FG LA, a Formosa unit, said in a statement that it “intends to explore all legal options” and continue to apply for a permit for its “Sunshine Project”, a 9.4 billions of dollars in St. James Parish in Louisiana, where local black residents have fought a years-long battle to block construction on what they consider sacred ground.
On Wednesday, Baton Rouge District Judge Trudy White overturned Formosa’s permit, ruling in favor of local environmental and community groups, who had appealed the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s decision to issue Formosa Plastics (1301.TW) air emissions permits because the company failed to demonstrate that its emissions would not “cause or contribute” to violations of federal air standards.
Janile Parks, spokeswoman for FG, said the company disagreed with the advice.
“We believe that the FG permits issued by LDEQ are sound and that the agency has properly fulfilled its duty to protect the environment in issuing these air permits,” she said in a statement, adding. that it intends to “construct and operate the plant in a manner that meets all state and federal standards.”
Local activists like Sharon Lavigne, founder and president of RISE St. James, an organization that has fought against the factory for years, said the decision shows that local communities – often made up of marginalized minorities – cannot be ignored in construction decisions for major industrial projects.
“The judge’s decision sends a message to polluters like Formosa: communities of color have a right to clean air, and we must not be areas of sacrifice,” she said.