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A lawsuit filed in New Orleans federal court challenges the manner in which Terrebonne Parish handled a special waste permit issue, alleging that the local government mishandled application approval for a company’s permit to clean trace amounts of radioactive waste from scrap metal.
The lawsuit, filed against the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government by MARS Cleaning Services of Gibson, alleges that the firm was subjected to unequal treatment and also states that a ranking member of the parish government has a conflict of interest in the matter. The court papers do not identify that individual.
The MARS plant in Gibson decommissions and scraps marine scrap metals, including old vessels and offshore platforms.
Radiation is sometimes present on such waste, requiring special precautions. The permits MARS originally had prohibited handling of the radioactive traces, referred to in the industry as NORM, which stands for “Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material.”
The company followed instructions for obtaining the proper permits and made plans for handling NORM. The Terrebonne Parish Code of Ordinances includes a provision that waste permits must be approved by the parish council.
The approval process was addressed by opposition from people living in the Gibson area who feared contamination of water and soil from the NORM project, with MARS providing assurances that on-site NORM treatment, which eliminates any possible threat, would be safer and more secure than NORM-contaminated scrap being transported without treatment from the site to a place that actually performs the decontamination work.
The council denied the application at an Oct. 25, 2017 meeting by a vote of 5-4, and MARS representatives began scheduling meetings with parish officials to discuss further the process they proposed.
A hearing was held nearly a year later, and on Nov. 28, 2018, the parish council approved the permit MARS had sought, after a delay of at least a year, numerous hearings and what MARS attorneys say was unnecessary expense.
In the court papers, MARS recounts how “within minutes after the vote,” Parish President Gordon Dove announced that he intended “to veto” MARS Cleaning’s permit and variance, “despite the fact that the Parish President does not have authority to veto such an action.”
The MARS suit recounts public statements from Dove that he believed the permit process resulting in the approval was “procedurally incorrect,” with the court papers alleging that those statements contribute to the firm’s inability to proceed forward and attract clients. The suit also hints at information concerning a possible conflict.
“At least one high-ranking member of Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government and a vocal opponent of MARS Cleaning’s permit application has a close family member who owns and operate a local business that is in competition with MARS Cleaning’s parent company,” the court papers state. “Such high-ranking member did not disclose this or otherwise recuse himself from either the public debate or media commentary. Rather, this high-ranking member actively sought to overturn the Parish Council’s 5-4 vote granting MARS Cleaning’s application.”
Gavin Guillot, one of the attorneys representing MARS, was asked Monday why he has not named the alleged official in the pleadings but said he could not answer the question at this time.
After Parish President Dove made his public comments about vetoing the council action he was asked by The Times about rumors circulating in the parish that he had a familial connection to a MARS competitor.
Dove’s step-son, Jake Himel, owns Reliant Recycling, a firm considered a competitor of MARS. Asked about the connection, Dove spoke openly, stating that a conflict does not exist.
“They do not fool with NORM waste,” Dove said of Reliant, a company in which he has no financial interest. “They have NORM waste meters on (Reliant’s) yard. If a truck or a vessel pulls up with NORM it is rejected. They do not compete against MARS on steel with NORM. And if it doesn’t have NORM it’s open competition.”
“Nobody is more pro-business than Gordon Dove,” the parish president said after the permit was issued, adding that what he saw as strong opposition from residents moved him to offer a veto, until consultation with attorneys resulted in knowledge that he could not do so. The parish president can veto an ordinance, but not a resolution, which is what the Council voted to pass.
MARS attorneys allege that the delays and difficulties suffered by their client amounts to an unconstitutional taking of property. The company, the lawsuit states, “has suffered or will suffer damages from Terrebonne Parish’s actions.
Those damages, the court papers allege, include loss of income and profits, attorney fees, costs related to construction of the NORM facility and other damages.
The parish government has not yet filed its formal response to the suit.
