By Valerie Volcovici
(Reuters) – The U.S. Army on Wednesday ordered a full environmental review of a proposed Formosa Group petrochemical plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana, opposed by local groups concerned about the health impact on an area overburdened with pollution.
The review, which could take years, will be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to a memo posted on the Twitter feed of an Army Civil Works official.
“As a result of information received to date and my commitment for the Army to be a leader in the federal government’s efforts to ensure thorough environmental analysis and meaningful community outreach, I conclude an EIS process is warranted to thoroughly review areas of concern, particularly those with environmental justice implications,” Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army Jaime Pinkham said.
An EIS is an environmental impact statement conducted for major infrastructure projects.
The Taiwan-based company could not immediately be reached for comment. It has previously said the plant would produce plastics needed for everyday life and would benefit the local community and U.S. consumers.
Louisiana’s Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, supports the project as an economic driver for his state. His office was not immediately available for comment.
Local activists have pressured the seven-month-old Biden administration to halt construction of the massive petrochemical and plastics complex in a Louisiana region nicknamed “Cancer Alley,” home to several major petrochemical facilities and refineries where residents suffer high rates of cancer.
The project had been on temporary hold since November, after the Army Corps suspended its Clean Water Act permit for further review amid a lawsuit brought by local environmental groups.
President Joe Biden has made environmental justice a core part of his climate and environmental agenda, and has promised to ensure that communities that live at the fenceline of polluting facilities are protected from additional air and water pollution.
In March, a group of UN human rights experts criticized the Formosa project, which would be built in a poor black community, as “environmental racism.”
“We hope this is the nail in Formosa’s coffin,” said Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, one of the groups that has fought the construction of the plant.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom and Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Howard Goller and Steve Orlofsky)
