A south Louisiana parish is suing the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) to block the construction of a planned US$1.8 billion container facility, according to the Associated Press.
The St. Bernard Parish District Attorney’s Office filed the lawsuit claiming that the Louisiana International Terminal at Violet would disrupt life and cause environmental damage.
Port Nola chief executive officer, Brandy Christian called the lawsuit “preposterous” and “election-year theatrics”.
District Attorney Perry Nicosia said the agreement between the St. Bernard Port Authority and Port Nola is not valid and Port NOLA does not have the authority to operate a shipping facility within the borders of St. Bernard Parish, according to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate report.
“The lawsuit filed lays out the entire legislative process by which the St. Bernard Port Authority was created (and) further proves that Port Nola was stripped of all its jurisdiction in St. Bernard Parish by legislation passed in 1992 by then Senator Sammy Nunez, then Representative Thomas Warner, and then Representative Ken Odinet,” Nicosia said.
