Justice Dept. Says Ending Louisiana Petrochemical Case Helps 'dismantle Radical Dei Programs'
The Justice Department on Friday celebrated its decision to drop a federal lawsuit against a Louisiana petrochemical plant accused of worsening cancer risks for residents in a majority-Black community, saying the dismissal showed that officials are "delivering on President Donald Trump's promise to dismantle radical DEI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and restore integrity to federal enforcement efforts."
The dismissal Wednesday of the two-year-old case underscored the Trump administration's commitment to "eliminate ideological overreach and restore impartial enforcement of federal laws,'' Justice said in a statement.
At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency withdrew its formal referral of the case to the Justice Department. The agency said the action aligns with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's pledge to end the use of "environmental justice" as an enforcement tool that Zeldin was too often used to advance liberal ideological priorities.
Dismissal of the case unraveled one of former President Joe Biden's highest-profile targets for an environmental justice effort aimed at improving conditions in places disproportionately harmed by decades of industrial pollution. Biden's EPA sued the Denka Performance Elastomer plant in early 2023, alleging it posed an unacceptable cancer risk and demanding cuts in toxic emissions of cancer-causing chloroprene.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana and was formally withdrawn Wednesday.