"In court filings, the agency said it will end probe of state agencies accused of failing to protect Black neighborhoods in the state’s ‘Cancer Alley’".

"In a setback for environmental justice advocates, the Biden administration has closed a civil rights investigation of two Louisiana state agencies without finding discrimination in how the agencies regulated chemical plants in the area known as “Cancer Alley.”

The move comes after Louisiana challenged the investigation in court. In a filing Tuesday, the EPA said it had taken steps to protect vulnerable communities — including striking agreements with plants to better handle their waste and new proposed rules to limit air pollution — and thus was dropping the probe.

In their filings, the EPA and lawyers at the Justice Department said they will not take civil rights enforcement action against the agencies, Louisiana’s Department of Health and Department of Environmental Quality. Local environmental activists were disappointed."

Timothy Puko and Darryl Fears report for the Washington Post June 27, 2023. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"EPA Retreats On Louisiana Investigations That Alleged Black People Lived Amid Higher Cancer Risk" (AP) [3]

"EPA Drops Civil Rights Probe Of Louisiana State Agencies Over Toxic Emissions" (New Orleans Times-Picayune) [4]