A federal appeals court has resuscitated a lawsuit alleging that St. James Parish pursued a discriminatory policy of locating air-polluting industrial projects in Black-majority communities of the region known as “Cancer Alley.”
The Fifth District Court of Appeals handed down its decision in Inclusive Louisiana v. St. James Parish on April 9, reversing a district court opinion that had sidelined the litigation. The plaintiffs had sought an end to the parish’s alleged practice of steering petrochemical projects into areas where Black residents were concentrated, namely in the Fourth and Fifth Districts.
The parish allowed 20 industrial facilities in the two districts, the plaintiffs argued, while no new industrial plants were placed in majority-white areas of the parish over the last 46 years.
The appeals court found that the plaintiffs, including Mt. Triumph Baptist Church and RISE St. James, had compiled an amended complaint that was chock-full of examples of unequal treatment in the parish’s industrial planning policies.
“These statements, juxtaposed with the organizations’ statements about how consistently the parish heeds the concerns of its majority-white districts, demonstrate the organizations’ well-pleaded allegations that they were racially classified and denied equal treatment,” the appeals court opinion states.
The Fifth Circuit rejected multiple conclusions from the Eastern District of Louisiana court’s earlier opinion. These included the district court’s finding that the plaintiff’s injuries fell outside the statute of limitations governing the parish’s land-use policies, that plaintiffs lacked standing to file their lawsuit and that the plaintiff’s injuries stemmed largely on the issue of access to cemeteries of members’ enslaved ancestors, which were located on private lands.
St. James Parish did not respond to a request for comment about the appeals court opinion, but the plaintiffs view the decision as an important step in the fight for justice in the parish’s land-use decisions.
“The pendulum of justice has swung in our favor,” Gail LeBoeuf, co-founder of Inclusive Louisiana, said in a statement. “We have been sounding the alarm for far too long that a moratorium is needed to halt the expansion of any more polluting industries in our neighborhoods, and too many lives have been lost to cancer.”
Since 1958, 20 of 24 petrochemical plants have been built in the Fourth and Fifth Districts – which critics have called “sacrifice zones.” In turn, the majority-Black residents have been dealing with increased cancer risks, respiratory diseases and other ailments, according to the Center of Constitutional Rights, which has been acting as counsel for the plaintiffs.
The legal battle will now shift back to the district court, where the merits of the case will be argued and the organizations challenging parish policies will seek a moratorium on industrial expansion in Black communities. The plaintiffs argue that parish policies have violated the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
“This moratorium is important for the people in this area,” the Rev. Harry Joseph of Mount Triumph Baptist Church said. “... Instead of the parish issuing a moratorium on the solar industry, we need one on the types of industry that are hurting us. The St. James Parish needs to really start helping the people of this parish."
The appeals court did not expressly conclude that plaintiffs would prevail based on the merits of their arguments.
“Of course, whether the organizations will prove their allegations or prevail on any of their claims remains to be seen,” the court said. “At this juncture, however, we merely acknowledge that they have standing to pursue them.”