Residents See Fifth Circuit Case as Crucial for ‘Cancer Alley’

Louisiana residents living near a petrochemical corridor known as “Cancer Alley” are confronting local officials in court on Monday in a case they hope will go further in cleaning up their community than hamstrung federal enforcement efforts.

Local advocacy groups Inclusive Louisiana, Mount Triumph Baptist Church, and RISE St. James will give oral arguments at the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in a complaint over a lower court decision to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims stemming from alleged environmental racism.

The groups and their members want a moratorium from courts that would halt two new facilities from being built ...