(C) Verite News New Orleans

(C) Verite News New Orleans
This story was originally published by Verite News New Orleans and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .

Proposed grain terminal would harm historic slave sites in St. John Parish, review finds [1]

['Louisiana Illuminator', 'More Louisiana Illuminator', 'Verite News']

Date: 2023-10-04

By Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator

A proposed grain terminal would harm the setting, characteristics and economies of three historic Mississippi River plantations and a cemetery in the nearly all-Black community of Wallace in St. John the Baptist Parish, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined.

The findings are part of an environmental review the Corps conducted on the proposed construction of the Greenfield grain terminal, a $400 million grain elevator complex in a historic Black community around Whitney Plantation. Greenfield wants to build 54 grain silos and a conveyor almost as tall as the 305-foot Statue of Liberty less than a half-mile from the plantation.

The Corps identified 20 historic properties within the project’s area of potential effects and found the project would adversely impact five of them: Whitney Plantation, Evergreen Plantation, Willow Grove Cemetery and the wider Whitney Plantation Historic District in St. John Parish; and Oak Alley Plantation in St. James Parish. Most of the properties are either National Historic Landmarks or listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Willow Grove Cemetery, which contains the burial sites of slaves and their descendants, is just 300 feet from the proposed construction site.

“The visual and vibratory impacts will alter the cemetery’s integrity of setting, materials, and feeling, all important characteristics of the Willow Grove Cemetery,” the Corps stated in its review.

The review noted the proposed grain terminal would harm the future earnings of Evergreen Plantation, which operates as a research center and generates revenue as a film and television location.

“The proposed project’s impacts, during both construction and operation, will greatly diminish the integrity of the property’s setting, resulting in economic hardships on the property that will cause additional adverse effects later in time,” the review said.

The Corps made similar determinations for the other three properties, finding that construction lighting, noise and traffic, among other things, would have adverse effects.

The agency conducted the review upon the request of multiple organizations and advocacy groups that appealed to the Corps of Engineers to consider the many historic sites in the area and block the construction of the grain terminal. However, it has still not decided on whether to grant Greenfield’s construction permit.

All of the parties involved in the review have 30 days to submit comments. The Corps will then meet with parties to discuss steps to “avoid, minimize and mitigate the adverse effects.”

The Descendants Project, a nonprofit that advocates for the descendants of slaves in Louisiana, is spearheading a federal lawsuit to try to stop the Greenfield project.

“To see it in black and white, that the vibratory impacts are adversely affecting the remains of the community’s loved ones, is especially disturbing,” Descendants Project Co-founder Joy Banner said. “There’s no way to mitigate that type of adverse impact.”

Greenfield said it plans to maintain a 450-foot buffer of trees and greenery to keep the facility’s buildings out of view of visitors, tourists and residents. The company also has a plan in place that in the event cultural resources are discovered, all construction in that area will cease and Greenfield will immediately notify all appropriate agencies to responsibly address those resources, according to the company’s website.

This article first appeared on Louisiana Illuminator and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Related Stories

Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Close window X Republish this article This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Unless otherwise noted, you can republish most of Verite’s stories for free under a Creative Commons license. For digital publications: Look for the “Republish This Story” button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS).

You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.

You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.

Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.

If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @VeriteNewsNola @VeriteNewsNola For print publications: You have to credit Verite. We prefer “Author Name, Verite News” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Verite News” and include our website, veritenews.org

You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.

You cannot republish our photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor Tim Morris

Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.

You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.

You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.

Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.

If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @VeriteNewsNola on Facebook @VeriteNewsNola on Twitter. If you have any other questions, contact managing editor Tim Morris. Proposed grain terminal would harm historic slave sites in St. John Parish, review finds <h1>Proposed grain terminal would harm historic slave sites in St. John Parish, review finds</h1> by Louisiana Illuminator, Verite News October 4, 2023 By Wesley Muller, <a href="https://lailluminator.com/">Louisiana Illuminator</a> A proposed grain terminal would harm the setting, characteristics and economies of three historic Mississippi River plantations and a cemetery in the nearly all-Black community of Wallace in St. John the Baptist Parish, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined. The findings are part of an <a target="_blank" href="https://lailluminator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/LASHPO_Greenfield-Holdings-Wallace-Grain-Elevator-Adverse-Effects-Letter-3.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental review</a> the Corps conducted on the proposed construction of the Greenfield grain terminal, a $400 million grain elevator complex in a historic Black community around Whitney Plantation. Greenfield wants to build 54 grain silos and a conveyor almost as tall as the 305-foot Statue of Liberty less than a half-mile from the plantation. The Corps identified 20 historic properties within the project’s area of potential effects and found the project would adversely impact five of them: Whitney Plantation, Evergreen Plantation, Willow Grove Cemetery and the wider Whitney Plantation Historic District in St. John Parish; and Oak Alley Plantation in St. James Parish. Most of the properties are either National Historic Landmarks or listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Willow Grove Cemetery, which contains the burial sites of slaves and their descendants, is just 300 feet from the proposed construction site. “The visual and vibratory impacts will alter the cemetery’s integrity of setting, materials, and feeling, all important characteristics of the Willow Grove Cemetery,” the Corps stated in its review. The review noted the proposed grain terminal would harm the future earnings of Evergreen Plantation, which operates as a research center and generates revenue as a film and television location. “The proposed project’s impacts, during both construction and operation, will greatly diminish the integrity of the property’s setting, resulting in economic hardships on the property that will cause additional adverse effects later in time,” the review said. The Corps made similar determinations for the other three properties, finding that construction lighting, noise and traffic, among other things, would have adverse effects. The agency conducted the review <a target="_blank" href="https://lailluminator.com/briefs/federal-government-to-review-proposed-grain-elevators-risk-to-louisiana-slave-burial-sites/" rel="noreferrer noopener">upon the request</a> of multiple organizations and advocacy groups that appealed to the Corps of Engineers to consider the many historic sites in the area and block the construction of the grain terminal. However, it has still not decided on whether to grant Greenfield’s construction permit. All of the parties involved in the review have 30 days to submit comments. The Corps will then meet with parties to discuss steps to “avoid, minimize and mitigate the adverse effects.” The Descendants Project, a nonprofit that advocates for the descendants of slaves in Louisiana, is spearheading a federal lawsuit to try to stop the Greenfield project. “To see it in black and white, that the vibratory impacts are adversely affecting the remains of the community’s loved ones, is especially disturbing,” Descendants Project Co-founder Joy Banner said. “There’s no way to mitigate that type of adverse impact.” Greenfield said it plans to maintain a 450-foot buffer of trees and greenery to keep the facility’s buildings out of view of visitors, tourists and residents. The company also has a plan in place that in the event cultural resources are discovered, all construction in that area will cease and Greenfield will immediately notify all appropriate agencies to responsibly address those resources, according to the company’s <a href="https://www.greenfieldla.com/fact-sheet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a>. This <a href="https://lailluminator.com/2023/10/04/proposed-grain-terminal-would-harm-historic-slave-sites-in-st-john-parish-review-finds/">article</a> first appeared on <a href="https://lailluminator.com/">Louisiana Illuminator</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. This <a target="_blank" href="https://veritenews.org/2023/10/04/review-grain-terminal-proposal-historic-slave-sites/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://veritenews.org">Verite News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/veritenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/cropped-Verite-icon.png?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://veritenews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=9668&ga3=319934958" style="width:1px;height:1px;"> Copy to Clipboard

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://veritenews.org/2023/10/04/review-grain-terminal-proposal-historic-slave-sites/

Published and (C) by Verite News New Orleans
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 US.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/veritenews/