2 June 2025
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
On Tuesday, May 27, local nonprofits Rural Roots and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade released the report Ammonia Parish, the first report in a series titled “Ammonia Parish: Pollution or Prosperity?” The series will advocate against unfettered industrial expansion in the parish.
Petrochemical companies Air Products, Ascension Clean Energy and CF Industries are proposing expansions that would quadruple ammonia production in Ascension Parish. The CF facility, known as the Blue Point project, would be within one mile of the rural community of Modeste and would export ammonia to Japan and Korea. ExxonMobil wants to build Ascension Clean Energy near Modeste. Air and wetland permits are pending on both projects.
In Darrow, Air Products Blue Energy LLC hopes to build a hydrogen and ammonia plant. This project is currently suspended, but not canceled.
Included in the report is a quote from Ascension Parish resident Twila Collins about the health issues that have befallen her family. “My mother had cancer – she had breast cancer. I had colon cancer. My mom had bronchitis. My son died of an asthma attack at nine years old…Why should we have more pollution brought to our community?” Collins said.
Collins emphasized her pride in her community in the report. Her family has been in the Ascension Parish area since the 1800s. “I was born and raised here. I still reside here because the people in this community – we love one another. When our community is hurt or in need, we are there to help. When one is hurt, we all hurt. If one is in need, we’re all in need,” said Collins in the report.
Out of 2,500 parishes/counties in the U.S., Ascension Parish ranks in the top ten in the United States for toxic air pollution. The ranking comes from industry data submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to these reports, over 20 million pounds of toxic chemicals were released to the air, land and water in 2023 from 18 chemical plants, three gas processors and three oil and chemical terminals.
Ashley Gaignard, founder of Rural Roots, is a Donaldsonville resident and mother of three. The 48-year-old’s children were all born preterm and at low birth weights. One of her children was born with an undeveloped lung and severe asthma. She is a breast cancer survivor who had her first benign cyst removed at the age of 19. She had a hysterectomy in her 30s. Her grandfather died of asthma. She said she knows many women at her church who also had early hysterectomies.
“At first, I thought all of this was hereditary, but we’re living in an environment where we’re constantly at risk,” Gaignard said. “Industries want to add tons of ammonia on top of what we already have.”
A 2024 study in the peer-reviewed Environmental Research: Health backed Gaignard’s suspicions. The study found that residents of severely polluted census tracts have a 25-percent higher risk of low birth weight and a 36-percent higher risk of preterm birth compared to people in unpolluted areas.
Mike Belliveau, the director of Bend the Curve, a health and climate justice nonprofit, criticized local government leaders for the pollution.
“Louisiana fails to consider the cumulative effect of added facilities,” Belliveau said.
Belliveau emphasized that even low levels of ammonia in the air can cause negative health effects. He said once ammonia is in the air it is converted into particulate matter. Once the particles are breathed in, they never come out of the body. It is associated with increased risks of heart attacks and strokes as well.
When asked for comment about the residents’ concerns, Chris Close, senior director of corporate communications at CF Industries, said, “CF Industries believes its Blue Point project will have one of the lowest environmental footprints in the world for an ammonia plant while bringing significant economic benefits to Ascension Parish. As we have done for 60 years in the parish, we look forward to working with our local communities throughout the construction and operation of the ammonia plant to ensure the positive impact of this investment is shared broadly.”
Gaignard believes Ascension Parish would benefit from non-industrial development. She said Modeste is a food desert and she would like to see the area aim for food or culture-based development. She also added that there are no hospitals in the area. When she had cancer, she had to drive to Baton Rouge or New Orleans for treatment. A hospital in the area would make it easier for sick residents as well as employ many other locals.
“I’m tired of hearing industry is the only option,” Gaignard said. “We want to thrive and we want to live. Is that too much to ask for?”
This article originally published in the June 2, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.