There’s a push to cancel construction of a 9.4 billion dollar chemical plant in St. James Parish after archeologists discover what may be an unknown number of unmarked slave graves.
Local activist and RISE St. James Founder Sharon Lavigne says there’s no way the planned plant can continue now.
“That is sacred ground, that’s people, that’s our ancestors that are buried here, and we are not going to allow them to come and build a plant next to our ancestors,” says Lavigne.
The plot was discovered at the outer edge of the 2,300 acre-site, but Lavigne believes the area may contain more graves.
FG, the company building the Formosa plant, says an independent archeologist they hired discovered the graves in June, but Lavigne says it appears they only just fenced off the area.
“They knew, 17 months ago, about these gravesites, and they would not bring it to the Parish Council,” says Lavigne. “All they do is lie, they’ve been lying ever since they came to us.”
Lavigne says they’ve been pushing to cancel the plant since before the graves were discovered, but there are already 12 industrial projects in his district alone.
“People can’t breathe, people dying from respiratory problems, and we feel that if another industry comes here we will not be able to live, we will not be able to breathe the air,” says Lavigne.
FG said in a statement they “will follow all applicable state and federal laws in regards to the burial ground and public notification.”