July 7th 2023.
In a major blow to environmental justice activists, the Biden administration has announced that they will no longer investigate whether Louisiana officials are placing Black residents living in an industrial area of the state at an increased risk of cancer. This announcement comes despite evidence of racial discrimination.
The region in question, located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, is a stretch of land along the Mississippi River that is home to petrochemical plants and refineries. It has come to be known as "Cancer Alley" and is responsible for the highest cancer rates caused by air pollution in the entire country. The perpetrator is a Japanese polymer plant called Denka, which has been on the receiving end of numerous lawsuits and protests.
In an attempt to address the environmental issues facing Louisiana, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took action against Denka in October 2022 and implemented a Pollution Accountability Team in Mossville, St. James Parish, and St. John the Baptist Parish in January 2023. The EPA also provided $600,000 to provide mobile air pollution monitoring equipment to the region, specifically in Mossville, St. John the Baptist Parish and St. James Parish, and other southern communities.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan wrote a letter to the CEOs of Denka and DuPont in 2022, urging them to consider the health of neighboring residents. He also required the Denka facility to install fence line monitors to determine where onsite emissions were coming from and established a set of new rules to limit air pollution.
However, the efforts of the EPA have been met with pushback, notably from Louisiana’s Attorney General Jeff Landry, who filed a federal lawsuit in which he alleged that the EPA was overstepping its authorities and fighting to block the organization’s investigation. Landry is a Republican candidate currently vying for the title of Louisiana’s next governor.
The EPA's recent decision to no longer continue their probe into Denka’s practices has left many local environmental justice activists disheartened. Sharon Lavigne, the founder of local activist group Rise St. James, expressed her disappointment in the Washington Post, saying, “I feel like we were put on the back burner.”
Despite the EPA's efforts to protect Louisiana communities, the Biden administration's decision to end their investigation into Denka has left residents of Louisiana without justice. It is unclear how, or if, the situation will be resolved.
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