"Court Stymies EPA Enforcement Push At ‘Cancer Alley’ Plant"

"The ruling is a setback for the agency’s effort to fast-track a clampdown on air pollution like emissions of chloroprene, deemed a likely carcinogen."

"A federal appellate court has effectively blocked EPA from swift enforcement of stricter regulations on a Louisiana synthetic rubber manufacturer that has featured prominently in the Biden administration’s campaign to target pollution in the area often dubbed “Cancer Alley.”

In a stay order issued late Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals endorsed a recent decision by Louisiana regulators to give Denka Performance Elastomer (DPE) until mid-2026 to meet tighter limits on emissions of chloroprene, an organic compound that EPA deems a likely carcinogen.

Under the strengthened regulations published in May, the federal agency had set an October compliance deadline on the grounds that the plant, located near an elementary school, posed an imminent danger to public health. If it stands, the 5th Circuit’s order would circumvent earlier rulings by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that no stay was warranted."

Sean Reilly reports for E&E News July 1, 2024.

Source: E&E News, 08/02/2024