The facility, operated by the oil giant Marathon Petroleum, is the third largest refinery in the US, strategically situated near the Gulf of Mexico and along the banks of the Mississippi River. Its importance to the multibillion-dollar corporation, and purportedly to Louisiana’s economy, has largely overpowered the concerns of the communities that sit a stone’s throw from its stacks.

Residents of these lower-income, historically Black neighborhoods have been caught in the middle of a political tug-of-war. The Biden-Harris administration has sought tougher enforcement in the region, while the state, under the leadership of Donald Trump’s far-right allies, has pushed back in favor of industry – making the outcome of the 2024 presidential race all the more important to people who live in the Marathon fenceline communities of Garyville, Lions and Reserve.