CONVENT — Groups seeking to stop the expansion of a methanol plant in St. James Parish were in court Monday hoping to convince a judge that the work isn't worth the risk to the community.

Koch Industries announced a $150 million expansion two years ago, saying crews would increase methanol production by more than 1,000 tons per day — or about 25 percent more of its current production rate. At the time, the company said the expansion would add about 400 temporary jobs.

Methanol is a critical industrial building block. It can be used in plastics, adhesives, plywood, paint and pharmaceuticals.

Inclusive Louisiana, which along with Rise St. James and the Mount Triumph Baptist Church have challenged chemical plant expansions in the area, says the local government should have never approved the Koch expansion.

"Our State and Parish have turned their backs on our cries for justice and allowing the industry to keep polluting us and permitting the industry to come in," said Barbara Washington, a member of Inclusive Louisiana.

Lawyer Pam Spees said it was wrong for St. James Parish to approve a Koch land-use application that will let it stretch a pipe through a wetlands areas. She said the region is predominantly Black, and that the work wouldn't have been approved if it was scheduled for an area with white residents.

"What we see over and over again is that they're willing to bend it when it comes to facilities that want to locate here and across the river, but when it's in other parts of the parish, all bets are off. Challenging this pattern and practice is that it is racial discrimination and it is intentional," Spees said.

Some residents said they fear the expansion will have a negative impact on their health. Koch said air-quality testing performed during the application period showed that expanding the plant's methanol production capacity from 5.4 tons to 6.8 tons per day would not worsen air pollution.

"We're confident that the district court will affirm the thorough work our team did to meet all federal, state, and local requirements on this project and uphold the planning commission's decision to grant our land permit," plant manager Josh Wiggins said. "Koch Methanol St. James' track record in the parish is as a responsible operator that puts community and environmental stewardship at the center of all we do as a company, and we look forward to our Optimization Project moving forward."