Residents of a Louisiana parish located in the heart of a cluster of polluting petrochemical factories filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday raising allegations of civil rights, environmental justice and religious liberty violations.
The lawsuit names St. James Parish as the defendant and says the parish council approved the construction of several factories in two Black districts of the parish that emit harmful amounts of toxic chemicals. It said the pollution negatively affected the health of the area’s Black residents.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are calling for a moratorium on petrochemical plants like one being built by Formosa Plastics that was approved by the council in 2019. The Associated Press reached out to the council for comment but did not receive an immediate response. For several years, Black residents of St. James Parish have lobbied the parish council and state government to do something about petrochemical plants emitting toxic chemicals into the air they breathe. But they’ve been ignored, according to Shamyra Lavigne of Rise St. James, a local climate justice organization.“We stand here today to say we will not be ignored. You will not sacrifice our lives. And we will not take any more industry in the fourth or fifth district of St. James.
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