Rise St. James and other regional and national environmental groups appealed the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's decision to issue 15 initial air permits to FG LA, LLC (a member of Formosa Plastics Group) for the construction of 10 chemical plants and four related support units for a new petrochemical complex in St. James Parish, Louisiana. If built, these plants would be one of the largest plastics facilities in the world, would cover much of the landscape in St. James Parish, and would be responsible for a massive discharge of toxic chemicals into the air and water — enormous environmental consequences in an area that already bears a heavy burden of pollution due to the concentration of polluting industries there.
Through this lawsuit, along with years of campaign efforts, Rise St. James is calling for environmental justice in South Louisiana.
Louisiana's 19th Judicial District Court issued a ruling to vacate all 15 Formosa air permits and remanded the matter to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality in accordance with its ruling.
