The plant is the only US facility that produces neoprene, used to make military equipment and medical tech
The Department of Justice notified a federal judge this week that it intends to drop a Biden-era environmental justice case that accused a Louisiana petrochemical plant of producing an illegal level of emissions. The plant is the sole facility in the country that manufactures a key material in military and medical equipment—and which is often sourced from China.
In a filing made public Thursday evening, Louisiana federal district court judge Carl Barbier said prosecutors with the Department of Justice’s environment and natural resources division informed defendants during a Wednesday status conference that they would sign a voluntary stipulation of dismissal in the case, which had been slated to go to trial in April. That stipulation is expected to come as soon as Friday.
The Trump administration’s decision to abandon the case concludes one of the highest-profile Biden-era actions to pursue environmental justice and crack down on emissions. And it underscores the abrupt policy shift with respect to environmental issues—President Donald Trump is pursuing an aggressive “drill, baby, drill” agenda to bolster energy production and manufacturing while scrapping the climate and environmental justice agenda set by the previous administration.
The case dates back to February 2023, when the Department of Justice, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed a complaint against chemical maker Denka Performance Elastomer, accusing it of producing an illegal level of chloroprene emissions at its petrochemical plant in LaPlace, La. Then, in March 2023, prosecutors made their intentions clear: They asked the court to shut the plant down if Denka didn’t take immediate action to slash emissions.
According to the Biden administration, the plant’s emissions pose a cancer risk to nearby residents and therefore present an “imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare.” Then-EPA administrator Michael Regan said Denka had failed to move “far enough or fast enough” to reduce its emissions.
But Denka argued the lawsuit was politically motivated and noted it had curbed chloroprene emissions and complied with its environmental permits. In addition, the company cited Louisiana Tumor Registry data showing the area surrounding its LaPlace plant has recorded one of the lowest cancer rates of any region in the state.
Denka also said the lawsuit would decimate its bottom line and lead to substantial job losses for the same communities the Biden administration said the lawsuit would protect.
“EPA and DPE reached an agreement for EPA to dismiss the agency’s ‘imminent and substantial endangerment’ case against our company, marking a long-overdue and appropriate end to a case lacking scientific and legal merit from the start,” Denka said in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon on Friday.
“DPE remains committed to implementing the emissions reductions achieved as we turn the page from this relentless and draining attack on our business,” it continued. “We thank the Trump administration and are grateful for the unwavering support of Governor Jeff Landry, Louisiana’s other elected leaders, and DPE’s dedicated workforce during this challenging period.”
Denka’s plant, meanwhile, is the only facility in the United States that produces the chemical neoprene, a key component of military equipment, medical technology, and wetsuits. If the plant was shuttered, American manufacturers would have to rely more heavily on neoprene imports from China.
And the plant is part of the billion-dollar petrochemical industry, a major economic driver in Louisiana that has long drawn the ire of environmental activists. Denka expressed concern that the lawsuit, if successful, would set a precedent of cracking down on the industry.
“The Trump Administration’s plan to dismiss this case should raise alarm bells for communities across the country and is a clear signal that the administration is not serious about enforcing the laws on the books that ensure we have access to clean and safe air and water,” Jen Duggan, the executive director of the climate advocacy group the Environmental Integrity Project, said in a statement.
The Department of Justice declined to comment.
