The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments on Monday in a civil rights lawsuit alleging St. James Parish’s land-use policies have discriminated against majority-Black neighborhoods, resulting in pollution and other harms.
St. James Parish, located outside New Orleans, is accused of implementing a 2014 land-use plan that “effectively codified” racist practices. The plaintiffs — Inclusive Lousiana, Mount Triumph Baptist Church, and RISE St. James members — claim the land-use plan shielded majority white communities from industrial development while diverting polluting industries to Black neighborhoods.
In November 2023, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, largely citing procedural reasons, such as being beyond the statute of limitations and the plaintiffs’ supposed lack of standing. The plaintiffs appealed and will have their second chance at the district court in oral arguments. On the other hand, the government maintained that the plaintiff lacked sufficient facts to establish standing and argued that the complaint was merely an “inflammatory rhetoric” to evoke an emotional reaction by referencing the history of slavery and attributing them to the current elected officials.,
The plaintiffs argued in the initial lawsuit that the defendants had violated their 13th and 14th Amendment rights. The plaintiffs’ 13th Amendment claim specifically alleges the land use system “operates as a badge or incident of slavery.” The 14th Amendment claims allege there is a discriminatory intent behind the land use system, resulting in “unequal treatment towards the Parish’s Black residents,” as well as a violation of due process because of the harm caused to the plaintiffs from hazardous toxins.
The plaintiffs also argue that the defendants violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the Louisiana Constitution. All seven of their claims are founded in the “discriminatory land use decisions [by the defendants] over decades, including the adoption” of the land-use plan.
In 2021, UN human rights experts brought attention to the environmental racism in Louisiana, especially in the so-called “Cancer Alley,” which includes St. James. In the report, the UN rights experts stated: “The African American descendants of the enslaved people who once worked the land are today the primary victims of deadly environmental pollution.” The UN experts called on US officials to respond.
In 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shared an addendum on addressing pollution in relation to communities disproportionately impacted by it, including communities of color. President Joe Biden has claimed environmental justice is an important policy focus for his administration.
Once these oral arguments are heard, the judge can render a new decision.
