Port of New Orleans Proposed Container Terminal in Violet
Dear St. Bernard Parish Citizens:
I want to address recent talk in the community about the Port of New Orleans’ proposed development of a container terminal in Violet.
St. Bernard Port, Harbor, & Terminal District has been an economic driver of St. Bernard Parish for the last forty years. Its mission is to create jobs and provide economic development for the Parish and its residents. The Port and its tenants are the single largest employer in St. Bernard Parish, employing over 18% of its workforce.
In the 2000s, the Port sought to expand operations to provide additional employment and economic benefits to the Parish. The Port identified the Violet property, with almost one mile of Mississippi River access and additional land, to permit expanded cargo operations. The Port negotiated extensively with the former owners, who courted the offer, but backed out at the last minute. By 2010, the Port’s Arabi Terminal and Chalmette Slip were operating at capacity and needed additional waterfront property.
With nowhere else to operate, by unanimous vote of the Board, the Port expropriated the Violet property in December 2010, paying $16 million to the landowners based on two appraisals. The litigation lasted ten years with the landowners demanding $60 million. The Port succeeded in the litigation for several years. But in 2018, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals unexpectedly increased the $16 million valuation, awarding the landowners $28 million plus attorneys’ fees and interest at over $2,000 per day. The Port immediately began working with the state to pay the judgment.
Before the Port could secure payment for the higher judgment, the landowners filed suit in federal court, asking to seize and sell the Port’s currently operating properties to satisfy the judgment. That outcome would have interfered with the Port’s operations, risking both jobs and economic viability in the Parish.
Before ruling, the federal court instructed the parties to try to resolve their dispute. During those settlement negotiations, the Port of New Orleans expressed an interest in the Violet property for the potential development of a container terminal. The Port of New Orleans’ jurisdiction includes St. Bernard Parish and it is authorized to purchase property in St. Bernard. The only path for St. Bernard Port to resolve the litigation was through an agreement with the landowners and the Port of New Orleans. The Port’s Board voted unanimously to resolve the litigation.
Resolving the litigation through the Port of New Orleans’ container terminal was in the best interest of the Port so that it could continue its current operations and avoid having its property seized and sold, and the proposed container terminal would provide economic benefits to the Parish and its citizens. Since its inception and still today, the Port is committed to the welfare and prosperity of the citizens of St. Bernard. The Port even obligated the Port of New Orleans to address the concerns of the community in the parties’ agreements. St. Bernard Port remains committed to this Parish and sincerely believes that the proposed container terminal will bring positive benefits.
Respectfully,
Drew Heaphy
Executive Director
St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal District
For more information on the proposed terminal: https://portnola.com/info/louisiana-international-terminal
