In March 2025, federal and state officials announced a massive incentive package for  a planned industrial park on the west bank of Ascension Parish, Louisiana. The plan would spell the end of the historic town of Modeste, a community of families who have lived there for generations, and it would bring more pollution to an area already inundated in the heart of what has become known as "Cancer Alley," including two ammonia-producing facilities and a steel plant.

The land at issue was once home to plantations that operated there during the period of slavery. As a result, people who were enslaved and died on those plantations are buried there. Gravesites where enslaved people were buried have already been damaged and destroyed by industrial development in the River Parishes. Descendant communities have begun to take and demand more action to require federal, state, and local authorities, as well as private companies, to locate the gravesites and consult with descendants about their preservation, protection, and maintenance. 

Because of its proximity to the Mississippi River and wetlands, the project requires a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Under the National Historic Preservation Act, the Corps is required to consider how proposed projects would affect historic properties and to consult with interested parties early and meaningfully. The suit alleges that the Army Corps failed to do what was required under the NHPA and rushed to a conclusion that two of these projects would have no effects on historic properties. They failed to consult with affected community members about this question.   

On April 2, 2026, plaintiffs took the matter to court to seek an injunction requiring the Army Corps to halt all activities on the site pending a fuller review under Section 106 in meaningful consultation with plaintiffs and other concerned members of the descendant community.