WASHINGTON– The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closed its investigations into two Louisiana state agencies regarding pollution from a petrochemical plant and potential violations of the Civil Rights Act. The investigations were initiated in response to a complaint filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Earthjustice, on behalf of Concerned Citizens of St. John and the Sierra Club regarding a failure of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) and the Louisiana Department of Health (“LDH”) to take action to protect the health of the state’s residents. In response, Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, released the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed with the EPA’s decision to end its investigations into Louisiana agencies charged with protecting the health of residents subjected to pollution, in possible violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Our complaint laid out in great detail how Black residents of St. John the Baptist Parish have been subjected to disproportionate air pollution produced by various manufacturing facilities, including the Denka neoprene production plant. LDH and LDEQ have failed to control hazardous air pollution and mitigate its harm, subjecting the residents of St. John the Baptist Parish to environmental racism and injustice.
“It was critically important for the federal government to step in and protect the health and wellness of residents of the parish who suffer from substantially higher cancer rates. Our clients are suffering and deserve protection. Instead, the federal government is retreating from prior commitments to strongly enforce civil rights protections, which in this case means holding LDH and LDEQ accountable. We will continue to fight on behalf of the residents of St. John the Baptist Parish by using all necessary tools to ensure they have access to clean air and receive the justice they deserve.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. For more information, please visit https://link.edgepilot.com/s/02d591c4/e9FA9F3yGE2IYw01Vz1S-A?u=https://lawyerscommittee.org/.
