The EPA can’t use Civil Rights Act to fight environmental injustice in Louisiana, judge rules

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has weakened the Biden administration’s effort to use a historic civil rights law to fight industrial pollution alleged to have taken a heavier toll on minority communities in Louisiana.

U.S. District Judge James David Cain of Lake Charles handed down the ruling Thursday, permanently blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing what are known as “disparate impact” requirements on the state.

Cain had already issued a temporary blocking order in January. His ruling was a victory for Louisiana officials who challenged the EPA policy, which was based on possible violations of Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act forbids anyone who receives federal funds from discriminating based on race or national origin. It’s been used in housing and transportation, but rarely on environmental matters. The EPA under President Joe Biden, however, tried to use it more aggressively.

The state sued in May 2023, a move that may have played a role in the EPA dropping an investigation into whether Louisiana officials put Black residents living in an industrial stretch of the state at increased cancer risk. The area, often referred to as “cancer alley” because of the amount of suspected cancer-causing pollution emitted there, stretches along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> RELATED COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Biden promised to clean up heavily polluted communities. Here is how advocates say he