Community Group Challenges IMTT Expansion

On Monday, Refined Community Empowerment filed a petition for judicial review challenging the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQ) decision to renew and modify International-Matex Tank Terminals’ (IMTT) Title V air permit for its St. Rose Terminal. The lawsuit asks the court to vacate the permit because LDEQ approved an expansion of the facility without conducting and documenting key air quality analyses required by state and federal law.

The permit would allow construction of a new ammonia storage and export system and more than a dozen bulk storage tanks next to communities already burdened by industrial pollution. The ammonia system would support St. Charles Clean Fuels’ planned “blue” ammonia manufacturing plant. It includes several ammonia emission sources, including four ammonia storage tanks, flares, marine and truck loading operations, and related equipment capable of transferring large volumes of ammonia for export. The 15 additional tanks would store crude oil, methanol, and other petrochemical products that emit toxic air pollutants, including benzene and n-hexane.

IMTT operates one of the largest tank storage terminals in Louisiana. This “tank farm” has expanded its operations and infrastructure, increasing the volume and variety of petroleum and chemical products stored in more than 200 tanks with a capacity to store nearly 500 million gallons of petroleum products, fuels, chemicals, and other commodities. It is located between the residential communities of Elkinsville-Freetown and Oak Lawn Ridge, just upriver from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Some tanks are located a few hundred feet from homes, and residents have long raised concerns about odors and air pollution from the facility. Now residents are facing another expansion.

“Our community should not have to accept more pollution without evidence that their health will be protected,” said Kimbrelle Eugene Kyereh, executive director of Refined Community Empowerment. “This legal appeal is important because our community deserves transparent decisions, meaningful safeguards, and a real voice when industrial expansion is proposed next door.”

Refined Community Empowerment is represented by public interest attorneys at Earthjustice and Environmental Integrity Project.

“LDEQ cannot approve a large increase in air pollution without showing that the project complies with the law,” said Corinne Van Dalen, senior attorney for Earthjustice. “The record does not contain the evidence needed to support this permit, and communities should not have to bear the consequences of an unsupported decision.”

“We are asking the Court to enforce basic safeguards that must be followed for this industrial expansion,” explained Haley Lewis, senior attorney for Environmental Integrity Project. “When a company wants to build massive petrochemical tanks next to people’s homes, they should have to follow the law.”