By LEONARD GRAY

NEW SARPY – Flushed with recent victory over the Diamond Plantation buyout agreement with Shell Chemical in Norco, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade launched a new offensive on Orion Refinery in New Sarpy.

Established in the early 1970s on the site of the former town of Good Hope, the Orion facility is the successor to Good Hope Refinery and TransAmerican Refining. In all those years, some New Sarpy residents say they have feared the ever-encroaching plant as it neared their homes with tank farms.

This fear reached a new height on June 7, 2001, when lightning struck one tank and set it ablaze, in what was called by the Brigade spokesperson, Anne Rolfes, “the largest tank fire in U.S. history.”

Area residents have also long complained of a soot-like substance which coats homes, vehicles and lungs.

“I fear for my life,” said Harlon Rushing. “We can’t run anymore.”

Rushing, a New Sarpy resident for 36 years, displayed a black crusty material scraped from his truck.

As a result of all this, some New Sarpy residents are campaigning for a buyout and relocation program, similar to the Shell Chemical plan. However, Orion officials do not plan a buyout and did not attend a meeting this week with residents to discuss the matter.

“This is the third attempt to get Orion to talk to us,” said Don Winston of Concerned Citizens of New Sarpy. “They don’t acknowledge we exist.”

In a letter to Clark Johnson, chief executive officer for Orion, Ida Mitchell of Concerned Citizens of New Sarpy wrote: “We are serious and determined in our request. We ask that you make a genuine attempt to work with us so as to avoid an intensified public relocation campaign.”

At a recent meeting held at the Alan Arterbury Building in New Sarpy, Rolfes asserted the plant averaged two accidents per week since beginning operations in May 2000.

Orion spokesperson Joy Patin said Rolfes is confusing “accidents” with “incidents” and added in September 2001, Orion observed one million safe man-hours at the plant, meaning one million man-hours worked without a single lost-time incident.

In fact, Patin continued, Orion recently four awards from the National Petrochemical and Refining Association for its 2001 safety program. Orion was ranked first in February by Training magazine for being one of the top 100 petrochemical companies in the world.

“Orion’s environmental health and safety record for 2001 was very good, with a 60 percent reduction in the number of releases to the air and an 84 percent reduction in flaring, compared to 2000, which was our startup year, none of which exceeded allowable limits,” Patin explained.

Patin pointed out when contacted after the meeting, “There are no processing units within three-quarters of a mile from the houses,” and, “We don’t feel the need for a buyout program.”

Rather, the plant has instituted several program aimed at improving New Sarpy, from tutoring programs to establishing a community action panel with residents on the board, through which concerns may be channeled and handled, Patin said.