The Romeville community of Convent in
St. James Parish is a predominantly African American area with a
12% unemployment rate and 45% of the residents under the poverty line
(Xavier, 2004). The community is surrounded
by six major plants, including Occidental Chemical, Zen Noh Grain Elevator,
IMC-Agrico, Dow Chemical Company, and the Star Enterprise Refinery.
Despite the abundance of industry, the local community members do not
benefit from the introduction of jobs. Instead, each individual resident
is exposed to 2,277 pounds of toxic emissions annually (Replogle,
2005). Among these pollutants are chlorine
and ethylene
(EPA, 2002). The emissions of these toxic chemicals along with others
have been associated with high incidence rates of cancer, asthma, and
other chronic illnesses, which are above the national average.
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After examining the community in Convent, the establishment of another
toxic chemical plant would seem outrageous. However, in 1996, Shintech
Inc. proposed to build a $700 million polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) facility in the Convent community across from the
Dow Chemical Company (Richards, 1998). The
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and St. Charles’s
governor Foster sided with Shintech to build the plant. They strongly
advocated for jobs and economic prosperity that would result from the
introduction the PVC plant.
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Shintech's facility in Louisiana
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Romeville members protesting the Shintech PVC plant
Photo
courtesy of : http://www.conway.com/ssinsider/snapshot/sf050131.htm
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Despite the alleged promise of employment, the residents were not
willing to continue sacrificing the health of the community. The community
formed the St. James Citizens for Jobs and the Environment (SJCJ&E)
in order to protest the plant. They acquired legal representation from
the Tulane
Environmental Law Clinic after uncovering that the DEQ issued illegally
several building, water, and air quality permits to Shintech. The members
of Convent accused Shintech and the local government of targeting Romeville
for its plant because of its status as a low-income, minority community.
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In adherence with Clinton’s Executive
Order, the EPA investigated the events and deemed that Shintech
was guilty of environmental discrimination (LEAN,
1999). With the help of the law clinic the SJCJ&E filed a complaint
to the EPA under Title
V of the Clean Air Act and Title
VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Replogle, 2005). As public pressure
to remove Shintech’s permits increased, the Louisiana
Association for Business and Industry stepped in and requested that
the state Supreme Court prevented the law clinic from assisting the
community members. In 1998, the courts ruled that the law clinic could
no longer represent the community because they did not all meet the
required poverty standards for an income of less than $10,000 annually
(Replogle, 2005). The battle between the EPA and the local community
against the DEQ, local government and Shintech continued until 1998
when Shintech decided to abandon plans for the Convent plant.
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