Civil rights law targets ‘cancer alley’ discrimination


              The Denka Performance Elastomer Plant sits at sunset in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Less than a half mile away from the elementary school the plant, which is under scrutiny from federal officials, makes synthetic rubber, emitting chloroprene, listed as a carcinogen in California, and a likely one by the Environmental Protection Agency. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Angelo Bernard, who lives near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, walks out of his home with his grandchildren, who are visiting him for the weekend, in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. From left are Anthony Bernard,10, Korinne Bernard, 11, and Karmen Bernard, 9, who used to attend Fifth Ward Elementary until Hurricane Ida forced them to move. "I feel for the kids that have to go to school that close to the plant," Angelo Bernard said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Conrad Jones, a resident whose neighborhood is near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. "You just trust in God," said Conrad Jones. "But there's a risk any where you go. And they are going to do what they want anyway." (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Gloria Johnson, a resident whose neighborhood near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Johnson has lived in the area her whole life and said there are many elderly and disabled residents who are vulnerable if a new industrial complex makes the air quality worse. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Gloria Johnson, a resident whose neighborhood is near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Johnson has lived in the area her whole life and said there are many elderly and disabled residents who are vulnerable if a new industrial complex makes the air quality worse. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Kole Jones, great grandson of Lydia Gerard, a member of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish, holds a toy as she and residents speak to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. The investigation of the plant is part of a push by the Biden administration to prioritize environmental enforcement in communities overburdened by pollution. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Mary Hampton, president of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish and one of the first Black women to work at a nearby chemical plant, speaks to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. "My main concern was that we had been smelling things for years and years and years and we never even knew what we were living next to," she said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Kole Jones, great grandson of Lydia Gerard, left, a member of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish, plays with a toy as she and fellow residents speak to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. The investigation of the plant is part of a push by the Biden administration to prioritize environmental enforcement in communities overburdened by pollution. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - EPA Administrator Michael Regan, left, arrives at the Fifth Ward Elementary School, which is near the Denka plant, with Robert Taylor, second left, founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John's Parish, and Lydia Gerard, third left, a member of the group, in Reserve, La., Nov. 16, 2021. On Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, Regan announced the creation of a new office at EPA focused on environmental justice. "We are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA," Regan said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              EPA Administrator Michael Regan talks with Sharon Lavigne and other members of the group Rise St. James, as he tours a neighborhood next to the Nu Star Energy oil storage tanks, in St. James Parish, La., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. The EPA is investigating whether Louisiana regulators are discriminating against Black residents by failing to control air pollution in parishes packed with refineries and petrochemical plants, a region some call cancer alley. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - EPA Administrator Michael Regan stands near the Marathon Petroleum Refinery as he conducts a television interview, while touring neighborhoods that abut the refinery, in Reserve, La., Nov. 16, 2021. Regan announced the creation of a new office at EPA focused on environmental justice. "We are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA," Regan said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - Myrtle Felton, from left, Sharon Lavigne, Gail LeBoeuf and Rita Cooper, members of RISE St. James, conduct a live stream video on property owned by Formosa on March 11, 2020, in St. James Parish, La. A complaint says the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is ignoring the threat that new industrial facilities like Formosa's pose to already polluted areas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
            
              The Fifth Ward Elementary School and residential neighborhoods sit near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, back left, in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Less than a half mile away from the elementary school the plant, which is under scrutiny from federal officials, makes synthetic rubber, emitting chloroprene, listed as a carcinogen in California, and a likely one by the Environmental Protection Agency. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Angelo Bernard, who lives near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, poses with his grandchildren who are visiting him for the weekend, at his home in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. From left are Korinne Bernard, 11, Karmen Bernard, 9, and Anthony Bernard, 10, who used to attend Fifth Ward Elementary until Hurricane Ida forced them to move. "I feel for the kids that have to go to school that close to the plant," Angelo Bernard said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              The Denka Performance Elastomer Plant sits at sunset in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Less than a half mile away from the elementary school the plant, which is under scrutiny from federal officials, makes synthetic rubber, emitting chloroprene, listed as a carcinogen in California, and a likely one by the Environmental Protection Agency. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Angelo Bernard, who lives near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, walks out of his home with his grandchildren, who are visiting him for the weekend, in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. From left are Anthony Bernard,10, Korinne Bernard, 11, and Karmen Bernard, 9, who used to attend Fifth Ward Elementary until Hurricane Ida forced them to move. "I feel for the kids that have to go to school that close to the plant," Angelo Bernard said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Conrad Jones, a resident whose neighborhood is near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. "You just trust in God," said Conrad Jones. "But there's a risk any where you go. And they are going to do what they want anyway." (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Gloria Johnson, a resident whose neighborhood near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Johnson has lived in the area her whole life and said there are many elderly and disabled residents who are vulnerable if a new industrial complex makes the air quality worse. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Gloria Johnson, a resident whose neighborhood is near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Johnson has lived in the area her whole life and said there are many elderly and disabled residents who are vulnerable if a new industrial complex makes the air quality worse. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Kole Jones, great grandson of Lydia Gerard, a member of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish, holds a toy as she and residents speak to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. The investigation of the plant is part of a push by the Biden administration to prioritize environmental enforcement in communities overburdened by pollution. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Mary Hampton, president of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish and one of the first Black women to work at a nearby chemical plant, speaks to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. "My main concern was that we had been smelling things for years and years and years and we never even knew what we were living next to," she said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Kole Jones, great grandson of Lydia Gerard, left, a member of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish, plays with a toy as she and fellow residents speak to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. The investigation of the plant is part of a push by the Biden administration to prioritize environmental enforcement in communities overburdened by pollution. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - EPA Administrator Michael Regan, left, arrives at the Fifth Ward Elementary School, which is near the Denka plant, with Robert Taylor, second left, founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John's Parish, and Lydia Gerard, third left, a member of the group, in Reserve, La., Nov. 16, 2021. On Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, Regan announced the creation of a new office at EPA focused on environmental justice. "We are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA," Regan said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              EPA Administrator Michael Regan talks with Sharon Lavigne and other members of the group Rise St. James, as he tours a neighborhood next to the Nu Star Energy oil storage tanks, in St. James Parish, La., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. The EPA is investigating whether Louisiana regulators are discriminating against Black residents by failing to control air pollution in parishes packed with refineries and petrochemical plants, a region some call cancer alley. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - EPA Administrator Michael Regan stands near the Marathon Petroleum Refinery as he conducts a television interview, while touring neighborhoods that abut the refinery, in Reserve, La., Nov. 16, 2021. Regan announced the creation of a new office at EPA focused on environmental justice. "We are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA," Regan said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - Myrtle Felton, from left, Sharon Lavigne, Gail LeBoeuf and Rita Cooper, members of RISE St. James, conduct a live stream video on property owned by Formosa on March 11, 2020, in St. James Parish, La. A complaint says the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is ignoring the threat that new industrial facilities like Formosa's pose to already polluted areas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
            
              Angelo Bernard, who lives near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, poses with his grandchildren who are visiting him for the weekend, at his home in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. From left are Korinne Bernard, 11, Karmen Bernard, 9, and Anthony Bernard, 10, who used to attend Fifth Ward Elementary until Hurricane Ida forced them to move. "I feel for the kids that have to go to school that close to the plant," Angelo Bernard said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              The Denka Performance Elastomer Plant sits at sunset in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Less than a half mile away from the elementary school the plant, which is under scrutiny from federal officials, makes synthetic rubber, emitting chloroprene, listed as a carcinogen in California, and a likely one by the Environmental Protection Agency. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Angelo Bernard, who lives near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, walks out of his home with his grandchildren, who are visiting him for the weekend, in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. From left are Anthony Bernard,10, Korinne Bernard, 11, and Karmen Bernard, 9, who used to attend Fifth Ward Elementary until Hurricane Ida forced them to move. "I feel for the kids that have to go to school that close to the plant," Angelo Bernard said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Conrad Jones, a resident whose neighborhood is near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. "You just trust in God," said Conrad Jones. "But there's a risk any where you go. And they are going to do what they want anyway." (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Gloria Johnson, a resident whose neighborhood near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Johnson has lived in the area her whole life and said there are many elderly and disabled residents who are vulnerable if a new industrial complex makes the air quality worse. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Gloria Johnson, a resident whose neighborhood is near the land where a proposed Formosa plant is to be built, speaks in Welcome, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Johnson has lived in the area her whole life and said there are many elderly and disabled residents who are vulnerable if a new industrial complex makes the air quality worse. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Kole Jones, great grandson of Lydia Gerard, a member of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish, holds a toy as she and residents speak to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. The investigation of the plant is part of a push by the Biden administration to prioritize environmental enforcement in communities overburdened by pollution. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Mary Hampton, president of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish and one of the first Black women to work at a nearby chemical plant, speaks to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. "My main concern was that we had been smelling things for years and years and years and we never even knew what we were living next to," she said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Kole Jones, great grandson of Lydia Gerard, left, a member of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish, plays with a toy as she and fellow residents speak to The Associated Press in Reserve, La., near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. The investigation of the plant is part of a push by the Biden administration to prioritize environmental enforcement in communities overburdened by pollution. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - EPA Administrator Michael Regan, left, arrives at the Fifth Ward Elementary School, which is near the Denka plant, with Robert Taylor, second left, founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John's Parish, and Lydia Gerard, third left, a member of the group, in Reserve, La., Nov. 16, 2021. On Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, Regan announced the creation of a new office at EPA focused on environmental justice. "We are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA," Regan said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              EPA Administrator Michael Regan talks with Sharon Lavigne and other members of the group Rise St. James, as he tours a neighborhood next to the Nu Star Energy oil storage tanks, in St. James Parish, La., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. The EPA is investigating whether Louisiana regulators are discriminating against Black residents by failing to control air pollution in parishes packed with refineries and petrochemical plants, a region some call cancer alley. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - EPA Administrator Michael Regan stands near the Marathon Petroleum Refinery as he conducts a television interview, while touring neighborhoods that abut the refinery, in Reserve, La., Nov. 16, 2021. Regan announced the creation of a new office at EPA focused on environmental justice. "We are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA," Regan said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              FILE - Myrtle Felton, from left, Sharon Lavigne, Gail LeBoeuf and Rita Cooper, members of RISE St. James, conduct a live stream video on property owned by Formosa on March 11, 2020, in St. James Parish, La. A complaint says the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is ignoring the threat that new industrial facilities like Formosa's pose to already polluted areas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
            
              The Fifth Ward Elementary School and residential neighborhoods sit near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, back left, in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Less than a half mile away from the elementary school the plant, which is under scrutiny from federal officials, makes synthetic rubber, emitting chloroprene, listed as a carcinogen in California, and a likely one by the Environmental Protection Agency. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
            
              Angelo Bernard, who lives near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, poses with his grandchildren who are visiting him for the weekend, at his home in Reserve, La., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. From left are Korinne Bernard, 11, Karmen Bernard, 9, and Anthony Bernard, 10, who used to attend Fifth Ward Elementary until Hurricane Ida forced them to move. "I feel for the kids that have to go to school that close to the plant," Angelo Bernard said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Civil rights law targets ‘cancer alley’ discrimination