By Richard Meek
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. John the Baptist Parish Council members heard from two West Bank residents this week concerned about potential mercury levels in their soil.

Recently, Noranda Alumina officials in Gramercy said the company has been releasing mercury into the air for perhaps as long as 50-plus years, although they insist it poses no risk to residents.

John Cummings and Norm Marrmillon each requested the Council pay to have soil samples taken in Wallace and Edgard to determine if mercury is present and at what level.

“We want to know how much mercury we have in the ground, in our gardens,” Marrmillon said. “The DEQ needs to know, doctors need to know.”

He called the Council the citizens’ first line of defense and is putting his trust with the board.

“We can’t look the other way,” Marrmillon said. “We can’t put our head in the sand because the sand may have mercury in it.”

Cummings said mercury does not go away once it goes into the land. He also cited some of the physical effects and birth defects caused by mercury poisoning.

“I hope there is nothing there, but we must know,” he said.

In other council news, Robottom said the parish is entering an agreement with South Central Planning to administer a grant under Community Block Grant Recovery program for small businesses still recovering from Hurricane Isaac. The amount allocated to the program is $4.2 million.

Robottom called the program an economic development boost that will help small businesses and emphasized it is not a housing program.

The primary purpose is to assist those businesses that are not “bankable,” but can still demonstrate a need for their project.