Case Study 3.1
Alsen
LEAN Region 6
Louisiana’s River Parishes, also called the Mississippi River Industrial Corridor, include:
- Ascension Parish
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- Iberville Parish
- Jefferson Parish
- Orleans Parish
- Plaquemine Parish
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- St. Bernard Parish
- St. Charles Parish
- St. James Parish
- St. John the Baptist Parish
- West Baton Rouge Parish
About Alsen/St. Irma Lee
A small rural community where some residents still have horses has become neighbors with over a dozen industrial facilities including the infamous hazardous waste facility formerly owned by Rollins. This site is now one of three EPA Super Fund sites in Alsen along with many other facilities that handle hazardous material near this residential community. Separated from Alsen by the Ronaldson Field Landfill, St. Irma Lee is a very small community surrounded by industrial facilities. Some residences are within approximately 300 feet of the large waste pile of Ronaldson Field.
Significant local opposition was voiced during the original siting of this landfill in 1996 and there has been a documented history of complaints for the following two decades. Impacts on the community increased significantly as a result of the debris received by the Ronaldson Field landfill following the historic flooding of 2016. Residents once again expressed opposition to the operation of this facility within their community at the most recent permit renewal hearing for Ronaldson Field, still pending. Some residents in both Alsen and St. Irma Lee have expressed interest in being relocated.
Standards
Grade 8
CCSS-RI.1-8
Cite the relevant textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS-RI.2-8
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS-RI.6-8
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Grades 9-10
CCSS-RI.1-9.10
Cite relevant and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CC-RI.2-9.10
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.
CCSS-RI.6-9.10
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
CCSS-RI.7-9.10
Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
Grades 11-12
CCS-RI.1-11.12
Cite strong, thorough, and relevant textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CC-RI.2-11.12
Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS-RI.6-11.12
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is considered particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the student interpretation of power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.
CCSS-RI.7-11.12
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or
formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Grade 8
8.4
Use geographic representations and historical data to analyze events and developments in U.S. history from 1877 to 2008, including environmental, cultural, economic, and political characteristics and changes.
8.8a
Analyze factors that contributed to and effects of the growth of the industrial economy, including capitalism and growth of free markets, mass production, agricultural advancements, the government’s laissez-faire economic policy, and the rise of corporations.
8.12f
Explain how various factors affected Louisiana’s economy during the early twentieth century, including booms in the tinder, oil, and gas industries.
World Geography
WG.6a
Explain the spatial patterns of industrial production and development.
WG.6e
Explain how economic interdependence and globalization affect countries and their populations.
WG.6f
Analyze the historical and contemporary economic influence that Louisiana has on other parts of the United States and on the broader world.
WG.8a
Analyze effects of human settlement patterns and land use on the natural environment.
WG.8c
Analyze causes and effects of local, national, regional, and global environmental issues.
Civics
C.5
Use geographic representations, demographic data, and geospatial representations to analyze civic issues and government processes.
C.13f
Explain ways in which competition, free enterprise, and government regulation influence what is produced and allocated in an economy, including national and global consequences.
United States History
US.4
Use geographic representations and demographic data to analyze environmental, cultural, economic and political characteristics and changes.
US.11a
Describe how the physical geography of the United States affected industrial growth and trade.
World History
WH.3
Use geographic representations and demographic data to analyze environmental, cultural, economic and political characteristics and changes.
WH.20
Describe the causes of trade, commerce, and industrialization and how they affected governments and societies from 1300 to 2010
WH.22
Analyze trends of increasing economic interdependence and interconnectedness in world history from 1300 to 2010.
WH.24
Analyze the effect that humans have had on the environment in terms of resources, migration patterns, and global environmental issues
Grade 8
8-MS-ESS3-3
Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment.
Earth Science
HS-ESS3-4
Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
Life Sciences
HS-LS2-7
Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
Environmental Science
HS-ESS3-4
Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
Reading Resources
Environmental Justice in Rural Communities
This is an excerpt of an essay written by Florence Robinson as part of a journal article for the West Virginia Law Review. In this text, Mrs. Robinson gives a first-hand account of the changes that occurred in Alsen when it became considered an industrial zone in the 1950s through the 1990s.
Excerpt | Source
Environmental Concerns - and Anger - Grow in Month After Thousand-Year Flood Strikes Louisiana
This is an excerpt of an article featured on DeSmog. This excerpt focuses on how the landfills near Alsen were chosen to receive debris and waste after the 2016 Baton Rouge floods, and the potential hazards posed.
Excerpt | Source
ATSDR Public Health Assessment
Public health assessment conducted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Includes detailed information about the Scenic Hwy, and Brooklawn dump sites, as well as demographic information about the area.
Excerpt | Source
Petro Processors of Louisiana, Inc. Scotlandville, LA Cleanup Activities
This is from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund website. It details previous cleanup efforts, as well as what is being currently done.
Excerpt | Source
Baton Rouge Councilwoman Says Landfill Causing Cancer, But Health Experts Say Evidence Lacking
News article from The Baton Rouge Advocate.
Excerpt | Source
Tale of a Cleanup Gone Bad
News article from The Times-Picayune.
Article
Pollution Concerns About This Louisiana Swamp Were Raised Decades Ago. A New Plan Could Help.
News article from The Baton Rouge Advocate.
Excerpt | Source
Florence Robinson Interview
Video interview of Florence Robinson conducted by LEAN.
View Interview
Extended Reading Activity
Read Excerpt from Environmental Justice in Rural Communities and Tale of a Cleanup Gone Bad, as a class or independently. Then discuss and answer the essential questions for this unit. Answers will vary to the questions, however, students should be able to grasp the basic power dynamics of the situation.
Expansion
This can be transformed into a larger activity by reading the previously listed texts as well as Excerpt from Environmental Concerns - and Anger - Grow in Month After Thousand-Year Flood Strikes Louisiana, Baton Rouge councilwoman says landfill causing cancer, but health experts say evidence lacking, and Pollution concerns about this Louisiana swamp were raised decades ago. A new plan could help. and discuss and answer the essential questions.
Click here to access a worksheet of the essential questions.