Judge Blocks EPA from Enforcing Civil Rights Act in 'Cancer Alley'
Ruling follows Louisiana Gov. Landry's lawsuit against EPA, amidst reports of high cancer risks in communities of color near carcinogenic waste sites.
- Federal Judge James D. Cain, a Trump appointee, has blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) from enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act’s disparate-impact requirements against Louisiana agencies.
- Last year, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R), then the state attorney general, sued the EPA to block a civil rights investigation into potential disparate impacts in the largely Black area of the state, arguing the probe exceeded statutory authority.
- The judge’s ruling comes the same day as a report from the National Minority Quality Forum, which found that 56 percent of communities of color are sited within 3 kilometers of a site producing carcinogenic waste.
- The town of Reserve in St. John the Baptist Parish, located in 'Cancer Alley', has cancer risks about 50 times the national average.
- Earthjustice, which filed the original Title VI complaint on behalf of St. John the Baptist Parish residents in 2022, criticized the ruling, stating that Louisiana is fighting to keep discriminatory permitting programs that have created 'sacrifice zones' like 'Cancer Alley' in place.
The Hill 
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