Additional Coverage:
- The EPA can’t use Civil Rights Act to fight environmental injustice in Louisiana, judge rules (newsbreak.com)
In Reserve, Louisiana, a federal judge has struck a significant blow to the Biden administration’s attempt to leverage a key civil rights law to address pollution disparities affecting minority communities. U.S.
District Judge James David Cain from Lake Charles ruled on Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot enforce “disparate impact” regulations within the state. Such regulations are aimed at addressing non-intentional discriminatory effects of industrial pollution.
This permanent injunction follows a temporary block Judge Cain issued in January and aligns with the challenges brought forth by Louisiana state officials against the EPA’s approach. These officials argue that the application of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act—traditionally employed in areas like housing and transit—to environmental policies surpasses its intended reach. Title VI prohibits racial or national origin discrimination by recipients of federal funding.
The state’s lawsuit, initiated in May 2023, suggests that the EPA’s actions, had they been upheld, could have resumed an abandoned investigation into whether Louisiana’s industrial policies disproportionately exposed Black communities to heightened cancer risks along the so-called “Cancer Alley.” This area, notorious for its pollution levels, lies between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
The state contends that the federal agency improperly addressed policies that, while potentially resulting in differential impacts on minority communities, were not crafted with discriminatory intent. Furthermore, the state claims that regulating based on the demographic impacts of pollution could itself constitute discrimination.
This ruling is hailed as a victory by Republican leaders in Louisiana, including Gov. Jeff Landry, who was attorney general at the lawsuit’s filing, and his successor, Elizabeth Murrill. However, environmental advocates like Patrice Simms from Earthjustice vehemently oppose the judgment, accusing Louisiana of historically prioritizing industrial interests over the health of its minority populations.
The implications of this decision are currently confined to Louisiana but can be escalated to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, offering a potential avenue for contestation.