PETROCHEMICALS USA
EPA to review permit process for Louisiana plants / Focus on Gulf Coast petchems corridor dubbed “Cancer Alley”
 EPA chief Michael Regan promised action after visiting the area called “Cancer Alley” in 2021(Photo: EPA) |
An investigation launched by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Washington, D.C.; www.epa.gov) into the state of Louisiana’s permitting practices for new industrial plants could make it harder for companies to build massive petrochemicals and plastics complexes on the US Gulf Coast.
Michael Regan, appointed by US President Joe Biden to head the EPA and replace former president Donald Trump’s decidedly pro-industry agency chief Andrew Wheeler, is following up on a pledge made during a 2021 visit to the region. Regan, who is Black, agreed to examine whether permits granted in the highly polluted industrial corridor known colloquially as “Cancer Alley” violate the rights of Black citizens as racial justice groups assert.
The inquiry will focus on St James and St John parishes and could mark the first time that new plant construction permit applications granted by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ; https://deq.louisiana.gov) are evaluated from both a civil rights and environmental perspective.
Two major plastics production hubs belonging to Asia-based players, Denka Performance Elastomer (LaPlace, Louisiana; http://denka-pe.com) and Formosa Plastics (Taipei; www.fpc.com.tw), are to be part of the investigation. The US Denka offshoot, a 70/30 joint venture of Denka (Tokyo; www.denka.co.jp) and Mitsui (Tokyo; www.mitsuichem.com), acquired the complex from DuPont (Wilmington, Delaware, USA; www.dupont.com) in 2015 (see Plasteurope.com of 12.12.2014).
Michael Regan, appointed by US President Joe Biden to head the EPA and replace former president Donald Trump’s decidedly pro-industry agency chief Andrew Wheeler, is following up on a pledge made during a 2021 visit to the region. Regan, who is Black, agreed to examine whether permits granted in the highly polluted industrial corridor known colloquially as “Cancer Alley” violate the rights of Black citizens as racial justice groups assert.
The inquiry will focus on St James and St John parishes and could mark the first time that new plant construction permit applications granted by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ; https://deq.louisiana.gov) are evaluated from both a civil rights and environmental perspective.
Two major plastics production hubs belonging to Asia-based players, Denka Performance Elastomer (LaPlace, Louisiana; http://denka-pe.com) and Formosa Plastics (Taipei; www.fpc.com.tw), are to be part of the investigation. The US Denka offshoot, a 70/30 joint venture of Denka (Tokyo; www.denka.co.jp) and Mitsui (Tokyo; www.mitsuichem.com), acquired the complex from DuPont (Wilmington, Delaware, USA; www.dupont.com) in 2015 (see Plasteurope.com of 12.12.2014).
Scrutiny of chloroprene facility, large petchem site
In St. John parish, the EPA has identified Denka’s chloroprene plant as a principal offender. It feeds production of the company’s Neoprene-branded polychloroprene, a material used in applications ranging from wetsuits and waterproof gloves to laptop sleeves, electrical insulation, and automotive fan belts and hoses.
According to the agency, this is the only US location to emit chloroprene, which it classified as a “likely human carcinogen” in 2010, and this issue was apparently was not a topic during the takeover from DuPont. Recent studies quoted by environmentalists have pointed to elevated cancer diagnoses in areas around the chloroprene plant, while EPA data show a cancer risk rate 50 times the US national average.
In St. James parish, investigators will look at permits awarded to Formosa’s gargantuan Sunshine petrochemicals and plastics complex, which has been beset by problems from the start (for the latest coverage see Plasteurope.com of 24.08.2021).
The Sunshine plants have been delayed several times due to internal glitches, the coronavirus pandemic, and environmental opposition. In autumn 2021, the US Army Corps of Engineers – which grants construction permits under the Clean Water Act – said it would revisit its own permit allowing the emission of up to 15,400 lbs/y (about 7,000 t/y) of ethylene oxide.
Pollution from chemical plants in St. James has frequently been the subject of lawsuits. Last year, advocacy group RISE St James estimated that if all plants planned by Formosa were to go onstream, the site’s emissions could run as high as 13 mn t/y of greenhouse gases. In March 2020, the UN Human Rights Committee called for the end of new plant construction in the US Gulf, saying the pollution represents “a form of environmental racism” in the majority-Black population.
The state department of environmental quality has defended its permitting process as “fair and equitable,” but said it would work with the EPA to resolve the matter. Alongside what some call lax permitting practices, Louisiana often offers generous incentives for new petrochemical plants, planned for the most part by Asian investors.
In early 2021, the state said it had offered the US arm of Japanese PVC producer Shintech (Houston, Texas; www.shintechinc.com) a “competitive incentive package” for construction, procurement, and installation of infrastructure at a new plant in Plaquemine in the Iberville parish (see Plasteurope.com of 09.02.2021), and local authorities approved attractive tax breaks.
The PVC facility plant was due to be completed in mid-2021, but the last reference to it on the company’s website shows that the planning process was still in progress at the end of that year (see Plasteurope.com of 17.02.2021).
According to the agency, this is the only US location to emit chloroprene, which it classified as a “likely human carcinogen” in 2010, and this issue was apparently was not a topic during the takeover from DuPont. Recent studies quoted by environmentalists have pointed to elevated cancer diagnoses in areas around the chloroprene plant, while EPA data show a cancer risk rate 50 times the US national average.
In St. James parish, investigators will look at permits awarded to Formosa’s gargantuan Sunshine petrochemicals and plastics complex, which has been beset by problems from the start (for the latest coverage see Plasteurope.com of 24.08.2021).
The Sunshine plants have been delayed several times due to internal glitches, the coronavirus pandemic, and environmental opposition. In autumn 2021, the US Army Corps of Engineers – which grants construction permits under the Clean Water Act – said it would revisit its own permit allowing the emission of up to 15,400 lbs/y (about 7,000 t/y) of ethylene oxide.
Pollution from chemical plants in St. James has frequently been the subject of lawsuits. Last year, advocacy group RISE St James estimated that if all plants planned by Formosa were to go onstream, the site’s emissions could run as high as 13 mn t/y of greenhouse gases. In March 2020, the UN Human Rights Committee called for the end of new plant construction in the US Gulf, saying the pollution represents “a form of environmental racism” in the majority-Black population.
The state department of environmental quality has defended its permitting process as “fair and equitable,” but said it would work with the EPA to resolve the matter. Alongside what some call lax permitting practices, Louisiana often offers generous incentives for new petrochemical plants, planned for the most part by Asian investors.
In early 2021, the state said it had offered the US arm of Japanese PVC producer Shintech (Houston, Texas; www.shintechinc.com) a “competitive incentive package” for construction, procurement, and installation of infrastructure at a new plant in Plaquemine in the Iberville parish (see Plasteurope.com of 09.02.2021), and local authorities approved attractive tax breaks.
The PVC facility plant was due to be completed in mid-2021, but the last reference to it on the company’s website shows that the planning process was still in progress at the end of that year (see Plasteurope.com of 17.02.2021).
25.04.2022 Plasteurope.com [250126-0]
Published on 25.04.2022