The federal Environmental Protection Agency has ended an investigation of civil rights violations stemming from industrial pollution in St. John the Baptist Parish that critics say disproportionately affects Black residents.
The EPA closed its investigation, which was requested by several environmental groups, including Washington-based Earthjustice, on June 27. The decision was outlined in federal court documents filed in the Western District of Louisiana and in letters to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the state Department of Health.
Last year, Earthjustice and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights filed complaints against the two state agencies, alleging that their decisions related to regulating industrial projects in the “Cancer Alley” region violated Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act.
“We are glad the investigation of those complaints has concluded,” DEQ spokesman Gregory Langley said in an email to the Louisiana Record. “Going forward, LDEQ will continue to work with EPA to find ways to reduce emissions in the industrial corridor.”
In making its decision, EPA officials noted that the agency has taken actions that have reduced the effects of chloroprene emissions from the Denka Performance Elastomers plant in LaPlace. EPA officials also said the agency would set up a cumulative assessment of pollution in the area around the Denka facility.
But Earthjustice criticized the agency for ending its yearlong probe without making a report on its findings.
“We are deeply disappointed by EPA’s decision to close an investigation that could have brought justice to the community members of St. John the Baptist Parish, who have long borne the brunt of environmental injustice and discrimination,” Earthjustice Vice President of Healthy Communities Patrice Simms said in a prepared statement. “... EPA’s decision to abandon its civil rights enforcement effort deprives these communities of an important avenue for securing justice and addressing longstanding and unconscionable toxic exposures.”
State Attorney General Jeff Landry recently filed a federal lawsuit claiming the EPA overstepped its authority in carrying out the investigation. The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.