SORRENTO — Motiva Enterprises donated 44.1 acres of wetlands near that company’s site in St. James Parish to the River Parishes Community College Foundation on July 18.

The foundation will use the land to facilitate an expansion at the school’s present location. Motiva donated the land and all oil, gas and mineral rights to the foundation. The land is near Motiva’s Convent refinery.

“As the chancellor of this college, I am extremely grateful to Motiva Enterprises for this donation,” said River Parishes Community College Chancellor Joe Ben Welch. “This donation will allow us to increase parking and expand our facilities for the future. We have seen phenomenal growth in the past six years, and I don’t expect that growth to slow down any time soon. We have got to increase our classroom space and our parking, and Motiva’s land donation will help us do just that. I can’t say enough how grateful I am.”

Gary Miller, spokesman for Motiva Enterprises, said, “This is a great opportunity for Motiva to help RPCC grow and at the same, care for our local wetlands. It is vital to both our community and our company to have a well trained workforce that can be hired locally.

Use of the 44.1 acres of wetlands donated by Motiva is limited to conservation and wetlands purposes. The land is valued at over $26,000. Revenue generated from the donated land will be used to expand the existing site of River Parishes Community College, in the form of much needed additional classroom space and additional parking spaces. River Parishes has grown by 25 percent or more each year since the school first began to offer classes in 1999.

“I have nothing but good things to say about Motiva” said Frank Marino, Chairman of the River Parishes Community College Foundation Board. “I want to publicly say thanks to Motiva, and especially Gary Miller at Motiva, who really helped pull this thing together.”

River Parishes Community College is a two-year learning institution, fully-accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school is located at 7384 John LeBlanc Blvd. in Sorrento.