Agriculture Street Landfill Solar Park

Historic PhotoThe 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.


In 1994, the Agriculture Street Landfill was designated a Superfund site by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA’s Region 6 completed remediation activities at the landfill in 2002. The remediation work included placing a protective geotextile fabric and 24 inches of clean soil over private property and a geotextile fabric and 18 inches of clean fill over areas not covered by sidewalks.

For more information about the Agriculture Street Superfund Site go to EPA’s website.

 

Consent Decree

 


A 2008 Consent Decree between the City of New Orleans and EPA requires the City to conduct semi-annual maintenance (mowing and fence repair) of the fenced portion of the Agriculture St. Landfill Superfund Site. In 2022, the City increased the mowing frequency of the undeveloped properties and repaired the fence as needed. The increased maintenance practices are ongoing.


In addition, the City is required to mail an annual notice to residents living near the landfill to remind them of the following: excavating more than 18 inches into the ground is restricted; the geotextile fabric in place helps to prevent accidental exposure to contaminants; soil below the geotextile mat is contaminated and should not be handled without gloves or other protective gear; the geotextile fabric is marked with a bright orange plastic liner and is visible if encountered; the fence surrounding the undeveloped property is in place for your protection, therefore, trespassers are subject to prosecution; and, call 311 if you see illegal dumping near the site. Additionally, special precautions should be taken if any work occurs on or near the site.


Gordon Plaza is one of the subdivisions developed on the former landfill. For many years, the residents of Gordon Plaza have petitioned the City of New Orleans to buy their properties and pay for moving costs to homes outside of the Desire neighborhood. The Mayor’s Office established the Gordon Plaza Task Force for which meetings were convened by City Council of New Orleans. The forum provided members of the community with a voice in negotiations in the City-led voluntary buyout and relocation process. The residents' voices were heard, and buyouts began in summer 2023. Sixty-two of the 67 properties have been purchased by the City. Several more properties are in various stages of the purchasing process.


Proposed redevelopment includes a sustainable community solar farm that would increase the City’s power resilience, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and provide residents and businesses with affordable energy as established in the City’s 2022 Climate Action Plan.


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided technical resources through the Superfund Program which funded the science and engineering work involved in developing a solar farm project Feasibility Study. 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 towards developing 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

General 

In 1994, the Agriculture Street Landfill was designated a Superfund site by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The major pollutants found were lead and arsenic although there are more than 140 hazardous materials present. EPA completed remediation of the landfill in 2002.The work included placing a protective geotextile fabric and 24 inches of clean soil over private property and a geotextile fabric and 18 inches of clean fill over areas not covered by sidewalks or driveways.

The City developed a Task Force and met with the Residents of Gordon Plaza, their representatives from the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, professional appraisers, Cantrell Administration Leadership as well as members of the City Council to negotiate acceptable prices for the Gordon Plaza properties including moving expenses. The average Gordon Plaza home was purchased by the city for $335,000. Residents renting Gordon Plaza properties at the time of the City’s purchase were also relocated at the City’s expense.

The Task Force spent a significant amount of time defining “fair market value” for residents. Ultimately, the City was able to offer purchase prices that considered the value of each home as though it were atop un-compromised land, similar to homes that were built at the same time as neighborhoods in Pontchartrain Park and Gentilly Woods.

The city is planning to demolish the recently purchased Gordon Plaza properties. The foundations/slabs will be left on site and not removed. The demolition includes removal of fences and detached buildings such as sheds. Driveways and sidewalks also will be kept in place. Once the site is cleared it will be developed into a community solar farm.

The city plans to develop a community solar farm that will benefit nearby senior and low-income residents with a reduction in the cost of their electric bills. A 40-acres solar farm is estimated to generate 6.3MW of electricity, enough to power 140 homes.

The Agriculture Street Landfill has been designated as a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency. The more than 140 contaminants on site limit the future possible uses of the site. Lead and arsenic are the most dangerous contaminants.

EPA funded a Reuse Study for the Agriculture Street Landfill in 2022. In addition to a solar park, the site could be used as a pollinator farm or electric vehicle charging station, warehouse storage or a bus barn

Residents can contact the City of New Orleans’ Office of Resilience and Sustainability by email at ors@nola.gov or phone at 504-658-4965 with any comments, requests, inquiries or complaints.

About the Demolition Process

Notices will be sent in the mail, including information about traffic impacts. Updates on the project will be included in news releases and on the project website, nola.gov/AgStreet. Residents can also contact the City of New Orleans’ Office of Resilience and Sustainability by email at ors@nola.gov or 504-658-4965 for any questions. The contractor is responsible for placing a sign in front of each house that it is scheduled for demolition a week in advance.

The current project timeline shows demolition work should be completed by the end of 2024

There may be traffic inconveniences and heavy truck vibrations when the contractor hauls debris from the sites, however the trucks are required to drive slowly to lessen these potential impacts. You may want to take time-stamped photos of the interior and exterior of your house prior to demolition, in case you think you may incur any damages from the demolition.

Nine out of 67 properties were not remediated by EPA in 2002 because the owners declined the remediation offer. The City will now move forward with remediating the sites it owns in preparation for installing a new community solar park.

The construction contractor is required to test each property for asbestos and remove it prior to demolition. Asbestos removal will be closely monitored by the City’s engineering team, following federal disposal regulations.

The contractor will fill, grade, slope and plant grass on top of the cleared lot to prevent stormwater runoff. The contractor is responsible for watering the grass until it takes root.

The trucks are required to have a mesh top to keep the debris inside of the bed. If a truck is found to dump debris off the work site, they will be permanently removed from the job.

Residents should expect truck traffic during demolition, so we encourage planning to leave early to their destination. In addition, we recommend taking alternative routes.

Since the properties are located atop the Agriculture Street Landfill, soil underneath them was not replaced with clean soil so they may contain hazardous substances. By leaving the slabs in place, they function as a sediment cap.

The contractor may remove bushes, brush, and small trees up to six (6) inches in diameter to ease demolition operations. The contractor will not remove standing trees larger than six (6) inches in diameter except by specific City approval. Except for trees that directly obstruct the demolition, the contractor will first cut and remove branches and thereafter cut the trunk flush with the ground, leaving the underground roots and subsurface undisturbed.

The contractor will cut and cap the water, sewer and electrical hookups including cable tv and internet wiring.

The contractor will leave the immediate collection site clean and safe each day.

Structures to be demolished will be wetted down immediately prior to and during demolition, and during the loading of haul trucks prior to hauling the debris to approved landfills. All trucks will have their loads covered with tarps or screens during transport.

Air quality monitoring will be conducted near each of the houses during demolition.

Temporary fencing is being installed to prevent people from going into the houses. Once construction of the solar park begins, a permanent iron fence will be installed.

Most of the debris will go to the Gentilly Landfill. Contaminated debris will go to the River Birch Landfill in Jefferson Parish or a waste facility in Sulphur, La.

About Community Solar

In general, Community Solar Farms provide residents the opportunity to buy into it by paying a small fee which will reduce the cost of electricity to their homes. For example, if you join for a $10.00 per month fee you may save $40 dollars a month on your electric bill. These numbers are just an example. The exact fees and savings have not been determined yet.

Preliminary estimates show design of the solar farm will take approximately 18 months and construction of the solar farm will take approximately 6 months.

There are no designs for the Community Solar Farm currently. Residents will be notified when a developer is chosen in the spring of 2025 as to the design process.

The potential impacts of this project on the surrounding community and environment are:

· Sounds – The solar panels do not generate sounds once they are installed. As a result, the presence of a solar array at this site would not introduce a new source of sounds to the area.

· Floodplains and Wetlands – The site is a disturbed land with no impacts to floodplains or wetlands.

· Air Quality – During construction of the solar facility, particulate matters can be generated (mainly dust from vehicular traffic); however, with the implementation of best management practices, the impact should be minimized.

· Radiation – Electric and magnetic fields together are called electromagnetic field or electromagnetic radiation. These electromagnetic fields are in the spectrum, with low frequency radiation on the low end (i.e., power lines) and high frequency radiation on the high end (i.e., x-rays). Low frequency radiation is less harmful than high frequency. The World Health Organization states that electricity from solar panels and power transmission grid emit extremely weak electromagnetics. Exposure to low level electromagnetic fields has been studied extensively and no evidence has been found that exposure is harmful to human health.

The city anticipates releasing a request for proposals for construction of the Community Solar Farm in early 2025. Residents will be notified of the construction schedule once there is a contract in place with a developer.

Residents will be notified when they can sign up to be a part of the community solar farm.

Most solar panels are largely made of glass and aluminum frames, along with other commonly used plastics and wires. Furthermore, the cells on the solar panels that are used to capture sunlight are made of silicon, which is a naturally occurring element.