Residents of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward and Holy Cross neighborhoods have mounted opposition to a $30 million grain terminal project on the Alabo Street Wharf, citing concerns over potential environmental and noise pollution. The pushback came during a meeting Wednesday night where locals, bearing signs and equipped with a portable amplifier, voiced their grievances, as reported by The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.
Despite being purchased by the Port of New Orleans in 1978, for historical transportation of goods like lumber and sugar, the wharf is now poised for redevelopment. An agreement between the port and Canada-based organic grain company Sunrise Foods International involves optimizing the warehouse and rail infrastructure to handle imported grains. The grain, transported by a 10-car train operated by Norfolk Southern, would move daily through the neighborhoods, raising substantial community distress. According to a La Illuminator report, Holy Cross Neighborhood Association's Jeffrey Wittenbrink Jr. fears "irrevocable damage" to the community that would affect local economic development and the survival of small businesses.
Many residents, like Cynthia Guillemet, who is the president of the Lower 9th Ward Neighborhood Association, learned about the Sunrise Foods contract only recently. Guillemet told New Orleans CityBusiness, "They could have notified us and let us know what they were going to do. We had to come upon it by accident." Similar sentiments were echoed by other community members at the meeting, frustrated with the lack of outreach and transparency.
The concerns center on the potential influx of grain dust in the air, rodent attraction, and disruptive noise levels from the coming and going trains. Norfolk Southern's spokeswoman Heather Garcia indicated that the rail company would work to minimize disruption but passed dust and pest management inquiries over to Sunrise Foods, as per NOLA.com. Conversely, Michael Corbett, Vice President of Strategy and Infrastructure for Sunrise Foods, stated that the company is still in the conceptual planning stages and is seeking community feedback on those concerns.
Despite these official statements, locals sought more solid answers. Residents like Shelby Wilson insisted on a proactive response to their health concerns. "We’re just supposed to roll over and accept the threat to our health?" Wilson, a longtime resident of the 9th Ward, questioned before characterizing the meeting as a grievance session for many like her with unanswered questions, according to La Illuminator.
