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New Orleans East Neighbors Protests Proposed Landfill

Yunji de Nies,

April 6, 2006, 10:16 PM CDT

NEW ORLEANS — Michelle Nguyen and her three-year-old son Hun protested on the steps of city hall this afternoon, because she says Mayor Ray Nagin is ignoring the Vietnamese community.

"We were angry that the mayor didn't give us a voice," Nguyen said.

Nguyen and dozens of her neighbors voiced their anger over a proposed landfill less than three miles from where they live in New Orleans East. The site would take on up to six billion pounds non-hazardous debris -- materials like furniture, wood and concrete.

"Lots of older people grow their garden and plant their vegetables and with the landfill being so close to us it will contaminate the water," Nguyen said.

Mayor Nagin signed off on the site through an executive order two months ago. Because of the post-Katrina declared state of emergency, the mayor did not consult the neighborhood and bypassed the city council.

"We know that the mayor in a state of emergency must act and must do things in a decisive manner, but seven months later we need more inclusion, more review, more citizen involvement," said Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis, whose district includes New Orleans East.

Today inside city hall citizens got involved and council members took action. The City Council passed a unanimous resolution calling on the mayor to reverse his decision.

But tonight Nagin said he will not change his mind. He says with another landfill, the city can pick up all Katrina debris in one year. Without it, it could take three years.

"I don't have an alternative and the city will not recover if it takes us three years to get rid of debris," Mayor Nagin said.

Nagin says the site will be environmentally safe and without it the city loses an extra 50-thousand dollars a day by having to haul debris outside of the parish.

Some at today's rally also accuse the mayor of being motivated by money. While the city receives three percent of the revenue generated at the Gentilly landfill, the New Orleans East contracts gives the city 22-percent of the profits.

"Well that was side benefit, the main thing was that we need another landfill, gentilly is filling up. we don't have another place to go," Nagin said.

The final decision on the site now lies with The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. They are still in the review process. If the project goes through, the homeowners say they will sue the city.