A synthetic rubber manufacturer accused of increasing the cancer risk for the nearby majority-Black community in Louisiana told a federal appeals court it will have to shut down “likely permanently” if it’s forced to meet the Biden administration’s deadline to reduce emissions.
Denka Performance Elastomer on Tuesday blamed a new Environmental Protection Agency rule that targets emissions at more than 200 industrial plants, arguing that other, more dangerous facilities face a 2-year deadline to comply while it was singled out with an “illegal and politically motivated” 90-day deadline.
The Denka plant manufacturers neoprene, which is used to make wetsuits, automotive belts and other items, and employs roughly 250 people, the company said. It’s located roughly a half-mile (.8 kilometer) from an elementary school in Reserve, Louisiana, and is within an 85-mile (137-kilometer) stretch of the state known officially as the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor. Colloquially it is called Cancer Alley.
The EPA has been working on this rule since Biden took office. You knew it was coming, you just hoped there would be a change of administration before you had to comply with the ruling (so you wouldn’t have to comply at all, which is also what you’re hoping for with your current delay tactics). Sucks to be you - your lack of planning does not constitute my emergency, etc …