pollution

People living in Louisiana’s petrochemical corridor say they’re worried about air pollution under the Trump administration. The EPA says companies can request presidential exemptions from Clean Air Act rules.

Residents of the mostly Black communities sandwiched between chemical plants along the lower Mississippi River have long said they get most of the pollution but few of the jobs produced by the region’s vast petrochemical industry.

A federal appellate court says a civil rights lawsuit alleging a south Louisiana parish engaged in racist land-use policies by placing polluting industries in majority-Black communities can move forward.

Communities living and learning near petrochemical plants will face more pollution and less federal protection under Trump’s new policies.

President Trump is reversing his predecessor’s efforts to clean up areas hardest hit by pollution from heavy industry, ports and roadways – communities that are often largely Black, Latino and low-income. He eliminated the “Justice 40” initiative the Biden created which required 40% of the benefits from certain environmental programs go to hard-hit communities. He disbanded a team of White House advisors who focus on the issue. It's part of a spate of early executive orders that align with Trump's campaign pledge to slash regulations and eliminate an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion. The new administration actions end a short-lived federal embrace of environmental justice.

The proposed $1.3 billion plant would have been the largest in the world.

WWNO’s Coastal Desk is taking a look back at the local and environmental news we produced this year.

Since the Clean Air Act took effect, emissions of the most common pollutants have fallen by around 80%.

A federal agency created to quell loud industry has gone unfunded for 40 years.

Philanthropic and government investments in environmental justice are helping nonprofits push back against industrial development.