Last month, the Westwego City Council enacted a 9-month ban on expansion at Blackwater New Orleans LLC. This week, the council lifted the ban.
Westwego's nine-month moratorium on expansion at a chemical tank farm was short lived. The divided Westwego City Council lifted the ban Monday, one month after surprising officials at Blackwater New Orleans LLC, by enacting the moratorium.
Blackwater's Chief Commercial Officer Frank Marrocco on Jan. 14 appeared before the council to introduce a proposal to build three storage tanks that would hold up to six million gallons of nonhazardous, nonflammable product. That would add to the 46 storage tanks already at the 26-acre site bordering the Mississippi River, where an array of chemicals are stored, including lubricants and vegetable oil.
But Marrocco left the meeting in an apparent huff, after some council members chastised Blackwater for not keeping its current tanks painted - but doing so only when it wanted something from the city.
District 2 Councilman Ted Munch said then that he had constituents who were "profoundly affected" by Blackwater's tank farm. He got three of his four fellow councilmen to support his request for the moratorium, which was to have been in affect for nine months.
But District 1 Councilman Glenn Green, whose district includes the tank farm, said he convinced two of his colleagues on the council to change their stance. Meeting Monday night, as parades rolled in New Orleans during Lundi Gras, the City Council voted 3-2 in favor of undoing the ban.
"I didn't think it was a good idea to block them or anyone else from doing construction in Westwego right now," Green said Wednesday. "We need the business. We believe the (Avondale) shipbuilding is going to close down. We need to do everything we can to bring business to Westwego."
Councilmen Ivy Rogers, Melvin Guidry and Larry Warino joined Munch in enacting the moratorium last month. Green, who abstained from the vote last month, said he convinced Rogers and Guidry to support him.
"I talked to them, and I explained to them why I was doing it," Green said. "They supported me, and I appreciate it."
Munch and Warino opposed lifting the moratorium.
Munch said Wednesday that while the Blackwater tank farm is in Green's district, the site borders his and Warino's districts. As such, he said, their constituents feel the effects, in property values, quality of life and potentially their health.
Munch said he wanted the city's Community Action Panel, an advisory group whose members are appointed from neighborhoods, to have time to study Blackwater's proposal.
"I'm disappointed, but I have to respect the vote of the board," Munch said. "From this point, we're going to simply see what exactly they try to do. ... Once the tanks are built, you're going to be dealing with it for decades."
Blackwater representatives did not attend Monday's meeting. Mike Suder, Blackwater's chief executive, said that the company has no firm plans for expansion and only approached the City Council last month with a general proposal.
"We're just very appreciative of the council and certainly of Councilman Green for bringing the motion" to undo the moratorium, Suder said Wednesday. "We're looking forward to working with the city."
The about-face is the latest in the apparent love-hate relationship the council has with Blackwater, which has attempted to be a good corporate citizen, even purchasing a van for the city's senior citizens center in recent months. The company employs about 30 people at the site, Suder has said.