Description: Challenge to air permits for construction and operation of a new chemical manufacturing facility.
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Rise St. James v. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 01/19/2024 Opinion Download District court judgment reversed, permits reinstated, and petition for judicial review dismissed. Louisiana Appellate Court Reinstated Permits for Chemical Manufacturing Complex. Reversing a district court’s 2022 decision, the Louisiana Court of Appeal reinstated 15 permits for a chemical manufacturing complex in St. James Parish. The appellate court found that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) did not violate the Clean Air Act when it issued permits for the plant’s construction and that issuance of the permits did not violate Louisiana’s public trust doctrine. Regarding DEQ’s public trust doctrine analysis, the appellate court said it could not find that DEQ’s analysis of whether there were alternative sites or alternative projects that would be more protective of the environment was arbitrary and capricious. The appellate court also rejected the argument that DEQ violated the public trust doctrine and acted arbitrarily and capriciously because it failed to consider the impacts of pollutant emissions, including greenhouse gas emissions. Regarding greenhouse gas emissions, the court found that the record reflected that DEQ considered such emissions and their impact on the environment and minimized such emissions to the maximum extent practicable by requiring best available control technology and setting maximum allowable emission rates. The court also upheld DEQ’s conclusion that the project’s social and economic benefits outweighed its environmental impact costs, as well as DEQ’s environmental justice analysis, which determined that nearby communities would not bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental impacts. -
Rise St. James v. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 09/08/2022 Judgment Download Court issued written reasons for judgment reversing LDEQ decision to issue permits. Louisiana Court Cited Failure to Weigh Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Decision Vacating Permits for Chemical Manufacturing Complex. A Louisiana District Court vacated air permits for a new chemical manufacturing complex in St. James Parish in an area referred to as Louisiana’s “Industrial Corridor.” The court found that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) violated the Clean Air Act, the agency’s duties under the Louisiana Constitution’s public trust doctrine, and statutory requirements to consider how the air permits would affect the St. James Parish master plan. The violations of the public trust doctrine included LDEQ’s failure to consider the negative consequences of the project’s 13.6 tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions in the agency’s balancing of costs and benefits. The court found that LDEQ could not rely on its finding that the facility would comply with applicable standards and emission controls as a reason for not considering the impacts of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions. The court also was not persuaded by LDEQ’s argument that it could not determine how a specific facility’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions would affect the physical environment. The court stated that “LDEQ’s public trustee duty does not require exactness” and that LDEQ was “not excused of its duty to evaluate the potential and real adverse impacts of [the applicant’s] greenhouse gases—especially given the enormity of the emissions—because it cannot quantify the exact impact at a specific place on Earth.” The court held that LDEQ “must take special care to consider the impact of climate-driven disasters fueled by greenhouse gases on environmental justice communities and their ability to recover.” The Advocate reported that LDEQ and the applicant filed notices of appeal and asked the district court to suspend the ruling pending the outcome of the appeals. 11/05/2020 Brief Download Brief filed by petitioners. 02/14/2020 Petition Download Petition for judicial review filed. -
Rise St. James v. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 03/05/2021 Order Download Appellate court reversed district court' s December 14, 2020 judgment remanding this matter to DEQ. Louisiana Appellate Court Reversed Remand of Chemical Plant Air Permits to Agency. The Louisiana Court of Appeal concluded that a district court abused its discretion by remanding to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) a lawsuit challenging air permits for a chemical complex. The appellate court cited the timing of the remand, which occurred before any merits briefing, and also found that the court exceeded statutory authority that authorizes remand so that the agency may consider additional evidence. In this case, the appellate court said the court remanded not only for consideration of additional evidence (updated EJSCREEN data) but also ordered DEQ to undertake more thorough environmental justice analysis and open a public comment period to accept comment pollution and health risks. The plaintiffs’ allegations in the lawsuit include that given Louisiana’s vulnerability to climate change impacts, DEQ failed to fulfill its obligations as a public trustee by not considering the environmental effects of the project’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, or the adverse costs of greenhouse gas emissions.