GONZALES - Neighbors living around a red dust site continue to share frustration over their air quality into 2026, as the parish and state continue their efforts to permanently cap the site with dirt.

Ascension Parish government officials report that more than 30 acres of red dust have been covered so far. The LALumina bauxite solid waste site is approximately 100 acres. The plan is to cover the red dust with six inches of dirt and fill, offered for free from other nearby projects, including Air Products and John H. Carter.

Parish officials and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality were on the property Thursday performing "standard work on site as planned." The cooperative endeavor began in April 2025 with a four-acre test site. The entire project is expected to take three to four years to complete. The parish was unable to provide an updated timeline now that it's almost a year into the work, but says there's been no change.

In the past few days, 2 On Your Side received several reports from nearby residents about red dust flying in the air as the project continues. The problem has been covered extensively by 2 On Your Side for several years.