ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / September 27, 2000

GARYVILLE – Construction of a new coker plant and coke conveyor system to the river at the Marathon/Ashland refinery provoked some loud protests from Garyville and Reserve residents at a community meeting Monday night.

Some 30 people gathered at the St. Hubert’s Parish Hall in Garyville to hearofficials with Marathon/Ashland update the community on their new coker plant under construction. The meeting, arranged by Marathon and St. Johnthe Baptist Parish Councilman Allen St. Pierre, brought together residentsand members of the parish administration. Parish President Nickie Monicaand councilmen Dale Wolfe, Cleveland Farlough and Duaine Duffy were also in attendance.

In May 1999 Marathon/Ashland announced plans to build a delayed coker plant that would cost $250 million and create about 900 jobs at the height of construction.

The delayed coker plant is a giant cracking vessel filled with low-grade oil.

Applied heat “cracks” the oil into several products, gasoline and diesel which rises to the top of the vessel and coke which sinks to the bottom. Thedelayed coker than siphons off the gas, diesel and coke is put into a huge pit surrounded by 28-foot high concrete walls. Also, sulfur is extracted from allthese products and sold off to other companies.

The coke, a black coal-like substance, is used in place of coal in electrical power plants. The coke will be put on a 10,000-foot conveyor belt thatstarts at the east end of the refinery, makes a 90-degree turn south towards the river, goes over River Road and into barges along a dock.

It is this conveyor belt that has so many Garyville and Reserve residents worried.

Jim Shoriak, project manager for the coker plant, assured the concerned citizens that every precaution is being taken to make sure that the conveyor belt is safe and environmentally sound.

Plant manager Larry Echelberger said there will be minimal ecological impact on the community.

“The laws and regulations are so stringent these days that we have to be safe,” said Echelberger. “We presented the data to the LouisianaDepartment of Environmental Quality, and they gave us the permits.”One of the biggest worries of the people is the dust that all that coke will produce. A lot of residents live around the grain elevators in the area, andthey are worried that coke dust will get into their houses and lungs like the grain dust.

Shoriak said the conveyor belt will be covered and the coke itself will remain wet so that no dust will come off it. For 3,000 feet the belt will be totallyenclosed in 9-foot diameter pipes as it crosses the River Road and goes to the docks. The pipe will rise to 28 feet over River Road so that all traffic canpass underneath it.

Before the conveyor belt goes over the River Road it will be partially covered by a semicircular sheet metal covering while on the refinery grounds and will be sprinkled with water the whole time it is being transported.

While in the coke pit, the coke will constantly be sprinkled with water to make sure there is no dust. The water will be drained off and put in a water tankand recycled over the coke once more.

However, for Hilary Cambre, all the water in the world won’t make a difference. The Garyville resident told the audience he had worked in a cokerplant for 10 years.

“The dust will be bad,” said Cambre. “I don’t care how much water you put onit.”He asked Shoriak what they would do if the belt broke down.

“It will not put dust in the air,” responded Shoriak.

“That’s a bunch of bull,” retorted Cambre.

Shoriak also said noise would not be a problem for the residents. A lot ofpeople at the meeting were concerned the coker belt would be running at all hours of the day and night.

“We don’t expect any noise from the belt,” said Shoriak.

He said the belt and pipe will be built with vulcanized connections and sealed bearings so that noise will be cut down to a bare minimum.

“You are not going to hear it,” assured Shoriak.

But people were not convinced. Linda Cervizzi, who lives on River Road nextdoor to the refinery, told Marathon officials, “All this high-tech equipment is only as good as the people who operate it. We are already subject to lots ofother pollution in the air. Why don’t we have the luxury of having the airmonitored for our protection?” Greg Williams, Marathon’s director of environment and safety, said there are three air monitors in the area that are checked constantly.

“We meet all the ambient air standards for the parish,” Williams said. “If wedidn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to get the permits.”Attorney Jerri Broussard-Baloney was upset that an environmental impact study had not been released to the public. Her husband, Carl “Butch”Baloney, was even angrier over the fact that Marathon had not done a good job informing residents about the coker plant.

But Marathon/Ashland Human Resources Director Gretchen Plewak countered saying articles about the project had been printed in all the local newspapers as far back as May 1999.

Plus, she said, the issue had been brought up at several parish council meetings.

But Baloney was not mollified.

“There is an air of arrogance from Marathon that is not helping things,” said Baloney. “We have suffered the brunt of your pollution, and you give us noconsideration.”Local real estate broker Carl Monica said he is worried about the pipe over River Road and what it will do to property values.

“I’m worried about the aesthetics to River Road. There is no way you canmake that pipe pretty,” said Monica. “And what about the effect on the SanFrancisco Plantation?” Shoriak said Marathon/Ashland had talked with the Louisiana Historical Association and it saw no big impact on the plantation.

Monica asked the Marathon panel several times if they had considered loading the coke on railroad cars.

Echelberger told Monica that after some study Marathon/Ashland realized that using the railroad would mean double handling of the coke and more piles of coke outside the pit which would mean more dust.

“We thought of using trucks to haul the coke to the river, but the St. JohnParish Council was totally against it. They saw more pollution coming fromthe trucks.” said Echelberger. “The conveyor belt will be the most expensiveoption, but it will cause the least amount of problems.”Wolfe asked why Marathon wanted so much from the community and what it would give back.

“Down the line, I see lots of pollution,” said Wolfe. “But we won’t get thejobs. I’ve seen this for the last 24 years. They could care less about thepeople.”Plewak responded, “During our last two hiring classes we hired 60 percent from St. John Parish.”Baloney asked Plewak, “What have you done for Garyville for us to accept the coker plant?” Plewak said that in the 20 years Marathon/Ashland has been in operation, officials have donated to lots of charities, built a park and donated time and energy to the community.

“What have you done to make us accept you with open arms?” repeated Baloney.

‘We’ve answered that question,” Plewak said tersely.

Bret Acosta of Garyville asked why the entire 10,000 feet of conveyor belt couldn’t be enclosed in a pipe.

“We didn’t even have to put it in a pipe,” answered Echelberger. “But you willbe surprised how quiet it will be. and no dust will be generated. Plus, we did itto make it look nicer going over River Road.”The meeting ended on a strident note. A resident of W. 24th Street got upand proclaimed, “I will fight this anyway I can. Marathon made a deal with theMt. Zion Church, but what about the rest of us in Lions? We won’t be boughtout.”Marlene Tregre yelled at the panel, “You all have made the quality of life worse here. I will not sell out to Marathon.”Another woman from Garyville told the panel, “I find your attitude disheartening and unprofessional. In one breath, you tell us we can’t stopthis, and then in another breath you tell us you want to be our neighbor.”Baloney called for an organizational meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at St. Hubert’sParish Hall in Garyville. He said representatives of Green Peace and theSierra Club will be in attendance.

St. Pierre, who represents these citizens on the parish council, said he cansee both sides of the issue.

“As a councilman I am primarily concerned with the people’s safety and health,” St. Pierre said. “But we also need the industry and the jobs. I’mtrying to find that happy medium.”

Return To News Stories