GEISMAR - On Wednesday night, Ascension Parish and National Water Infrastructure revealed the location of the new regional wastewater treatment plant at an open house. This comes after a 2OYS investigation caused NWI to pull the project from its original location.

The new alternative site is located along Ashland Road, near River Road in Geismar.

Ascension Parish District Three Councilman Travis Turner said the parish needs a regional sewer system, but the original plan was met with backlash.

"The initial site was close to a lot of residents in Geismar. we had a lot of opposition to that," Turner said.

The old site was located near the intersection of LA 30 and LA 73 put the project close to Stoney Point Estates and other neighborhoods which drew concerns of residents living there in July 2024. For months, residents pushed NWI to find an alternative site.

"Listening to our councilman, listening to our regulators. The site we are currently looking at was not available at the time. It's a great site for the project," National Water Infrastructure CEO Myron Lambert said.

Samantha Leach lives near the original proposed site and wanted to make sure the parish and NWI made good on their promises.

"I'm really excited to see it's much closer to River Road, it's in the heavy industrial quarter that they keep emphasizing, and that's all we've ever asked from the beginning," Leach said.

The new location puts it closer to the parish's industrial corridor, surrounded by Shell, Univar and other major industrial facilities. NWI said there are no homes within one mile of the site off Ashland Road.

"It meets all the expectations of the community. It allows for a buffer zone. It allows for access to the Mississippi river and gets it out of the general area of opposition," Lambert said.

The alternative sewage site is less than a mile and a half from a string of homes along Bowden Road. It is roughly three and a half miles from Pelican Point Homes.

"We'll exhale once it's purchased. once we start seeing construction. He said by the beginning of 2026, they should really start seeing some changes. We're excited to see the improvements going on with it all," Leach said.

NWI said the next step is purchasing the property and starting the permitting process. Construction is expected to take between three and five years. As for the old site, NWI told WBRZ the site property was never purchased.