A 2023 lawsuit against a South Louisiana parish regarding pollution is back in court, according to Reuters.
The lawsuit alleges that predominantly Black neighborhoods in St. James Parish had been inordinately subjected to petrochemical emissions. A study from a grade school in neighboring St. John the Baptist Parish suggested students were being subjected to the "highest theoretical cancer risk in the nation." The risk earned a stretch of land in St. James Parish the nickname of Cancer Alley.
The case was originally dismissed because the statute of limitations had been exceeded, as the zoning permissions were given to industry in 2014. The appeal to bring the case back succeeded on grounds that those permissions were part of a larger pattern of violating 13th and 14th Amendment rights. Part of the lawsuit's argument is that polluting industries were given license to operate in majority-Black communities, while nearby white communities were granted a moratorium on commercial solar installations.
"While it is unclear at this pleading stage whether these alleged incidents of discrimination can ultimately prove a violation of the Organizations' constitutional or statutory rights, as alleged they plainly fall within the applicable one-year limitations period," 5th U.S. Circuit Court Judge Carl Stewart wrote, per Reuters.
Minority communities have historically borne the brunt of pollution. This is in part because of redlining, which kept underrepresented groups close to industrial zones. A newer trend, bluelining, increases insurance premiums in areas deemed environmentally risky, often in the same Black communities.
This demonstrates how oil and gas pollution does more than just exacerbate extreme weather patterns. The effects have an immediate and harmful impact on those living nearby.
"Now we can finally get back to the urgent work of addressing the public health emergency caused by the parish's constant and easy approval of every request by any petrochemical company seeking to operate in these majority-Black communities," plaintiffs lawyer Pam Spees said, per Reuters.
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