(The Center Square) — Residents of Louisiana’s River Parishes broadly support Hyundai’s proposed $5.8 billion steel plant near Donaldsonville, even as many worry about industrial pollution and public health, according to a new poll.
The survey of 465 likely voters in Ascension and St. James parishes, commissioned by the Sierra Club and conducted by JMC Analytics, found 71% favor the project and 15% oppose it, with the rest undecided.
At the same time, 60% said they are very or somewhat concerned about toxic air and water pollution in communities along the Mississippi River industrial corridor; 39% said they are not concerned.
Views on whether elected officials are doing enough to protect public health were split: 42% agreed officials are doing enough, 41% disagreed and 16% had no opinion. Support for cleaner steelmaking approaches was strong, with 60% favoring investment in “green hydrogen” technologies and 19% opposed.
On the regulatory front, state records show Hyundai has applied to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan, a roughly 200-page permit that authorizes discharges of stormwater from construction activities disturbing five acres or more.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires the permit to ensure companies manage runoff from construction sites, noting that rain can wash sediment, debris and chemicals into nearby waterways if controls aren’t in place.
Brad Fausett, policy manager for Audubon Delta, a Baton Rouge-based environmental nonprofit, said after reviewing Hyundai’s application he found nothing unusual.
“It looks more like a typical (Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan) filing for excavation and construction. Nothing jumps out as problematic,” Fausett told The Center Square in a statement.
The proposed mill footprint is estimated at more than 1,800 acres.
Hyundai executives have pressed the state on emergency-response coordination and road capacity at the RiverPlex Megapark, citing the nearby CF Industries ammonia complex and overlapping construction timelines.
Louisiana Economic Development officials said those concerns were “promptly addressed,” adding the project remains “active and progressing” under its agreement with the state, with early roadwork advancing and a future four-lane expansion under evaluation.
Environmental groups have urged Hyundai to use manufacturing methods that don’t increase pollution levels in the region, known as “Cancer Alley.”
A town hall organized by local groups is scheduled for Nov. 1, with Hyundai, related industries and local representatives invited to answer questions about the project’s potential public health and economic impacts.
