Black communities in Louisiana facing pollution due to alleged racist land-use policies can proceed with their fight for justice, a federal appellate court ruled, per the Associated Press.
Earlier this month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said a lawsuit filed by a trio of faith-based community groups alleging racial discrimination in St. James Parish can continue. The South Louisiana parish lies at the heart of the state’s heavily industrialized Chemical Corridor and is often referred to as “Cancer Alley” for its high levels of pollution.
The lawsuit is seeking a moratorium on the construction and expansion of chemical plants in St. James Parish. 20 of 24 of the industrial facilities were built in two sections of the parish with majority-Black populations at the time of the lawsuit filing in March 2023.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, St. James Parish ranks higher than the national average for certain cancer deaths. The majority-Black sections of the parish have a high risk of cancer due to toxic pollutants, per the EPA.
“We have been sounding the alarm for far too long that a moratorium is needed to halt the expansion of any more polluting industries in our neighborhoods, and too many lives have been lost to cancer,” plaintiff Gail LeBoeuf, a lifelong parish resident and co-founder of Inclusive Louisiana, said in a statement.
The lawsuit will now head to the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana. That court had previously determined that the lawsuit was filed too late because the allegations centered around a 2014 parish land-use plan.
Earlier this month, the federal court ruled that the suit was filed on time and was “replete with allegations of discriminatory land use decisions” from 2014 and beyond. The court also determined that the lawsuit could move forward due to the parish authorizing industrial development that “desecrates, destroys, and restricts access” to the cemeteries of their enslaved ancestors. Many of the petrochemical facilities in Louisiana have been built on former plantations.
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