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The Louisiana 5th Circuit Court issued its decision last week, reversing St James Parish Council’s approval of a $185 million expansion through designated wetlands at the Koch Methanol complex, requiring greater environmental scrutiny.

The court’s decision determined that the council acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” by failing to follow its procedures when approving the project, thus violating Louisiana law.

The ruling is being hailed as a significant victory for parish residents. The five-member court panel found that St. James officials failed to apply the highest level of scrutiny in their planning ordinance, “Tier 3,” to the expansion project.

“The parish failed to follow its own ordinance, which mandated that the proposed project’s application be evaluated per the standard of Tier 3 review,” Judge Marc E. Johnson wrote in the 16-page ruling.

Judges Susan M. Chehardy and Fredericka Homberg Wicker sided with the plaintiffs, while Stephen J. Windhorst and John J. Molaison dissented in a 3-2 ruling.

The ruling returns the proposal to the Planning Commission for a Tier 3 environmental review, the most stringent level required under the parish’s Land Use Ordinance. 

The court’s decision sent Koch Methanol’s application back to the Planning Commission for proper evaluation, delaying the project and reinforcing the power of local ordinances to protect public health and the environment.

“This decision tells every grandmother, every grand-baby, and every neighbor along the river that our lives matter more than a corporation’s bottom line,” said Sharon Lavigne, founder and director of RISE St. James. “The court has reminded Koch Methanol and every industry eyeing our wetlands that St. James Parish is not a sacrifice zone.”

St James Parish officials had permitted a 1,000-foot section of a new ethane pipeline through protected wetlands, which the court said had been inadequately analyzed for the project’s overall benefits and costs.

The Koch expansion is set to raise methanol production by 25%, but it may also increase annual air emissions by over 50% in an area with the highest toxic air emissions and lifetime cancer risk in the state and nation.

The project has also been criticized for failing to deliver on economic promises. In court, parish officials argued the pipeline extension was permitted since it connected to a preexisting line despite wetland development prohibitions. 

While Koch Methanol initially pledged 276 jobs, a 2022 parish survey found the facility employed just 113 workers. The proposed expansion would add only two permanent jobs but qualify the company for an estimated $700,000 in additional tax exemptions each year, on top of the $15 million already received annually.

The Gretna-based appeals court’s ruling overturned a lower court’s ruling from last year, which had upheld the parish’s decisions. The appeals court ordered the case be returned to the 23rd Judicial District, headed by Judge Cody M. Martin, for further proceedings.