Agreement aims to work on red dust problem in Ascension Parish

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Residents that are affected by red dust in Ascension Parish may have some relief coming in the future after a memorandum of understanding was signed by Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Aurelia Giacometto.

Residents have expressed concern about the red dust affecting their neighborhoods.

The source of the red dust is the LAlumina aluminum plant. Giacometto said she visited the site and said, “this was a problem that would take all of us to solve.”

Giacometto said, “the parish will take active steps to perform some of this cleanup with the reimbursement coming from the Financial Assurance Trust Fund, where DEQ is the trustee.”

Government officials plan to solve red dirt problem in Ascension Parish

She said there is about $5.5 million in the trust fund. “We’re estimating that closure costs are between $13 to 18 million,” Giacometto said.

Cointment said it was going to take a long time to solve this problem.

“There is funds in the account that we have to make sure we manage properly to ensure that we are able to successfully mitigate the issues at hand,” said Cointment.

Latest News

• Be brave: 11-year-old Louisiana girl shares her story, talks about health challenges to inspire others

• Despite cancer, 90-year-old hairstylist has no plans to retire

• Judge rules military can’t turn away HIV-positive enlistees

• Southern Classic Chicken: See when, where to get the Louisiana fried favorite in Baton Rouge

• US home sales ended 4-month downward trend in July amid easing mortgage rates, more homes on market

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to BRProud.com.