The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality plans to appeal a state judge's ruling revoking the air permits it granted to Formosa Plastics' $9.4 billion resin manufacturing complex planned for St. James Parish.
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A DEQ spokesman said Sept. 29 that the agency had filed a notice of intent to appeal the Sept. 14 decision from Judge Trudy White, who vacated the DEQ permits because she said they would protect nearby communities.
A Sept. 28 report in The Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge said DEQ officials did not offer detailed comments on their appeal, but said the agency in other court documents has defended the permits as sound and said they would keep background air quality below state standards for safety.
The newspaper said DEQ had won an appeal of a previous ruling by White in the case. In March 2021, a state appellate court ruled that White had acted too early in requiring DEQ to redo environmental justice permits in the case.
Formosa has previously said it was considering all its legal options in the state case. Beyond White's ruling, the projects faces two additional related environmental reviews started by President Joe Biden's administration.