Christopher Cartwright

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright

Last fall, a Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality air permit hearing about a proposed ammonia plant in Ascension Parish displayed deep divisions between officials and business leaders who supported the proposal and local residents and environmental groups who opposed it. The $8 billion project plans to capture carbon dioxide and transport it to Lake Maurepas, injecting it deep beneath that body of water.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright

Zachary voters rejected an amendment to the city’s home rule charter that would have tightened council member residency requirements and loosened such requirements for department heads. The measure failed Saturday by a margin of 60% to 40%, with just under 2,500 residents voting. The city last amended its home rule charter in 2010. Under current ordinances, council members may move outside their district and continue to hold office up to 180 days after their residency changes.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright

Advocacy groups warning of environmental and health risks and industry lobbyists promoting job growth descended upon Donaldsonville on Thursday evening to play their respective roles in a permit hearing for a proposed ammonia facility north of the city. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality hearings follow a specific structure. The company presents an overview, followed by comments from residents and officials, then anyone who supports the permit and finally, anyone who opposes it.

2 weeks ago | theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright

A hearing is scheduled for Thursday night on draft permits for a proposed ammonia facility on the west bank of Ascension Parish, which if approved would produce 7.2 million tons of the chemical annually. Clean Hydrogen Works has submitted plans for the plant, which would be situated on a 1,700-acre site between Donaldsonville and Modeste. The project is backed by ExxonMobil, Japanese Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Singapore-based Hafnia.

2 weeks ago | theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright

The U.S. Department of Justice dismissed a decades-old school desegregation case against Plaquemines Parish on Tuesday, ending an integration order that local leaders forcefully resisted in the 1960s before ultimately complying. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in 1966 after Plaquemines Parish, led by political boss and staunch segregationist Leander Perez, refused to integrate its schools.