St. James has a separate agenda, to fight the oil and gas industry and keep ‘em out.

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Rise for St. James AKA Cancer Alley! Environmental Racism is Real, Y’all

By Peyton Gill

On September 8th, 120 people came out to support the residents of the Gordon Plaza neighborhood in their demand for a full, just relocation. A lot of powerful words that have been building up in the struggle were shared on the mic from residents and supporters. I talked to a mother who lived 3 houses over and she said, “No one ever really hangs outside their homes. I have to tell my daughter you can’t play in the grass.” Ms. Shannon spoke on the mic, “We want the same satisfaction that folks up in the Irish Channel and St. Charles are getting. We voted her (Mayor Cantrell) in just like they did.” Environmental Racism is a real thing y’all. Raise awareness! #GordonPlazaResidents.

Buses came around 11:30 am and we headed over to the rally in St. James Parish to support those residents who are stuck in between the Mississippi River and more than 4 dozen crude oil reservoirs with no path out in the case of an explosion and who live with fumes, chemicals, and smog that envelops their town. The bus ride was about an hour, provided with a delicious lunch prepared by Brother T! We arrived at a pavilion to rally with 100 or so of the local community members involved in the fight against the oil companies and the parish and state government officials who enable their abuses.

One resident told me they were really excited because this is the first time a group has come out to support and rally with ‘em. We marched up Burton Street, lined on one side with the homes of low-income Black families, predominantly elderly and many handicapped. On the left side of the street, across from their homes, huge oil storage tanks lined up on hundreds of acres, with plenty more coming in the future.

Travis, a resident down the way in Ascension Parish said, “At one time St. James was nothing but country area. You could have rolled around on the weekend in the sun with your windows down. And everybody liked to do that. But you can’t do that now, because St. James smells horrible, you know, you smell different chemicals everywhere. It’s like a big super EXXON.”

After the march, we went back to the pavilion for some more great food and speakers from 5th district HELP, Mount Triumph Baptist Church, The League of Better St. James, L’eau Est La Vie Camp, and individual residents spoke of the work that needs to be done and what has happened up until now. It was an overall great day with outstanding community involvement. But there is still work to be done because these people and families are still living on and in toxic environments. What can you do? Contact/email the mayor’s office to demand the residents of Gordon Plaza receive a fully funded relocation (504) 658-4900 & mayor@nola.gov. Contact 350 New Orleans and give support to 5th district HELP for St. James residents.