Louisiana judge tosses permits for $9.4B plastics complex
A Louisiana judge has thrown out air quality permits for a Taiwanese company's planned $9_4 billion plastics complex in a heavily industrialized area often referred to as “Cancer Alley.”
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana judge has thrown out air quality permits for a Taiwanese company’s planned $9.4 billion plastics complex between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, a rare win for environmentalists in a heavily industrialized stretch of the Mississippi River often referred to as “Cancer Alley."
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality brushed off its environmental justice analysis while violating the Clean Air Act and the agency's duty to protect the public, District Judge Trudy White wrote.
Opponents of the plans called Wednesday's ruling in Baton Rouge a victory for environmental justice. FG LA, the local Formosa Plastics affiliate, said Thursday that it would appeal.
“Stopping Formosa Plastics has been a fight for our lives, and today David has toppled Goliath,” said Sharon Lavigne, who founded the group Rise St. James in 2018 to fight plans for the plant. “The judge’s decision sends a message to polluters like Formosa that communities of color have a right to clean air, and we must not be sacrifice zones.”
