ST. MARTIN PARISH — Residents in St. Martin Parish are raising concerns over a large storage site in St. Martinville as parish officials consider a request to rezone the property where the material sits from agricultural to heavy industrial use.
Lorie Bob and her husband have lived in St. Martinville for nearly two decades. From her home on Big Apple Lane, she said she can see the site every day and has watched it change over time.
"It progressively got higher, it’s like higher than a mountain," Bob said.
Bob said she worries about what she believes the pile releases into the air, especially during windy conditions.
"I don't even know why they have that out in the open like that, cause when we have a strong wind, you know that blows it all into the atmosphere, the car’s all dusty and stuff so I’m not even sure why they would have that there," she said.
The site is owned by the Louisiana Sugar Cane Cooperative, known as LaSuCa, which is asking the parish to rezone the property from agricultural to heavy industrial use — a move that could allow the operation to continue long-term. It’s a request some neighbors, like Bob, are pushing back against.
"I have to take my medicine everyday, zyrtec everyday you know so yea it is a hindrance," she said.
The pile consists of bagasse, the fibrous material left after sugarcane is crushed to extract its juice. Another nearby resident, Donald Benoit, said he initially assumed the material would eventually be removed.
"I just noticed, it kept like growing for like a little bit, and after a while I just figured they would pick it up and it's just been there ever since, I don't even know how long it’s been there. I just have bad allergies and so it messes with my nose," Benoit said.
Regarding the situation LaSuCa provided KATC with the following statement:
"With regards to the rezoning request, the property has been used in its current capacity since 2019 as part of a long standing agricultural operation. The rezoning is intended to simply remove any uncertainty by rezoning to a classification that clearly accommodates the pre-existing use going forward.
Recently, there has been substantial misinformation stated publicly about bagasse and the guidelines approved for its storage. Bagasse is simply sugarcane that has been shredded and pressed to remove the juice. And the methods by which we manage bagasse storage are approved by the governing authorities that have jurisdiction over those activities. In fact, a recent inspection of the property by LDEQ resulted in a report which found the property to be in compliance as a result of no observed violations.
We remain committed to operating responsibly moving forward, amongst our fellow residents and we believe this rezoning effort is a testament to that."
KATC reached out to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to confirm the findings referenced in LaSuCa’s statement and to ask about concerns raised by residents, but did not receive a response before publication.
As parish leaders continue reviewing the rezoning request, residents say they hope their concerns are taken into account before a decision is made.
"My prayer is that eventually, the people that have that going on, they could realize, if they were in that situation, what would they do? Would they like dust and stuff like that in the atmosphere, polluting the area?" Bob said.
