In the waning days of the Biden administration, federal regulators have agreed to update toxic air emission rules that govern a chemical plant in Institute, one of West Virginia’s few majority Black communities. The agreement was reached in a lawsuit brought by citizen groups in West Virginia, Louisiana and Texas.
The 2023 lawsuit alleged the Environmental Protection Agency had violated the Clean Air Act by failing to review and update emission standards for plants that produce polyether polyols, a chemical production category which emits carcinogens such as ethylene oxide.
On Friday, a federal judge approved the settlement and regulators will propose a new rule for that category of facilities by Dec. 10.
The EPA is required to review and update this emission standard every eight years, but hasn’t since 2014. After regulators missed the deadline in 2022, Charleston-based People Concerned About Chemical Safety and environmental organizations in Louisiana and Texas filed the lawsuit on behalf of vulnerable communities.
In April 2023, the EPA reviewed and enacted a number of restrictions on chemical plants emitting ethylene oxide, but failed to propose a rule for the category of plants whose emissions affect Black communities in Institute, as well as those in Cancer Alley in Louisiana and Texas.
The Louisiana Environmental Action Network and the Sierra Club joined the Charleston-based organization in the lawsuit against the EPA.
“We are pleased that EPA has agreed to abide by court-ordered deadlines to revise outdated and inadequately protective pollution regulations for these chemical plants,” said Adrienne Lee, senior attorney at Earthjustice, who represents the citizen groups. “Our clients expect to see in EPA’s proposal a robust effort to address emissions of carcinogens like ethylene oxide, which unlawfully jeopardizes the health of communities living near these facilities.”
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How Black communities become ‘sacrifice zones’ for industrial air pollution
A 2021 Mountain State Spotlight and ProPublica story detailed how majority-Black communities across the country, like Institute in West Virginia, were saddled with a disproportionate health burden from industrial pollution. A ProPublica analysis found that Institute faces an increased cancer risk from industrial air pollution at 36 times the level the EPA considers acceptable.
During the Biden administration, the EPA has moved to address some of these issues revealed by the ProPublica analysis, but had not yet addressed the industrial category affecting the Institute plant.
The Union Carbide facility, now owned by Dow Chemical, makes ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing chemical that helps produce a wide variety of products, including antifreeze, pesticides and sterilizing agents for medical tools.
EPA agreed to publish its proposed rule in December 2024, and a final rule by December 2025. By that time, President Donald Trump will be nearly a year into his second term. In his first term, Trump curbed environmental regulations and has vowed to do so again.
The EPA declined to comment and Dow Chemical did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
This story has been updated to reflect that the EPA declined to comment.