GONZALES — Residents are cautiously optimistic after a memorandum of understanding was signed Monday to address the red dust problem in Ascension Parish.

Since 2019, the flying red dust has been an ongoing issue for Ascension Parish residents who live near La. 44.

The red dust came from nearby bauxite mud ponds, which used to be the site of the shuttered L'Alumina aluminum plant.

Jamel Knighten has lived in Pelican Crossings for almost a year and he said he has experienced the red storms.

“So I literally walked outside into it, and literally like you could barely see. The red dust was just everywhere,” Knighten said.

After a failed mitigation method, officials came up with a new strategy to dig retention ponds in the area and cover the dirt with dust. The total cost of the project is expected to be between $13 to $18 million. L'Alumina has set aside $5.5 million for the project.

Knighten said he is glad something is being done to address the problem, but he does not believe this will fix everything.

“The amount of money that people have spent to pressure wash their homes, what about that? The damage that has been done. And even if they fix it is there a chance that this will happen again and how do they address it then,” Knighten said.

He said he is hopeful for the new project.

“We don’t know what that’s going to do to us long-term inhaling that stuff, the red dust. Hopefully, the fix they provide will fix the issue so this doesn’t happen again,” Knighten said.