Latest news with #environmentalJustice
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Louisiana plant at the center of an environmental justice fight halts operations
A petrochemical plant in Louisiana accused of increasing cancer risks for a majority Black community indefinitely suspended operations largely due to the high cost of reducing toxic pollution. Japanese firm Denka announced Tuesday that its synthetic rubber facility hemorrhaged more than $109 million in the past year. The company cited weakening demand, staffing challenges and rising costs as reasons why 'improving profitability in the near term would be difficult.' Denka also attributed much of its financial woes to what it has described as 'unfair and targeted' pollution control measures. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency sought to rein in dangerous chemical emissions from hundreds of facilities including Denka's. The Biden administration's environmental justice campaign spotlighted Denka's plant, located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans in St. John the Baptist Parish. Under the Trump administration, the EPA withdrew a federal lawsuit against Denka alleging it exposed a predominantly Black population to unacceptable cancer risk — the highest nationwide — from the facility's emissions of chloroprene. Last year, officials shut down a nearby elementary school due to concerns about emissions exposure. 'I am elated that we are waking up every day now with no chloroprene in our air,' said Tish Taylor, a local environmental activist. She added that she was under no illusion that the company was concerned about its impact on her community's health: 'The petrochemical industry around us doesn't care about human beings. They care about their bottom line.' The cost to reduce pollution Denka produces Neoprene, a synthetic rubber used in wetsuits, laptop sleeves and other common products. In suspending operations, Denka cited the 'significant cost' of 'pollution control equipment to reduce chloroprene emissions,' which the company said it 'did not anticipate' when it purchased the facility from DuPont in 2015. The company also cited 'a shortage of qualified staff necessary to operate new pollution control equipment and implement other emission reduction measures.' In court filings last year, Denka said it had spent more than $35 million on equipment to reduce emissions by 85% since 2017. But harmful emissions consistently remained higher than federal guidelines. Denka said it remains 'deeply grateful' to Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, who supported the company last year as it fought an EPA rule mandating the facility swiftly reduce chloroprene emissions. While the Trump administration has pledged to rewrite this policy, the company noted the outcome remains uncertain. Denka said it is working with Landry's administration to consider 'all options,' including 'a potential sale of the business or its assets.' But no decision had been made regarding a 'permanent closure' of the facility or 'workforce reductions.' Landry did not respond to a request for comment. A market 'slowdown' Denka said it 'faces a sustained slowdown in the global market demand for Neoprene, along with increases in energy prices, raw materials, and repair work that have been exacerbated by inflation.' The company's statement noted 'rising energy costs,' 'weakening global economic environment for chloroprene' and 'supply chain disruptions" as other factors. The Denka facility needed large amounts of chlorine to produce chloroprene, said George Eisenhauer, an analyst with commodities consulting company Argus Media. It costs more than twice as much to purchase and import chlorine into the U.S. as it does in other leading chloroprene production sites like Europe, Japan and China, he said. The costs rose over the past few years after a major U.S. chlorine producer shut down, Eisenhauer added. Trump's tariff policies have not significantly affected the price because chlorine is typically imported into the U.S. through Mexico or Canada. Local activists remain wary Denka's facility is in the 85-mile (137-kilometer) stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge officially called the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor and commonly referred to by environmental groups as 'Cancer Alley.' Robert Taylor, 84, and other environmental activists warily celebrated Denka's announcement. Taylor, who lives near the facility, pushed for stronger environmental regulations, only to watch the Trump administration roll them back. 'They have given these guys all the protection they need from advocacy groups like mine,' he said, referring to the Trump administration. 'So that's why I am a bit puzzled by the action they (Denka) are taking now.' He wondered whether the company would eventually resume operations or sell the plant to a company that could restart production. 'I think the community needs to be on guard and be prepared to continue our advocacy for our clean air and safe environment.' ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Louisiana: controversial Denka plant suspends production after dire losses
A controversial chemical plant in the centre of Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' region has indefinitely suspended all production following dire financial results, the facility's operators announced on Tuesday. The Denka Performance Elastomer plant in St John Parish has long been associated with chronic air pollution issues and was the subject of a years-long Guardian reporting series examining the disproportionate cancer risk rates experienced by the majority-Black fence-line communities that surround the facility. Denka, a Japanese chemicals firm, cited growing regulation during the Biden presidency and a 'sustained slowdown in the global market demand' for its product, a synthetic rubber called neoprene, which is manufactured at the site. The company had not decided on permanent closure, a statement said, adding the chemicals giant was 'exploring all available options for the future of the site, including sale of the facility'. The fence-line community's fight for clean air has become a national and international environmental justice clarion call, prompting a number of interventions from the Biden administration. These included the introduction of a new rule governing emissions on the plant's primary pollutant, a likely human carcinogen named chloroprene, and a US justice department lawsuit seeking to compel Denka to lower its pollution. The Trump administration sought to undo many of these initiatives. Trump's justice department dropped the litigation in March citing 'ideological overreach' and a new executive order targeting so-called 'DEI programs'. Denka said the administration had also 'committed to rewrite' the Biden-era chloroprene rule. Still, the company said in a statement that it had endured 'extraordinary loss in its financial results' for the last year amounting to a 16.1 billion yen (roughly $109m) in losses. Although citing a decline in global demand, the company also blamed the uncertainty caused by increased regulation under Joe Biden for its facility's financial collapse in America. The Guardian has revealed how the plant's former owners, US chemicals giant DuPont, sought to sell the facility in 2015 in a secretive deal after citing concerns about potential environmental regulation and its impact on profit margins. DuPont allegedly withheld information about these concerns before selling to Denka. DuPont did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Denka made reference to the 2015 sale again on Tuesday, suggesting it had 'not anticipated' the need to install pollution control technology and equipment at the point of purchase. Since purchasing the facility, the Japanese firm has invested over $35m in emissions offset technology and has claimed to have reduced chloroprene emissions by more than 80%. Notably, chloroprene readings recorded by the EPA have continued to show measurements well in excess of the federal government's lifetime exposure guidance. Residents who have fought for years against the plant's pollution expressed some cautious optimism on Tuesday. 'It [the suspension of production] is not about us, the community. They don't care about us,' said Mary Hampton of Boundless Community Action. 'What I see now is that they never intended to get emissions down. But now they've been hit internationally they don't have a choice.' Hampton, who has lived in the fence-line community of Reserve for her entire life and lost a number of family members to cancer, added that the community remained concerned about a potential sale to another manufacturer. 'I worry it's just a temporary thing,' Hampton said. 'I worry they're going to sell to somebody else, who will come in with the same regulations and keep doing exactly what they want.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Another broken promise': California environmental groups reel from EPA grant cancellations
After weeks of speculation, the news came down with chilling formality: "Dear EPA Grant Recipient," read the official government email. "Attached is your Termination of Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency." That's how hundreds of organizations found out they had officially lost EPA grant funding as part of the many cutbacks to environmental programs demanded by the Trump administration. Among them was the Community Water Center, a nonprofit that works to provide safe, clean drinking water to rural communities in California. Their $20-million award had been earmarked for a major project to consolidate water systems in the low-income Central Coast communities of Pajaro, Sunny Mesa and Springfield, which have long been reliant on domestic wells and small water systems that are riddled with contaminants above legal limits. The project was more than five years in the making, and now sits in limbo as President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin slash funding for more than 780 grants geared toward environmental justice that were awarded under President Biden. "It's a huge disappointment — this grant would be funding an infrastructure project to deliver safe drinking water, and I think that everyone would agree that residents across the United States need to have safe drinking water," said Susana De Anda, Community Water Center's executive director. "Safe water is not political." Read more: The EPA plans to cut hundreds of environmental grants. Democrats say it's illegal The notice arrived on May 1, nearly two months after the EPA and the president's unofficial Department of Government Efficiency first announced that they would terminate more than 400 environmental grants totaling $1.7 billion in what Zeldin described as an effort to "rein in wasteful federal spending." A leaked list reviewed by The Times revealed at least 62 California grants were on the chopping block. However, court documents filed last week indicate that the actual number of environmental grant cancellations in the U.S. is closer to 800. The finding is part of a lawsuit from nonprofit groups challenging the administration's efforts to freeze funds awarded awarded under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as first reported by the Washington Post. A legal declaration filed by the EPA says 377 grantees have already received formal notices of termination, and approximately 404 more will be noticed soon. It is not immediately clear how many California organizations will lose federal funding. EPA officials declined to provide a list of affected groups and said the agency does not comment on pending legislation. But a handful of groups in the state have confirmed they are on the list of cuts. Among them is the Los Angeles Neighborhood Trust, which said it lost a $500,000 grant intended to help plan equitable development projects along the L.A. River, and the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, which said it lost a $155,000 grant for a project to provide food to communities in need in Vallejo. Cade Cannedy, director of programs with the Palo Alto-based nonprofit Climate Resilient Communities, said the group lost a $500,000 grant that would have provided air purifiers to children with asthma and seniors with disabilities in East Palo Alto. The community suffers from high rates of respiratory issues as a result of decades of redlining, segregation and zoning practices that have concentrated polluting activities in the area, including hazardous waste processing facilities and vehicle emissions from nearby highways, Cannedy said. "It's a huge loss for our communities, but I think the other thing that's really almost sadder is that for these communities, this is just another broken promise in a decades-long string of broken promises," he said. The termination email was the first communication the group has received from the EPA since Trump took office, he said. It represents a significant blow for the small nonprofit, which had already hired two new employees to help implement the project and deliver air purifiers to about 400 families and potentially some schools and senior centers. "At small community-based organizations like ours, we never have excellent cash flow — it's not like we're sitting on half a million dollars at any point in time," Cannedy said. "We're dependent on these grants and the reimbursement process to make things work." Read more: Trump makes sweeping move to undercut state climate laws, including California's The grant cancellations are the latest in a string of actions from the Trump administration that advocates say are harmful to the environment, including loosening air and water quality regulations; laying off scientists and researchers; ramping up coal production; opening national forests for industrial logging; narrowing protections for endangered species and dismissing hundreds of scientists working a major national climate report, among many others. Democratic lawmakers, including California Sen. Adam Schiff and Sen. Alex Padilla, have condemned the administration's grant cancellations, which they say is an illegal clawing back of congressionally appropriated funds. "EPA's unlawful, arbitrary, and capricious terminations of [environmental justice] grant programs eliminate commonsense, nonpartisan federal programs that clean the air and water and protect Americans from natural disasters," the senators wrote in a March letter to Zeldin, along with seven other Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The EPA is potentially facing tighter purse strings. Trump's proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year would slash $5 billion from the agency tasked with protecting the nation's health and environment — by far the largest cut in the EPA's history, representing approximately 55% of its 2025 budget. Meeting the reduction will require mass layoffs and would effectively cripple the EPA's core functions, according to the nonprofit Environmental Protection Network, a D.C.-based watchdog group composed of more than 600 former EPA workers. "This is a reckless and short-sighted proposal that will lead to higher levels of toxic pollution in the air we breathe and water we drink across the nation," read a statement from Michelle Roos, the EPN's executive director. "This is a wrecking-ball approach that would gut America's front-line defense for protecting people's health and environment." Indeed, the loss of grant funding will have lasting real-world effects, according to José Franco García, executive director of the San Diego County-based nonprofit the Environmental Health Coalition. The group lost a $500,000 grant intended for a number of initiatives in the Barrio Logan neighborhood, a predominantly low-income community that suffers from pollution, poor air quality and other environmental problems due to its proximity to the port, industrial facilities and an interstate highway, he said. The projects included the creation of a long-awaited park along Boston Avenue, a green shuttle bus system, and efforts to improve area homes with electrification, solar power and lead abatement, García said. He said the grant was also going to fund air filters in homes of children with asthma. "These are the exact things that EPA money should be going to," García said. "And what the current version of the EPA is doing is not what it was meant to do, what it was meant to be able to protect, and what it was meant to be able to serve." García noted that the grant cancellations are also costing nonprofits time and potentially jobs as they scramble keep up with rapidly changing conditions. The grant was approved last summer and the group had spent months preparing to start the work. "Just as we are expected to meet the terms of any contract, we thought that the federal government would be as well," he said. Read more: 'It's a huge loss': Trump administration dismisses scientists preparing climate report De Anda, of the Community Water Center, was similarly concerned about the public health implications of the grant terminations. The Monterey County communities Pajaro, Sunny Mesa and Springfield have struggled with water quality issues for years, with 81% of domestic wells there testing positive for one or more dangerous contaminants including nitrate, 123-TCP, arsenic and chromium 6, she said. The chemicals can contribute to serious adverse health effects such as reproductive issues, infant blood conditions and cancer, according to the EPA. The Community Water Center's $20-million grant would have funded the first phase of critical infrastructure work, including constructing pipelines to physically consolidate the communities into a single water system owned and operated by Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District, which would serve about 5,500 people and an elementary school. Community Water Center is exploring all avenues to keep the work moving forward, De Anda said, and she hopes state officials will step in to fill the void left by the EPA. "Our community deserves to have reliable infrastructure that delivers safe drinking water," she said. "Stopping the project is not an option." One of the area's residents, 49-year-old Maria Angelica Rodriguez, said she currently has to rely on bottled water for drinking, cooking and other basic needs. Every Thursday, a regional bottled water program delivers 5 gallons for each of the three members of her household, which include Rodriguez, her mother and her sister. But she also worries about her 7-month-old grandson whom she babysits throughout the week, whom she fears could get sick from the area's tainted water. Speaking through an interpreter, Rodriguez said she would like Trump to stop and think about the children and also farm workers in the area who need to drink the water. The project brought hope to the community, she said, and its cancellation has made her very sad. "El agua es vida," she said. "Water is life." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
