The St. Bernard Parish School Board has asked a judge to halt work on the $1.8 billion Port of New Orleans terminal at Violet, arguing that construction on the site is a danger to a nearby elementary school.
The school board lawsuit, filed this week in the 34th Judicial District Court in St. Bernard Parish, is the latest of several lawsuits in St. Bernard aimed at blocking the facility — called the Louisiana International Terminal — since Port NOLA first bought 1,100 acres at Violet and unveiled the plan over three years ago.
The St. Bernard Port Violet Terminal on the Mississippi River in Violet Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) ORG XMIT: BAT2012311214530137
Doris Voitier, Superintendent of St. Bernard Public Schools and one of 12 members of the school board, said the lawsuit had a more narrow focus than other legal actions that seek to block the project altogether.
"The only consideration our school board had in doing this was the health, safety and welfare of the children at the school," she said, referring to the W. Smith Junior Elementary School, which is located adjacent to the port site on the St. Bernard Highway in Violet.
The initial objective of the lawsuit is an injunction from the court to force the port to stop work it has already begun on the site ahead of the first week of the new school term in early August, Voitier said.
The lawsuit, which is being brought by St. Bernard Parish attorney David Jarrell, argues that the proposed terminal would pose environmental and other dangers to pupils and staff. It also argues that as the school's student body is made up primarily of Black and other minority students, there are questions of environmental justice.
The port has already begun "surcharging" on the site, which involves bringing frequent truckloads of materials for engineering work to prepare the ground for later construction.
"There is a lot of activity very close to and in front of the school," said Voitier.
Port Nola chief of staff and vice president of external affairs Sarah McLaughlin Porteous said they had no comment on any pending litigation.
Officials have long argued that a downriver container terminal is needed for the New Orleans area to compete with other Gulf ports and have promised new roads will mitigate traffic congestion.
Container shipping has been a growing share of international trade for decades and the limitations of the city's current port system has meant that competitor cities like Mobile, Houston and Savannah have been expanding at a much faster rate than New Orleans.
Several lawsuits
The St. Bernard Parish DA also brought another lawsuit on behalf of the St. Bernard Parish government last August, which argued that the port does not have the authority to operate a shipping facility within the borders of St. Bernard Parish. That lawsuit is still pending and the St. Bernard Parish Council is set to vote next Tuesday whether it will join that lawsuit as an additional plaintiff.
Last year, the St. Bernard district court ruled that another lawsuit, brought by a group of parish residents who oppose the port, was premature until environmental and other studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are completed.
The LIT has broad support among Louisiana state politicians and within the local trade and economic development communities. It signed a deal two years ago with two private sector operators who agreed to provide $800 million to help build the terminal, though that deal is contingent on progress on the permitting front, as well as financing the infrastructure upgrades.
Progress but "not a done deal"
So far, the port has worked its way through several stages of federal and state funding to get key road and other infrastructure projects moving.
However, Sidney Torres III, the lawyer leading the case brought by residents, said there is still strong local opposition to the terminal.
"The opposition to this ill-conceived project is stronger than ever," Torres said. "It’s not a done deal by any stretch."