Reimagining the South Shore of St. Croix

Floor Speech

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, for decades, my island, my home, St. Croix, was the home of the largest refinery in the Western Hemisphere, an identity that largely shaped our economic makeup to the detriment, in some instances, of historic industries such as agriculture or at the detriment of our environment but provided thousands of jobs throughout the years to our residents. The recent failure of the refinery to restart successfully has been a disappointment to many, but in there lies a unique opportunity before us.

With the rapid changes taking place in our climate and the urgency that the Biden administration has placed on environmental reform and the much-needed transition to green energy and renewables, we have an opportunity to reimagine how the south shore of St. Croix can be redeveloped.

The green energy initiatives and the focus on historically disadvantaged communities contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, along with the incentives and funding included in the bipartisan infrastructure law, are not only timely but critical for us as a territory.

I ask my colleagues, I ask Virgin Islanders, I ask our Governor and our elected officials to all join in reimagining and getting to work on redefining what we look like.

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