Louisiana Groups Push for State Supreme Court to Review Formosa Plastics’ Air Permits Case
LDEQ air permits would exacerbate environmental racism and harm the health of St. James’ predominantly Black residents
Contacts
Alexandria Trimble, atrimble@earthjustice.org
Today, community and environmental groups filed an application asking the Louisiana Supreme Court to grant review and overturn legal errors in an appeals court decision that upheld the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s decision to issue air permits for Formosa Plastics’ massive petrochemical complex in St. James Parish. The appeals court decision reversed a sweeping ruling against LDEQ that vacated Formosa Plastics’ permits by a state trial court in 2022.
RISE St. James, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Healthy Gulf, No Waste Louisiana, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthworks, and the Sierra Club continue the fight to vacate the air permits that would allow Formosa Plastics to build the largest petrochemical complex of its kind in the country, emitting more than 800 tons per year of toxic air pollution — including known human carcinogens such as ethylene oxide, and releasing more carbon dioxide in the air than three coal-burning power plants.
“The community of St. James will not be a sacrifice zone for Formosa Plastics,” said Sharon Lavigne, founder of RISE St. James. “If built, Formosa Plastics giant chemical complex would triple the already high levels of toxic pollution that is already in our air from existing chemical plants. We have a right to clean and healthy air and we will not stop fighting for it. We hope the Louisiana Supreme Court will hear our case.”
“From the first moment Formosa plastics was announced, it was clear that this project was a terrible idea — bad for St. James Parish and a catastrophe for Louisiana,” said Anne Rolfes, Director of Louisiana Bucket Brigade. “We are committed for the long term to protecting our state from the pollution, the injustice, and the illness that Formosa Plastics would bring. Formosa is not even allowed to be built in its home country of Taiwan. If it’s illegal to build there, it should be not be allowed in Louisiana.”
“Louisiana has a track record of permitting highly toxic facilities without considering the communities who were there first. That’s why we have a ‘Cancer Alley,’” said Julie Teel Simmonds, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’ll do everything possible to stop this dangerous project.”
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