Worth perusing:
- Head of Latino Democratic group among those targeted by AG Ken Paxton's voter fraud raids.
- Dozens of Sugar Land residents ask city leaders how proposed power plant would benefit them.
Sugar Land residents lined up last week demand more information from their mayor and other leaders on the city's plans to construct a natural gas power plant. Dozens of people who appeared at the New Territory Homeowners Association Wednesday raised concerns about the proposed plant's proximity to residential areas and its potential health impacts. Many of those in attendance said the decision to build a power plant should have been subject to a vote, giving them the opportunity to weigh in.
- Judge Blocks E.P.A. From Using Civil Rights Law in Pollution Case.
A federal court in Louisiana has dealt a serious blow to the Biden administration’s effort to protect communities heavily affected by toxic industrial pollution.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruled on Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency is barred from using the federal civil rights law to prevent Louisiana from granting permits for numerous polluting facilities in minority and low-income communities.
Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act allows the E.P.A. to investigate whether state programs that receive federal money are discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin.
But the judge’s ruling effectively means that the federal government is limited to taking action against specific agency decisions that are intentionally discriminatory. The E.P.A. cannot, however, consider cumulative or “disparate” environmental harms. That means the state cannot be held liable for actions like allowing several chemical plants, refineries and other industrial operations in minority communities.
