DOJ announced it had dismissed a suit the Biden Administration had brought against Denka for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. DOJ stated the Biden Administration’s enforcement had relied upon considerations of race through the use of the EJScreen tool, and cited Trump Administration’s Executive Order, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” as the basis for dismissing the suit.
Background
Following Administrator Regan’s Justice tour, the Biden Administration’s EPA announced several pollution-monitoring steps to address the disproportionate pollution impacts in ‘Cancer Alley,’ including Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The Agency responded by outlining a series of broad policy actions such as conducting unannounced inspections of suspected non-compliant facilities and mobilizing agency resources to invest in community air monitoring to better protect people and public health in vulnerable areas. EPA will also work on community projects. The agency will invest $600,000 in mobile air pollution monitoring equipment that will be deployed in the communities of Mossville, St. John the Baptist Parish and St. James Parish in Louisiana, as well as other locations in the south. EPA also announced some facility-specific pollution-monitoring requirements, such as requiring the Denka facility in St. John the Baptist parish to install fenceline monitors to identify sources of pollution on site.
On Feb. 28, 2023, EPA and DOJ coordinated to file suit against Denka for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. The complaint alleged that Denka’s emissions had led to unsafe levels of chloroprene around homes and schools of St. John the Baptist Parish.