Residents of a small Louisiana community say their homes have been rattled by persistent rumbling and vibrations since a privately owned waste services company opened a facility across the Mississippi River.
Complaints have been brought before Iberville Parish officials since VLS Environmental Solutions began operating near Plaquemine Point roughly two years ago, according to minutes from a January parish council meeting.
VLS Environmental Solutions provides waste management and marine services and is owned by Miami-based private equity firm I Squared Capital.
The company expanded into Plaquemine, Iberville Parish’s seat, in 2022. Its Sunshine Facility was established to offer barge cleaning, maintenance and repair services on the Mississippi River, according to VLS’s website.
People living across the river say the facility produces an unsettling, low-frequency noise that disrupts their sleep. Some also believe the vibrations have caused damage to their houses and other property, according to parish meeting records.
“It pierces your head,” resident Kyte Aymond told officials, according to The Advocate. “It’s not really loud when you’re outside. But when you get on the porch, you begin to hear it really intensely.”
Les Ann Kirkland said her century-old home remained steady until the facility arrived. “I lived in an old house, very solid, 100 years old, it never shook until those people came there,” she said, the outlet reported.
Another resident, Rebecca, told the council that the alleged vibrations had cracked her driveway, according to the meeting minutes.
VLS Environmental Solutions established a barge-cleaning operation on the Mississippi River opposite Plaquemine
Iberville Parish officials have received vibration complaints from residents since 2024
A study commissioned by Iberville Parish, however, did not identify anything unusual at the site.
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The investigation found no frequencies beyond the normal range coming from the facility, according to NOLA.
“No events were recorded with a low frequency,” Iberville Parish Executive Director of Economic Development John Clark told the Parish Council, according to the outlet. He noted that some complaints involved low-frequency incidents, which can feel more intense than ordinary noise or vibration.
IVC Technologies conducted the testing with several instruments designed to measure the strength and frequency of the reported vibrations.
Two monitoring devices were scheduled to collect readings from May 22 through July 13. However, one malfunctioned and returned with a blank data card when the testing period ended, NOLA reported.
Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site, on the Mississippi River, was among the locations monitored during the parish’s vibration study
Officials have not explained what caused the equipment failure.
The report reviewed by NOLA concluded that “there were no events recorded with low-frequency sound that would cause rumbling or shaking of structures.”
The findings did little to reassure residents who say their experiences were not reflected in the study.
“I don’t think they hired the right kind of people to come do the study and used the right kind of equipment,” Roxanne Traigle, who lives near the river, told NOLA.
The parish is open to conducting further tests, according to the outlet.
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