The EPA will not enforce tougher pollution laws in Louisiana’s poor and minority communities, a judge ruled

The Environmental Protection Agency will not force Louisiana industries to reduce toxic waste in poor and low-income areas to levels lower than in predominantly White areas to make up for past pollution, federal judge in Lake la Charles has judged.

The “disparate impact” rules are part of the EPA’s efforts to apply parts of the Civil Rights Act to pollution because the law prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin. In Louisiana, the laws were intended to address long-standing allegations that state agencies meant to enforce EPA regulations were not adequately addressing pollution problems in low-income and minority communities.

Thursday’s decision by Judge James Cain Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana was in response to a challenge to the implementation of the EPA rules in May 2023 by Governor Jeff Landry when he was the state attorney general. The decision reversed an earlier temporary ban by Cain, who was appointed to the post by President Donald Trump.

Louisiana successfully argued that the laws were unconstitutional due to their use of race to drive regulatory actions, and violation of the federal Clean Air Act. The state argued that the EPA used air pollution regulations as “a tool for far-reaching social engineering in the name of ‘equity.’

Cain’s ruling followed months of negotiations between the government and the EPA over the terms of his earlier interim order that included similar restrictions. Cain accepted most of the government’s requests to limit the EPA’s enforcement of its regulations implementing Title VI civil rights regulations, and rejected all EPA’s attempts to expand the authority of the it is implemented in the country.

Also on Thursday, the EPA released an updated version of its nationwide civil rights guidance for itself, federal agencies and other EPA grantees that includes guidance on how to enforce various regulations.

However, the guidance includes a footnote that cites Cain’s temporary restraining order stating that the EPA “shall not impose or enforce any requirements for a disparate or cumulative impact assessment under Title VI against the state of Louisiana or its state agencies.” It will enforce some provisions of the Human Rights Act in the country, however.

“The Department of Justice and the EPA remain committed to enforcing the civil rights law, consistent with the court’s order,” the two federal agencies said in a joint statement. “In the coming weeks, we will take the next steps to ensure non-discrimination in the programs and activities our organizations offer.”

Landry’s office, the state attorney general’s office and the state Department of Environmental Quality did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

The decision was criticized by Earthjustice, which represents environmental groups and local communities that have gone to court to try to limit air emissions in Louisiana, including at a chemical corridor along the Mississippi River that activists they call it “Cancer Alley.”

In January 2022, Earthjustice filed a complaint with the EPA on behalf of residents of St. John the Baptist are asking the agency to investigate whether Louisiana agencies have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by failing to protect Black communities from disproportionate environmental harm. That prompted the agency to launch a civil rights investigation by DEQ and the state Department of Health that was dropped after the federal lawsuit was filed.

The EPA later enacted new regulations aimed at reducing cancer risks for communities near industrial plants across the country, many of which are located in Louisiana.

Deena Tumeh, senior attorney for Earthjustice, said Cain’s new decision “is still based on a misinterpretation of human rights laws, and this decision creates a legally sanctioned slaughterhouse in Louisiana.”

“This looks at the history of how the petrochemical industry in Louisiana was developed and expanded, about the discrimination against Blacks and other people of color and the places where they live,” he said.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan has repeatedly cited the pollution problems facing Louisiana’s majority-Black residents in speeches in which he has pledged to make environmental justice a cornerstone of his tenure. He has visited Louisiana’s Mississippi River chemical site twice since being elected in 2021.

The agency’s new rules on cancer risks limit the statewide discharge of several chemicals that directly affect chemical plants in the river and elsewhere in Louisiana, without including language which has a different impact. EPA officials have said that such actions achieve the desired results in minority and low-income communities, although they have not been able to reach an agreement on civil rights investigations with DEQ.

Cain’s new ruling does not affect the EPA’s actions in limited areas of other states, but it expanded it to include local agencies and private organizations in Louisiana that receive federal grants, and which different laws of effect can I’m working on it.