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Residents of Elkinsville, in St Rose of St Charles Parish, raised concerns in 2024 when St. Charles Clean Fuels sought to build a blue ammonia plant on a site owned by International-Matex Tank Terminals, IMTT, in St Rose. 

Led by a coalition of environmental groups, residents of the community produced an analysis claiming that the proposed ammonia company’s location would exacerbate the community’s already high pollution emissions and put the residents at risk.

Last year, LOTTE Chemical, a South Korean company, entered a purchase agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to source blue ammonia from the St. Charles Clean Fuels facility in St. Rose.

The agreement has encountered substantial opposition from the community and significant concerns regarding environmental issues linked to the proposed project.

An Elkinsville resident, Kimbrelle Kyereh, who testified at a public hearing in December 2024, says she’s already been forced to “self-evacuate from her home to get away from the chemicals coming into my home” from the existing industrial facilities.

Her home is near the fenceline of the International-Matex Tank Terminals’ facility, which stores ethanol, renewable diesel, and petroleum products, which she claims may harm her health.

“On November 22, 2024, the air inside my home had the highest quantity of acetone and benzene,” Kyereh said. “These chemicals were not just outside my home but inside my home.”

State records show that over 100,000 pounds of toxic volatile organic compounds were released from the IMTT site last year from its operations. Residents fear the proposed ammonia production facility will worsen it.

Rebecca Hillburn, a local teacher who developed Sjögren’s Syndrome after living in Norco for two years, voiced concern for her children’s health in St. Rose in an LDEQ public testimony, citing the community’s exposure to environmental risks.

“I have an autoimmune disorder known as Sjögren’s Syndrome. I got that after we lived in Norco, LA, for 2 years,” Hillburn said. “I am a teacher in this area, and my biggest concern is for the children who live in St. Rose.

A petition from residents in St Charles Parish to collect signatures opposing the facility was submitted to LDEQ in December 2024. Before it was submitted, it had garnered 763 signatures.

In March, residents of St Charles Parish issued a stakeholder report analysis called the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Alert report. The report was sent to LOTTE Chemicals with a request for a response within three weeks.

Joseph Coco, a St. Charles Parish resident, delivered the ESG stakeholder report analysis at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in the St. Rose community of Elkinsville, highlighting the discrepancies between LOTTE’s sustainability promises and the St. Charles Clean Fuels project.

The new report calls on LOTTE Chemical to drop its planned blue ammonia project in St. Charles Parish, citing environmental justice concerns and community opposition. 

“We strongly urge LOTTE Chemical to reconsider this aspect of the partnership in alignment with your own sustainability vision,” the report stated.

The stakeholder report urges LOTTE to engage with Elkinsville residents, assess environmental justice impacts, and strengthen ESG screening and transparency across its operations.

While praising the company’s broader ESG commitments, the report suggests that LOTTE should instead focus on its green ammonia partnership in Australia to align with its sustainability goals.

“This isn’t just about corporate greenwashing, it’s about the lived reality of environmental racism,” Coco said. “LOTTE Chemical celebrates its sustainability principles in glossy reports while simultaneously investing in a facility that would further harm an already overburdened black community.” 

The deadline for LOTTE’s response to the stakeholder report passed on April 2, without any acknowledgment or communication from the company to the identified concerns.

In its response, St. Charles Clean Fuels did not address those allegations during a February hearing held by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to gather public comments on the proposed ammonia production facility.

St. Charles Clean Fuels Executive VP John Baguley claimed in a February LDEQ hearing that “ammonia doesn’t reach any residences” and they “generate virtually no emissions.”