22 April 2025
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
On April 9, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that groups representing residents of majority-Black districts in St. James Parish can proceed with a lawsuit seeking a moratorium on the construction and expansion of petrochemical plants in the parish.
The lawsuit was initially dismissed by Judge Carl Barbier in November 2023 on procedural grounds, even though he said the lawsuit had a factual and legal basis. Barbier’s ruling stated that the one-year statute of limitations had expired. The appeals court’s decision will now allow the lawsuit to continue. Aside from the moratorium on new petrochemical facilities in St. James Parish, the lawsuit also calls for the protection of unmarked cemeteries where community members’ enslaved ancestors were buried. It also demands a court-monitored, community-driven process dedicated to healing impacted lands and communities.
“This powerfully worded ruling shows that the Appeals Court evaluated this case carefully and fairly. These judges understood that the parish’s land use decisions targeting majority-Black districts and churches for endless industrialization has the potential to cause real and ongoing harm to these communities,” stated Jack Dean, student attorney at the Tulane University Environmental Law Clinic, in a press release.
Twenty-four petrochemical plants have been built in St. James Parish since 1958. Of those, 20 are in the 4th and 5th districts, the two highest majority-Black districts in the parish.
Lawyers from the Tulane Law Clinic and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs, arguing that the disproportionate placements of petrochemical facilities in Black neighborhoods violates the 13th Amendment as a vestige of slavery and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Cause, among other laws. Groups included among the plaintiffs are Inclusive Louisiana, Mount Triumph Baptist Church, and RISE St. James. The plaintiffs filed the original lawsuit in March 2023.
St. James Parish is part of an area often dubbed “Cancer Alley” by environmental groups. A 2003 EPA report indicated that the parish ranked higher than the national average for certain types of cancer deaths.
Barbara Washington, co-founder and co-director of Inclusive Louisiana, has seen a lot of cancer death on her street alone. One of her next door neighbors died of throat cancer, and his wife is a breast cancer survivor. Further down the street, both members of a married couple died of cancer within a month of each other. Washington’s sister died of metastatic lung cancer at the age of 57.
Washington’s nephew, only 51 years old, has been diagnosed with liver cancer. His doctor told him the type of cancer he had came from environmental factors.
“This is inhuman what is going on in our area,” Washington said. “Our leaders keep choosing wealth over health.”
Washington criticized state leaders’ response to what has been an ongoing crisis, but expressed optimism because the appeals court’s decision confirms that community members have a legal basis for their lawsuit.
“The LDEQ just gave them (petrochemical companies) a slap on the wrist,” Washington said. “They pay a fine and they can still pollute…We have been sounding the alarm and no one has been hearing us but now it feels like people are finally hearing what we have to say.”
Sharon Lavigne, president of RISE St. James, also felt the appeals court’s decision validated what her group has been arguing for a long time.
“The higher courts see we are being discriminated against. Whenever they wanted to put a plant in a predominantly white neighborhood, the council said no but whenever they wanted to put a plant in a predominantly Black neighborhood, the council said yes,” Lavigne said. “We are the citizens and we have a right to breathe clean air and drink clean water.”
Lavigne emphasized that the damage has already been done to the health of older St. James residents like herself. But she said she is fighting on for the younger generations.
“We are trying to save the lives of our grandchildren and great grandchildren,” Lavigne said. “And we’re going to win. We are here to protect the people – not the industry, not the polluters.”
St. James Parish officials did not return a request for comment as of press time.
This article originally published in the April 21, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.