A U.S. judge has halted the Biden administration’s enforcement of “disparate-impact” regulations against Louisiana state agencies in the issuance of environmental permits and grants for industrial projects. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge James Cain in Lake Charles, Louisiana, puts a temporary stop to the administration’s attempts to leverage U.S. civil rights law to address environmental injustice.
The regulations, issued under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, require entities receiving federal funding, including state agencies, to prove that approved projects will not unintentionally discriminate against minority communities. This concept of disparate impacts encompasses unintended and cumulative environmental harms, particularly affecting Black communities in regions like southern Louisiana, where decades of petrochemical development have disproportionately impacted these communities.
Judge Cain issued a preliminary injunction, preventing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice from enforcing the regulations. He stated that Louisiana has a “substantial likelihood of success” in the case and argued that the EPA’s interpretation of its authority exceeds the “plain text” of the law, which, according to Louisiana, only prohibits intentional discrimination.
The judge noted that the state demonstrated the potential for imminent harm, citing likely increases in regulatory compliance costs if the regulations remained in force. This decision follows the EPA’s termination of an investigation into pollution in southern Louisiana, prompting the state’s legal action.
The Louisiana Department of Justice asserted that the state filed the lawsuit after the EPA failed to clarify its rationale for jeopardizing millions in federal funding. While the EPA declined to comment, the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Louisiana’s legal challenge emerged amid the Biden administration’s broader initiative to combat racial discrimination in environmental permitting and address environmental injustice. The EPA had contended that Louisiana lacked standing to sue, considering the dropped investigation, and cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s endorsement of “substantially identical” Title VI regulations.
Earthjustice, representing groups involved in the Louisiana complaints, highlighted over 50 pending Title VI cases in locations like Alabama, with hundreds of complaints filed.