Analyze

In the years following Gov. Buddy Roemer and Paul Templet’s leadership of the DEQ, “Louisiana has not seen a governor make environmental protection a priority” (Russell 2019). Templet was replaced with Kai Midboe, an attorney who had formerly represented the gas and oil industry. The environmental scorecard program ended. In 2008, Bobby Jindal became governor and cut 300 positions from the department. 

Between 2008 and 2018, Louisiana reduced environmental protection program funding by 35% and reduced its staffing by 30% (Environmental Integrity Project 2019). A 2021 legislative audit of LDEQ found that “DEQ faces challenges related to low staffing levels, high workloads, frequent turnover of staff, and ineffective data systems that make it more difficult to perform its regulatory work. For example, DEQ’s positions dedicated to air quality regulation decreased 14.6%, from 247 in fiscal year 2010 to 211 in 2019.” (Louisiana Legislative Auditor 2021).

Today, LDEQ explicitly avoids use of the term “Cancer Alley,” according to the department spokesperson Greg Langley: “ ‘That term implies that there is a large geographic area that has higher cancer incidence than the state average. We have not seen higher cancer incidence over large areas of the industrial corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.’ ”—this, despite the data from the EPA showing that almost every census tract in the area is ranked in the top 5% nationally for cancer risk as a result of toxic air pollution (LaRose 2024).  

 “The Thin Green Line.” Environmental Integrity Project. December 5, 2019.

Russel, Gordon. 2019. “How an Environmental Regulator Became Known for Protecting Industry.” ProPublica. December 19, 2019. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-an-environmental-regulator-became-known-for-protecting-industry.

Kaare Johnson Talks. 2023. “Dr. Paul Templet, Former Head of La DEQ Joins Kaare To Discuss Lack of Enforcement And More!” Streamed on Sep 11, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-8jJtKRI2w. 

Templet, Paul H. 2001. “Defending the Public Domain: Pollution, Subsidies and Poverty.” SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.333280.

LaRose, Greg, Louisiana Illuminator February 1, and 2024. 2024. “DEQ Remains in Denial over ‘Cancer Alley’ Industry Correlations.” Louisiana Illuminator (blog). February 1, 2024. https://lailluminator.com/2024/02/01/cancer-alley-3/. 

Louisiana Legislative Auditor. 2021. “Monitoring and Enforcement of Air Quality. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.” https://app2.lla.state.la.us/publicreports.nsf/0/bbc259a7e7a73cfa8625713b002c8e7b/$file/00001572.pdf?openelement&.7773098. 

Several political and discursive currents, including The Environmental Justice Movement, Climate Change, Political and Policy Shifts, and Community Mobilization, influence the EHC. Actors within the organization are attuned to these currents and work to navigate them to promote environmental justice and healthy communities.

Changes in government policies and regulations can impact the organization's ability to achieve its goals, requiring innovative and creative solutions to continue developing new opportunities for organizing and advocacy. Shifting public opinion and media coverage can also affect how the public and policymakers perceive the organization.

1. APEN works at the intersection of environmental and economic justice, immigrant rights, and advocating for policies prioritizing the needs of low-income Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Many of the issues in AAPI communities are rooted in a legacy of colonization and imperialism within the United States. APEN prioritizes these concerns by directly supporting the voices and leadership at the frontlines of their community's work. 

1. Climate Justice – CBE efforts are focused on the intersection of environmental issues, emphasizing the significance of the disproportionate impacts on low-income communities of color.

2. Racial Justice – The CBE is committed to amplifying the voices of Black and Brown communities in their work. Their work can be considered an effort to dismantle systems of oppression and inequality.

3. Corporate Power – CBE can be seen as a counterbalance to corporate interests and is proactive in holding polluters accountable by promoting policies that prioritize public health and environmental protection over corporate profits.

Groups referred to by Councilmembers and the Mayor were Madison Park Neighborhood Association (MPNA), Orange County Environmental Justice (OCEJ), and the University of California, Irvine (UCI). EJ groups such as MPNA and OCEj were mentioned by council members to explain which groups they have worked with. The mayor called out these groups to identify the EJ group that must provide the council with bullet points on their concerns. The mayor also referenced UCI to explain his disappointment in the school and said that he would expect better from the institution.

Meetings with these EJ groups were also mentioned heavily from council members Bacerra, Pendaloza, and Mayor Sarmiento. The point of referencing these meetings was to show council has held hundreds of meetings with EJ groups and still have not been offered any solutions or given any ideas for what the city plan update (CPU) should have in its EJ section.

The event was primarily focused on efforts by Kingspan workers and supporting parties to get Kingspan to improve working conditions, especially indoor air pollution at the plant.