A new, more rigorous review of the environmental impact of Formosa Group's $9.4 billion chemical manufacturing complex, dubbed Sunshine Project, planned for St. James Parish, Louisiana, could take more than two years.
Located just downriver from the Sunshine Bridge, the 2,400-acre site along the west bank of the Mississippi River, is slated to be built in two phases and produce ethylene, propylene, ethylene glycol and associated polymers.
In a statement on the status of additional project review by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Janile Parks, director of community and government relations for Formosa Group (FG) LA LLC, said that major construction on The Sunshine Project has been on hold since November 2020.
"In an unprecedented and shocking move, USACE Acting Assistant Secretary Jaime Pinkham announced via social media that the Corp’s reevaluation of FG's project would include an environmental assessment beyond permit requirements," said Parks.
Parks said that FG continues to stay in contact with the Corps regarding this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) procedure in the interest of a fair and transparent process. FG has participated fully in each step of the regulatory process, supplied ample information to demonstrate the safety and environmental controls of The Sunshine Project, and responded to every Corps request, she added.
"However, in the more than ten weeks since the Acting Assistant Secretary ‘tweeted' his one-page decision to order an EIS review for FG’s USACE permit, the company has not received official notification from the Corps regarding the additional EIS review or its components, nor has the Acting Assistant Secretary reached out to the company to directly communicate the matter or the reasoning for the extra regulatory review," said Parks.
In the original announcement made in 2018 by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Formosa, officials said The Sunshine Project would create 1,200 new direct jobs averaging $84,500, plus benefits. "Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project also would result in 8,000 new indirect jobs, for a total of more than 9,000 jobs in the River Parishes and surrounding regions of Louisiana," the release stated.
Parks confirmed that the project has been vetted extensively by St. James Parish, once prior to its approval of FG’s Land Use Ordinance in October 2018, and again in 2021 under a new parish administration. In 2021, the parish contracted Atlas Environmental Company, LLC to examine The Sunshine Project’s air permits, wetlands permit, cultural resources permits, as well as environmental justice considerations a cost/benefit analysis. That second independent review also affirmed that all is in good standing with the project - just as the Corps did when it awarded the project a permit in September 2019, after extensive review and evaluation.
"At this time, FG is awaiting further instruction on the Corps’ additional EIS procedure and evaluation components in expectation of a fair and transparent process," said Parks.
But the plant has triggered lawsuits and regular protests from a dedicated group of local residents and environmentalists. It has also drawn attention from out-of-state political leaders and the United Nations. Critics claim that Formosa's toxic emissions would land on already overburdened Black communities, like Welcome and Romeville, in the Mississippi River corridor.
Critics also argue the plant would create a massive new source of greenhouse gases at a time when much of the world is trying to fight climate change.
