I strongly oppose Greenfield, LLC’s attempt to locate their heavy industry project, a grain elevator to the small community of Wallace.

The proposed site of this project was never intended for heavy industry. The land was rezoned to Industrial-3 due to the criminal actions of former Parish President Lester Millet, Jr. Millet served five years in jail because of his involvement in the rezoning of the land. Despite Millet’s conviction, the absurd rezoning was allowed to stand paving the way for heavy industry to locate precariously close to the residents in Wallace. By approving Greenfield’s permit, your agency will also approve Millet’s criminal exploitation of a Black historic community. The Descendants Project, a non-profit organization based in Wallace, filed a lawsuit to challenge the zoning.

The risk to the community far outweighs the benefits of this project. This community has historically been known as Cancer Alley, due to the overwhelming number of industrial plants emitting cancerous agents, respiratory irritants, noxious odors, and property damage from dust accumulation. Furthermore, the community living within a 5-mile radius of the proposed site has a cancer risk within the 98th percentile of Louisiana and the 95th-100th percentile within the US. A grain elevator would only make these problems worse; the tiny particles from grain dust have been found to get stuck in the lungs and cause serious respiratory issues, including wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing.

According to the American Thoracic Society, “Grain dust is complex and contains a mixture of different types of grain, insect parts, fungi, bacteria, bird and rodent droppings, pesticides, and silica.”These and other contaminants – for example, rodent body parts – can cause respiratory disease in people who inhale the dust.” Pulmonary disease has also been linked to increased exposure to grain dust.

Grain elevators are notorious for exploding, with grain dust being more explosive than gunpowder. A layer of grain dust as thin as a single sheet of paper can cause an explosion triggering a second more dangerous explosion. With homes as close as 200 feet from the proposed location, many residents will be in extreme danger due to their proximity to the site.

You must protect the people of Wallace by denying Greenfield, Louisiana LLC’s attempts to locate its harmful project into their Black descendant community.