Despite court ruling, Formosa plans to build Louisiana plastics plant
15/09/2022 21:28
By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Formosa Plastics Group still
intends to build and operate a massive plastic and petrochemical
plant proposed for Louisiana, the company said on Thursday,
despite a judge's decision to revoke its state air permits.
FG LA, a unit of Formosa, said in a statement that it
"intends to explore all legal options" and continue to pursue
permitting of its proposed "Sunshine Project," a $9.4 billion
industrial complex in Louisiana's St. James Parish, where local
Black residents have waged a years' long battle to block
construction on what they consider sacred land.
Baton Rouge District Judge Trudy White on Wednesday canceled
Formosa's permit, ruling in favor of environmental and local
community groups, who appealed the decision by Louisiana's
Department of Environmental Quality to issue air permits to
Formosa Plastics (1301.TW) because the company failed to
demonstrate that its emissions would not "cause or contribute
to" violations of the federal air standards.
FG spokesperson Janile Parks said it disagrees with the
opinion.
"We believe the permits issued to FG by LDEQ are sound and
the agency properly performed its duty to protect the
environment in the issuance of those air permits," she said in a
statement, adding that it intends to "construct and operate it
to meet all state and federal standards."
Local campaigners like Sharon Lavigne, founder and president
of RISE St. James, an organization that has fought the plant for
years, said the decision shows that local communities - often
comprised of marginalized minorities - cannot be ignored in
decisions to build major industrial projects.
“The judge’s decision sends a message to polluters like
Formosa that communities of color have a right to clean air, and
we must not be sacrifice zones,” she said.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
((valerie.volcovici@thomsonreuters.com;))