{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-carter-city-new-orleans-commemorate-first-gordon-plaza-demolition", "Congressman Carter, City of New Orleans Commemorate First Gordon Plaza Demolition to Develop Community Solar Farm", "2024-10-30", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "House", "LA", "Troy A. Carter", "C001125", "troycarter.house.gov", "troycarter", "https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "NEW ORLEANS, LA \u2013 Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (LA-02), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, EPA Region 6 Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, members of the New Orleans City Council, and Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder & Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), commemorated the first shuttered house demolition within the Gordon Plaza subdivision. This event marks the beginning of a significant redevelopment effort to transform the former Superfund site into a community solar farm.\n\nResidents of the Gordon Plaza subdivision, which was developed on the former Agriculture Street Landfill, have faced longstanding environmental health concerns. After years of resident advocacy, this first demolition represents a vital step towards rectifying past injustices and revitalizing the area.\n\n\u201cFor decades, the families of Gordon Plaza have lived in the shadow of the Agriculture Street Landfill\u2014a place originally intended to hold waste, not lives, dreams, or futures. What should have been a vibrant neighborhood became a place of environmental injustice,\u201d said Rep. Carter. \u201cThrough their resilience, the people of Gordon Plaza have fought tirelessly, ensuring that their voices were heard, their health safeguarded, and their rights upheld. Today, we move forward on a project that will turn past wrongs into a foundation for future promise. This solar farm will not only provide clean, renewable energy to our communities, but it will also advance our commitment to environmental justice, equity, and sustainability. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this vision, especially the residents of Gordon Plaza.\u201d\n\nIn 2023, the City of New Orleans allocated $35 million to purchase the homes in the Gordon Plaza subdivision and provide homeowners and renters the necessary funds to relocate from the site to healthy homes of their choice. The EPA supported a renewable energy reuse assessment and solar feasibility study of the site for the city. The studies found that the site can produce up to 6.4 megawatts of clean, renewable solar energy through the construction of a community solar farm, which aims to provide affordable, clean energy to low-income residents, while significantly reducing carbon emissions.\n\n\u201cWhen I was confirmed as EPA Administrator, I vowed to visit communities who have endured environmental injustices to hear first-hand about the challenges their communities face,\u201d said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. \u201cOne of my first stops in our Journey to Justice was to Gordon Plaza to elevate the voices that for decades were calling for change. Since then, EPA worked closely with Mayor Cantrell, Congressman Carter, and the residents to build the foundation for a cleaner, revitalized area. I am proud to be back today as we continue our fight to right the historic wrongs that have held back so many in this community.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis demolition marks a pivotal moment for the Gordon Plaza community and the City of New Orleans as a whole,\u201d said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. \u201cBy transforming this site into a community solar farm, we are not only addressing a painful past but also creating a brighter, more sustainable future. This project represents our commitment to clean energy, environmental justice, and resilience, and I am grateful to all our partners and community members who have made this possible.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is very good news that the demolition of houses built on a toxic waste site is finally occurring,\u201d said Councilman Eugene Green, District D. \u201cIt is also good news that the Gordon Plaza site will become a solar farm that provides clean and efficient energy. The work of the New Orleans City Council and the Cantrell Administration to make funding available for the relocation of residents was a worthy endeavor long overdue. My wish and prayer for the former residents of Gordon Plaza is that they are able to move forward with their lives in their new communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve worked in the environmental justice field before we even had a name for it,\u201d said Dr. Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Founder and Executive Director. \u201cOne thing I\u2019ve learned in all those years is that every victory is hard won, and this one is no exception. While I am elated to see this long-overdue demolition\u2014and excited about the solar farm that will stand in its place\u2014I am more than anything in awe of the community here that never gave up, and who made this day possible. Justice should never take this long, but I\u2019m so glad you didn\u2019t give up.\u201d\n\nBackground\n\nThe Agriculture Street Landfill in New Orleans served as a municipal waste disposal area from approximately 1909 through 1957 and reopened from 1965 to 1966 for emergency purposes after Hurricane Betsy. The Landfill is in the Desire Neighborhood and was developed during the 1970s and 1980s for residential purposes.\n\nIn 1994, the Agriculture Street Landfill was designated a Superfund site by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA\u2019s Region 6 completed remediation activities at the landfill in 2002.\n\nThe EPA provided technical resources through the Superfund Program, which funded the science and engineering work to develop a solar farm project. The Study estimates that with a minimum of 40-acres of property, building the solar farm would cost approximately $10M. The city has allocated bond funds to develop the solar park project. EPA updated a site Reuse Assessment in Summer 2022 which identified several options for placement of the solar farm and placement of other future resources such as electric vehicle charging stations.\n\nSustainability and resilience have been prioritized across multiple initiatives in the City of New Orleans, like the redevelopment of the Agriculture Street Landfill and Lincoln Beach, aligning with broader efforts to address climate change and environmental inequities. Congressman Carter has helped secure $131 million in federal awards to implement the City\u2019s Climate Action Plan goals.\n\nFor more information about the redevelopment of the Agriculture Street Landfill, please visit https://nola.gov/agstreet.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-carter-city-new-orleans-commemorate-first-gordon-plaza-demolition"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.426090020686388, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}