November 20, 2020
U.S. Corps Allows FG to Resume Certain Activities on the Sunshine Project in St. James Parish
ST. JAMES, LA — In the interest of public safety and stabilizing the current work site, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has notified FG LA LLC (FG) that certain activities related to The Sunshine Project in St. James Parish will be allowed to resume despite the temporary suspension of its permit.
Last week, the Corps temporarily suspended the permit it provided to The Sunshine Project in 2019 in order to reevaluate certain portions of its analysis. This decision suspended a number of site activities in various stages of progress across the project site. Late Thursday, the Corps further specified that under the temporary permit suspension, certain activities will be allowed to continue. In the interest of public safety and community benefit, the Corps advised that work on local water line relocation and improvements underway for Highway 3127 may resume. In addition, the Corps provided guidance on securing the site in connection with suspended activities. FG will continue to comply with all notices and guidance from the Corps during the permit suspension and re-evaluation process.
A decision by the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge on Wednesday to send FG’s Title V air permits back to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for additional consideration does not impact, nor is impacted by, the Corps’ decision to allow limited activities at the project site to continue.
“Allowing FG to complete these limited activities in the near-term while the permit re-evaluation takes place will reduce risks to the public, the land, and the environment and will allow FG to stabilize the site compared to leaving the site in its current state pending Corps re-evaluation. Importantly, completing these planned activities will have immediate and tangible public benefits in the form of a safer and improved roadway and an improved public water system for the community,” said Janile Parks, director of community and government relations for FG.
FG’s voluntary improvements to Highway 3127 are in progress and include widening a portion of the highway to four lanes and adding several turning lanes and drainage infrastructure improvements to help minimize traffic impacts. FG is also coordinating with contractors to relocate and improve utilities near Highway 18, including St. James Parish potable water lines.
“FG sincerely hopes the Corps will handle the permit re-evaluation in an expeditious manner so the permit analysis will be even stronger once the re-evaluation of the analysis is complete. FG continues to cooperate with the Corps on an orderly suspension of permitted activities pending the Corps’ re-evaluation,” added Parks.
The Sunshine Project is FG’s $9.4 billion industrial complex planned for St. James Parish’s West Bank. The project is expected to create approximately 8,000 construction jobs at peak and 1,200 permanent jobs over the next eight years. Once completed, the project will make the building blocks found in everyday products that help make our lives safer, healthier, cleaner and more efficient.
Additional information on The Sunshine Project can be found at www.SunshineProjectLA.com.
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About FG LA LLC: FG LA LLC (FG) is a member of Formosa Plastics Group (Formosa), a Taiwanese based conglomerate founded in 1954. Formosa has over 100,000 employees worldwide with locations in the USA, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia. Formosa’s major businesses are oil refining, petrochemicals, plastics, fibers, textiles, electronics, energy, steel, transportation, machinery, healthcare and biotech.
The Sunshine Project is FG’s $9.4 billion industrial complex planned for St. James Parish. The project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs over the next eight years. In early January 2020, FG received the permits needed to begin construction of The Sunshine Project. Once constructed, the project will be one of the most innovative, single-site ethylene production complexes in the world and will make the plastic building blocks found in everyday products that help make our lives safer, healthier, cleaner and more efficient. FG’s products also help make life-saving PPE (personal protective equipment), including N95 and surgical masks needed in the fight against COVID-19. Demand for these products is expected to increase over time, and The Sunshine Project will continue to help meet that demand.