WALLACE, La. — Residents of a historic Black community in Louisiana who’ve spent years fighting against a massive grain export facility set to be built on the grounds where their enslaved ancestors once lived appear to have finally halted the project.
A representative from the company, Greenfield Louisiana LLC, announced during a public hearing on Monday evening that the company is “ceasing all plans” to construct a grain export facility in the middle of the town of Wallace in St. John the Baptist Parish.
After a moment, opponents of the project broke out in cheers ,and began clapping and hugging each other.
“I’m still obviously in disbelief — I can’t believe this is happening, but I’m ecstatic and all praise to the ancestors,” said Joy Banner, a Wallace resident and one of the most vocal opponents of the project. She and her sister, Jo, founded The Descendants Project to preserve the community’s heritage.
The company’s announcement signaled a rare win for a community in a heavily industrialized stretch of the Mississippi River known as “Cancer Alley” for its high levels of pollution. Wallace is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of New Orleans.
“I think all of the fighting – it is coming from the love and the passion for our communities we have here along the river, and to show the world we can and you should fight,” Banner said. “We are recognizing that we do have power – that power comes from the love we have for our community.”
Earlier this year, the Banner sisters’ nonprofit purchased a plantation which had been the site of one of the largest slave rebellions in American History, the 1811 German Coast Uprising. They plan to transform it into an educational space.
The Army Corps of Engineers had already found the 222 acre (90 hectare) facility, could adversely impact cultural heritage sites in Wallace, and was tasked with reviewing Greenfield’s application.
Army Corps representative Brad LaBorde said his agency had not been informed in advance of the company’s unexpected decision to cancel plans for the facility.
“We don’t know exactly what that means,” LaBorde said. “We still have an active permit application so, if it is Greenfield’s intention to no longer pursue the project, then we would ask they formally submit a withdrawal to us so that we can conclude the review.”
Lynda Van Davis, Greenfield’s counsel and head of external affairs, said the long delay in government approval for the project has…
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