Federal court reviews civil rights lawsuit alleging environmental racism in a Louisiana parish

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is reviewing a civil rights lawsuit alleging a south Louisiana parish engaged in racist land-use policies that placed polluting industries in majority-Black communities. The court heard oral arguments on Monday. Local community groups say St. James Parish encouraged industrial facilities to be built in areas with majority-Black populations “while explicitly sparing White residents from the risk of environmental harm.” A federal judge had dismissed the lawsuit on procedural grounds in November 2023 but noted the claims “did not lack a basis in fact.”