Dec 29, 2023 | Dr. Beverly Wright News, DSCEJ General News, Research and Policy News
Dec 29, 2023
From the Desk of Dr. Beverly Wright:
The Path Forward with EPA and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Yesterday, the EPA granted Louisiana the authority to create underground carbon capture wells following the state’s application. DSCEJ and the entire environmental justice movement have fought carbon capture and storage every step of the way and this recent news does not end our fight against this unproven and dangerous technology. CCS is one of the biggest threats to communities of color being harmed by the polluting industries that exacerbate our climate crisis and by the regulatory agencies that are supposed to be protecting them.
We have had an ongoing dialogue with the EPA and state officials about CCS and have voiced our opposition at every opportunity, including at a public hearing this past June and during Administrator Regan’s visits to Louisiana over the last 3 years. While this decision is not what we tirelessly advocated for, or is in the best interest of Cancer Alley communities, our next steps all center around accountability for EPA and Louisiana officials.
The EPA’s Memorandum of Agreement with the State of Louisiana includes environmental justice provisions requiring the state act to protect communities from current or future environmental hazards associated with CCS. The inclusion of these environmental justice provisions is encouraging and must be enforced and referenced at every step of the process.
With a history of unjust environmental policies, we proceed cautiously. Communities across Louisiana are depending on these provisions to protect them from decades of environmental policy that put these very communities at risk from illness, pollution, and death. Louisiana’s most vulnerable cannot be left exposed to an untested pollution control technology without accountability.
I look forward to working with each of these communities to make sure state and federal officials hold up their end of the bargain. While our frustration with the overall decision is unwavering, we want to keep the dialogue ongoing and harness our frustration into measures of accountability.
We will be sharing more information in the new year about our next steps and actions.
Thank you for continuing to be part of this important work and not relenting in the ongoing fight against CCS.
Dr. Beverly Wright
Nov 17, 2023 | Dr. Beverly Wright News, DSCEJ General News, International Connection News
November 17, 2023
Beyond Petrochemicals Hosts Environmental Justice Delegation at Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations in Nairobi (INC-3)
Nairobi, Kenya – As part of the Beyond Petrochemicals Campaign, Dr. Beverly Wright, founder and executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, joined local leaders and community advocates from Texas, Louisiana, and the Ohio River Valley in Nairobi, Kenya this week to participate in the third session of the United Nations global plastics treaty process (INC – 3).
The delegation aims to elevate the invaluable role and experiences of frontline communities in the negotiation process. The communities included know firsthand the harm caused by the petrochemical industry and will provide an important perspective to the treaty process.
“The Mississippi River Chemical Corridor, or Cancer Alley produces one-fifth of the United States’ petrochemicals, and generations of Black and brown families have been exposed to these deadly chemicals due to the unchecked pollution of these neighboring industrial plants,” said Dr. Beverly Wright, founder and executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. “Cancer Alley facilities remain Louisiana’s top pollution producers, and these negotiations are a bold step in the right direction to ensure all families can live and thrive in a healthy and pollution-free environment.”
“Those closest to the problem are usually the ones that have the solutions,” said Heather McTeer Toney, Executive Director of Beyond Petrochemicals. “We are honored to support these leaders and the work they are doing to protect the air, water and health of the places they call home.”
Petrochemicals are the building block for plastic production and account for 10 percent of global GHG emissions, which if left unchecked, will increase by 20 percent by 2030. Plastic pollution is both a global and a local issue. Communities in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley live with a 95 percent higher cancer risk than the rest of the country. Petrochemical facilities use and emit toxic chemicals linked to not only cancer but other health problems like respiratory and cardiac illnesses, which disproportionately affect people of color and low-income communities.
Aug 14, 2023 | Dr. Beverly Wright News, DSCEJ General News, Justice40 News
August 14, 2023
Community Leaders to Meet with Senior Biden Administration Officials and Policymakers During Three-Day Event
NEW ORLEANS, LA – On Wednesday, August 16, 2023, leading environmental justice organizations, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) and Robert D Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, will kick off the Justice40 August convening in New Orleans, LA. The three-day convening brings together Justice40 hub leaders, activists, community leaders, and policymakers committed to advancing environmental justice and realizing the Biden Administration’s commitment to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities.
Executive directors Dr. Beverly Wright and Dr. Robert Bullard have been working to collectively engage, enlighten, and empower communities that are directly affected by deadly pollution and severe weather events to successfully advocate for resources intended for them.
During the convening, White House Senior Advisor John Podesta and Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, Senior Director of Environmental Justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), will give keynote remarks throughout the convening. Additionally, representatives from federal agencies will speak with Hub leaders about their agencies’ role in implementing Justice40 equitably, including the Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Health and Human Services, and Environmental Protection Agency.
WHAT: Justice40 August Convening for Community-Based Organizations
WHO:
- Dr. Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
- Dr. Robert Bullard, Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice
- John Podesta, White House Senior Advisor
- Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, Senior Director of Environmental Justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
- Environmental justice community leaders, activists, and policymakers
WHERE:
JW Marriott
614 Canal Street
New Orleans, LA 70130.
WHEN:
Wednesday, August 16 to Friday, August 18.The Justice40 initiative is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s whole-of-government approach to embedding environmental justice in the federal government’s operations. It sets a goal that disadvantaged communities receive 40 percent of the overall benefits of federal investments in the areas of climate change; clean energy and energy efficiency; clean transit; affordable and sustainable housing; training and workforce development; the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution; and the development of critical clean water infrastructure.
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About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader, and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice.
About Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice
The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University addresses longstanding issues of systemic inequality and structural racism that cause disproportionate pain, suffering and death in Black and other people of color communities. The Center is directed by environmental justice scholar Dr. Robert D. Bullard and is housed in the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs. It strives to be a leading force for transformative environmental, climate and racial justice using rigorous science, community-driven research, policy, civic engagement programming, and effective advocacy.
Jun 22, 2023 | Community Engagement News, Dr. Beverly Wright News, DSCEJ General News, Research and Policy News
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Testifies at EPA’s Public Hearing on Louisiana’s Carbon Capture & Sequestration Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 22, 2023
Contact: Ginger LeBlanc | gingerl@dscej.org
New Orleans, LA – Yesterday, Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), joined environmental justice activists and local community leaders in Baton Rouge to testify in opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed approval of Louisiana’s Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CCS) Program during the agencies’ three-day public hearing.
The EPA’s public hearing comes at a time when a new wave of gas-burning facilities is being proposed in Louisiana communities where the majority of residents are Black, Indigenous, and poor. Plans for many of these facilities include carbon capture and storage or CCS – a risky process that involves collecting carbon dioxide from industrial waste streams and transporting it via miles of pipeline to areas designated for injecting the carbon dioxide underground for permanent disposal.
Last week, the Louisiana legislature attempted to tackle problems in state laws governing carbon dioxide waste injection. One of these laws significantly reduced the time of a company’s liability for operating a carbon dioxide injection well from 50 years, which is required by federal regulations, to 10 years. The recent changes to the state laws trigger another review by the EPA with the opportunity for public notice and comment.
“Today’s hearing by the EPA is more than whether DNR should have this permitting authority over the Class VI Underground Injection Control Program, it’s about our future,” said Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. “Who wants a future that repeats the past of leaking and broken-down oil and gas wells that are abandoned by companies? This is what we have with state laws that place the burden on the people of Louisiana to pay for and remedy the damage that occurs from carbon dioxide injection wells, and allow companies to walk away from the liabilities imposed by federal regulations.”
DSCEJ also provided the EPA with critical information about the state’s proposed program and the risks of CCS:
With a record of failure and mismanagement that resulted in destroying the Bayou Corne community, harming children and adults in Grand Bois, and leaving the state littered with leaking oil and gas wells, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) submitted a flawed application for authority to permit underground injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is collected from the waste stream of industrial facilities.
1. Carbon dioxide is hazardous
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports carbon dioxide is an asphyxiant and toxicant. Carbon dioxide displaces oxygen in the air we need to breathe. High concentrations of carbon dioxide can result in death. Within one minute of CO2 poisoning, a person can pass out and suffer respiratory arrest.
- On February 22, 2020, in Satartia, Mississippi, people were not able to escape a major CO2 release from a pipeline rupture because their cars stalled out due to the clouds of carbon dioxide that displaced oxygen.
2. Carbon dioxide waste injection increases risks
- Carbon dioxide corrosion can break down the metals in pipelines and containers and leak out with the potential for contaminating the environment, including waterways and groundwater sources for drinking water.
- Carbon dioxide can also break down rocks underground and, like an earthquake, cause things to shift above ground. Louisiana has numerous fault lines that increase the potential for earthquake incidents occurring from carbon waste injection.
- Abandoned oil and unplugged gas wells can serve as straws for carbon dioxide to move upward to the atmosphere and increase climate risks, which defeats the entire purpose for carbon capture and storage or CCS.
3. Oil and gas companies lobbied to shift liability for damages caused by carbon dioxide waste injection to the people of Louisiana
- The damage that can be caused by a carbon dioxide waste injection well is clearly known to oil and gas companies.
- Their lobbyists pushed a bill through the Louisiana legislature that shifts liability to the people of Louisiana to pay for remedying this damage.
- This new law is in conflict with EPA’s federal requirements.
4. The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a record of failure.
- The Louisiana State Legislative Auditor has issued reports on DNR’s failure to regulate oil and gas wells.
- DNR’s failure to protect the Grand Bois community from oil waste led to severe health injuries suffered by children and adults.
- DNR’s failure to monitor and regulate resulted in the catastrophe of the ground giving way under the Bayou Corne community in 2012.
5. The DNR plans to give management of carbon dioxide waste injection to unnamed and unknown companies.
- In its application to the EPA, the DNR states that it will outsource the management of carbon dioxide waste injection wells to unnamed and unknown companies.
- Permanent underground storage of carbon dioxide has never been done before and involves significant risks for communities and our environment.
View the testimony
Jun 21, 2023 | Community Engagement News, Dr. Beverly Wright News, DSCEJ General News, Research and Policy News
Jun 21, 2023
New Orleans, LA – Today, Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), will testify using the following remarks as prepared for delivery during the EPA’s Public Hearing in opposition to the agency’s proposed approval of Louisiana’s Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CCS) Program.
I am Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice based in New Orleans, Louisiana. I oppose approval of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resource’s application for primacy to regulate companies that seek to inject carbon dioxide waste underground.
Through education and research, the Center works collaboratively with communities to build their capacity to drive solutions to industrial pollution that harms their health and warms our planet. We have achieved results in strengthening community organizations, improving the health of community members, training 17,000 people for environmental careers with a job placement rate of 91 percent, and moving our state toward an equitable and renewable energy economy. For more than 30 years, we have worked to place equity and justice at the center of environmental, energy, and climate policies. However, after these steps forward, we are now confronted with the possibility of a major step back.
Oil and gas companies are now attempting to push us back and lock us in the continued burning of dirty energy dressed up with carbon capture and storage or CCS for numerous proposed gas plants. They have targeted Louisiana for the underground disposal of their carbon dioxide waste and want to apply to the DNR for permits to do this. Today’s hearing by the EPA is more than whether DNR should have this permitting authority over the Class VI Underground Injection Control Program, it’s about our future.
What will our future be with the approval of a flawed application by the DNR that fails to acknowledge its Constitutional duties as a public trustee include the active and affirmative protection of overburdened communities in Louisiana, who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous and poor and demand environmental justice?
Do we want our future in the hands of the DNR that plans to outsource to unnamed and unknown companies, without any contract terms, the job of managing millions of tons of carbon dioxide waste that can contaminate groundwater sources of drinking water, trigger earthquakes, and migrate above ground through any of the known and unknown unplugged oil and gas wells?
Who wants a future that repeats the past of leaking and broken-down oil and gas wells that are abandoned by companies? This is what we have with state laws that place the burden on the people of Louisiana to pay for and remedy the damage that occurs from carbon dioxide injection wells, and allow companies to walk away from the liabilities imposed by federal regulations.
Our future needs an EPA that will stand with the people of Louisiana who want a healthy and safe place to live for their families and future generations. I call on the EPA to deny the DNR’s application. Furthermore, I request the EPA to re-start this process in order to consider the recent state legislative changes related to carbon dioxide waste injection, and allow for public notice and comment.
Thank you.
Jun 20, 2023 | Community Engagement News, Dr. Beverly Wright News, DSCEJ General News, Research and Policy News, Take Action Alert
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 20, 2023
Dr. Beverly Wright, Environmental Justice Activists, and Community Leaders Will Travel to Baton Rouge to Oppose Approval of Louisiana’s Flawed Application
NEW ORLEANS, LA – On Wednesday, June 21, beginning at 1:00 pm CT, Dr. Beverly Wright of Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) will travel with environmental justice activists and local community leaders to Baton Rouge, where the US EPA will hold the first of a three-day hearing on its draft approval of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources’ application for authority to permit the underground injection of carbon dioxide waste.
With a record of failure and mismanagement that resulted in destroying the Bayou Corne community, harming children and adults in Grand Bois, and leaving the state littered with leaking oil and gas wells, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) submitted a flawed application for authority to permit an entirely new category of wells for underground disposal of carbon dioxide, a hazardous substance.
The EPA’s public hearing comes at a time when a new wave of gas-burning facilities are being proposed in Louisiana communities where the majority of residents are Black, Indigenous, and poor. Plans for many of these facilities include carbon capture and storage or CCS – a risky process that involves collecting carbon dioxide from industrial waste streams and transporting it via miles of pipeline to areas targeted for injecting the carbon dioxide underground for disposal.
Last week, the Louisiana legislature attempted to tackle problems in state laws governing carbon dioxide waste injection. One of these laws significantly reduced the time of a company’s liability for operating a carbon dioxide injection well from 50 years, which is required by federal regulations, to 10 years. The recent changes to the state laws trigger another review by the EPA with the opportunity for public notice and comment.
WHAT: EPA public hearing on Louisiana’s application for authority to permit the underground injection of carbon dioxide waste
WHO: Dr. Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, environmental justice activists, and community leaders
WHERE: Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, LaBelle Hearing Room, 1st Floor, LaSalle Building, 617 North 3rd Street in Baton Rouge, LA
The event will also be live-streamed HERE.
WHEN: Wednesday, June 21, from 1 pm – 5 pm and 6 pm – 8 pm
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About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader, and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice.
