The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has scrapped key civil rights and environmental justice initiatives, including a lawsuit against a Louisiana chemical plant accused of endangering nearby Black residents.
Daniel Trotta and Ned Randolph report for Reuters.
In short:
- The EPA, under Administrator Lee Zeldin, withdrew a lawsuit against Denka Performance Elastomer, a synthetic rubber plant in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley,” reversing Biden-era efforts to curb chloroprene emissions linked to cancer.
- The agency eliminated its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office and 10 regional environmental justice branches, canceling hundreds of grants that funded clean energy and air quality efforts in underserved communities.
- Critics, including former EPA officials and environmental health experts, warn that these moves will disproportionately harm Black and Latino communities who already bear the brunt of industrial pollution.
Key quote:
"People who are already most impacted by high pollution are going to be most hurt by the loosening of regulations."
— Linda Birnbaum, toxicologist and former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Why this matters:
Environmental justice has long aimed to protect the health of communities historically sidelined in policymaking and disproportionately burdened by pollution—from refinery-adjacent neighborhoods in Louisiana to traffic-choked corners of San Diego. Slashing these protections reopens decades-old wounds tied to race, geography, and wealth. Environmental laws have tried to address these imbalances, but without enforcement, pollution creeps back in, and public health deteriorates. The rollback of EPA oversight, especially in minority and low-income neighborhoods, means more toxic air, fewer health protections, and a reversion to patterns of environmental neglect.
Read more: Trump administration moves to dismantle environmental justice efforts
