Court permanently blocks environmental civil rights protections for LA Black communities

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana this week issued a permanent injunction that prevents the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice from using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to control how Louisiana regulates polluting facilities.

Judge James Cain’s ruling solidifies his earlier decision in January, which blocked EPA from imposing or enforcing so-called disparate impact-based requirements in its permitting decisions. In the earlier decision...