1 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:12,039 Speaker 1: Previously on drilled. 2 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:17,279 Speaker 2: My only regret is that I did not try hard 3 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 2: enough to keep them out, and they need to try 4 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 2: everything to keep them up. They do not want Formosa 5 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 2: in there. 6 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: That was Diane Wilson in Texas talking about her thirty 7 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: year battle with Taiwanese petrochemical company for Mosa. In Diane's defense, 8 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: she didn't know Formosa was coming to her town. She 9 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: didn't know about them at all until they'd been there 10 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: a while and started planning a massive expansion in Louisiana, 11 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: where the company is hoping to build a nine billion 12 00:00:54,040 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: dollar complex with fourteen different plants. It's a different story. 13 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: Residents and activists knew about the project almost immediately because 14 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: they were already fighting the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries 15 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: all over the region. 16 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 3: So I worked with the Bucky Brigade, and we were 17 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 3: working in Saint James Parish in regard to the Value 18 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 3: Bridge pipeline. 19 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: So when Formosa came to Saint James Parish, Louisiana, the 20 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: community was ready for them. 21 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 3: There is a drive to build and expand more petrochemical 22 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 3: plants all over the country, and certainly Louisiana is ground 23 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 3: zero for that, and within that, Saint James is in 24 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 3: the bullseye, and so they built the southern leg of 25 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 3: the Dakota Access pipeline in Saint James Parish. I was 26 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 3: already working on that, and then in the midst of that, 27 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 3: this is this, you know, horrible idea of formost and 28 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 3: last coup job. 29 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 4: That's our story today. I I mean Western Love. This 30 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 4: is drilled season six, the bridge to nowhere. Today the 31 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 4: continuation of one plastic. 32 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 5: Pipelines, and we gotta fight for most of them. We 33 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 5: will not allow them to pick our ancestors out of 34 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 5: his ground and put them somewhere else. We're gonna stand 35 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 5: up for Saint James Pear. This is our home. We're 36 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 5: not going anywhere for Massa have a have a fight 37 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 5: on their hands. 38 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: The Triumphant music you hear is the soundtrack to a 39 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: twenty three minute promotional video for Most of Plastics posted 40 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: to YouTube in January twenty twenty one. Here's how they 41 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: describe this project in Saint che Parish. 42 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 6: FPG will continue to build downstream petrochemical plants and also 43 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 6: plans to invest nine point four billion US dollars to 44 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 6: build a large petrochemical complex in Louisiana. FPG will also 45 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 6: evaluate the feasibility of expanding its investments in the future. 46 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: So, like we talked about last episode, Formosa's taking advantage 47 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: of cheap shale gas in the US to fuel its 48 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: buildout of petrochemical plants. Shale gas is another term for 49 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: natural gas, or fract gas or fossil gas. It's the 50 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: stuff a lot of US companies have been drilling out 51 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: of rocks over the past decade. Part of the reason 52 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: for MOSA is expanding so much in the US is 53 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: not just because of all the cheap gas. It's also 54 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: because the government in its home country, Taiwan, refuge to 55 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: give the company permits. It's violated so many environmental regulations 56 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: over the years that it's considered a bad actor. So 57 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: Formosa looked around the world for a place to expand, 58 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: maybe somewhere with weaker environmental regulations, and they found it 59 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: in the American South. But while state officials welcomed them 60 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: with open arms, they may have underestimated local residents. 61 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:31,839 Speaker 7: And this isn't just any plans, but it's being called 62 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 7: the largest facility in the States producing products like plastic 63 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 7: bottles and grocery bags. So what's at stake for people 64 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 7: like Sharon, who have called Saint James home all our 65 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 7: life and who really benefits from the petrochemical industry. 66 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: Almost immediately, the community in Saint James Parish started asking 67 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 1: questions about how exactly this new plant for Moosa was 68 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: planning was going to benefit them. Sharon Levine saw nothing 69 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: good about the plan right from the jump. 70 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 8: When I heard that for most was coming into Saint Jane. 71 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 8: The governor announced it in the spring of twenty eighteen, 72 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 8: That's when I first heard about it. And then in 73 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,479 Speaker 8: the fall of twenty eighteen, that's when I started righting 74 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 8: the James. I started in my house. It was about 75 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 8: almost ten of us in here, and we were all 76 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 8: roused up because we wanted to do something about it. 77 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: Sharon was born and raised in Saint James. She spent 78 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,599 Speaker 1: most of her life as a school teacher, but today 79 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,359 Speaker 1: she's the leader of the community's opposition to Formosa. I 80 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,720 Speaker 1: reached her by phone on a hot day in Louisiana, 81 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: and she told me it was her daughter who first 82 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 1: told her about the Formosa project. They call it the 83 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: Sunshine Project, and then Sharon saw it on the news 84 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 1: that night. It was presented like a done deal. The 85 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 1: parish council, the governor, everyone had signed off on it. 86 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: But within weeks, Sharon had invited her neighbors over to 87 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:00,359 Speaker 1: her house to talk about what they were going to do. 88 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: That day, she started a faith based activist group to 89 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: fight the project, Riise Saint James, and she's devoted every 90 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:12,919 Speaker 1: minute of her life to the effort ever since. Rise 91 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,720 Speaker 1: joined up with other groups in the area and they 92 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: started marching, protesting, and looking for legal help. Within a 93 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: few months, Formosa was back on the local news, but 94 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,919 Speaker 1: this time the story was Sharon and her opposition to 95 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: the project. Here she is on WWLTV. 96 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 5: When they say it for Mosa was coming in looked 97 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 5: like something inside of me. Just click because it's coming 98 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 5: right next to me. It's almost two miles from where 99 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 5: they want to build. 100 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: Sharon lives in Saint James Parish, right in that bullseye 101 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,559 Speaker 1: and Rolfuss was talking about. It's smack in the middle 102 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: of what's called Cancer Alley on the Gulf Coast, a 103 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 1: stretch of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New 104 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: Orleans that's currently home to more than two hundred oil refineries, 105 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:09,479 Speaker 1: petrochemical plants and manufacturing sites, and no surprise, some of 106 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: the highest cancer and asthma rates in the country. Sharon's 107 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: a retired school teacher, and she remembers what life was 108 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: like before her home earned the nickname Cancer Ali. It 109 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: wasn't even that long ago. 110 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 5: When I was a little girl. We had beautiful trees 111 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 5: for corn, trees, fruit trees. My daddy raised our foods 112 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 5: and we lift off the land. Everything was full, vibrant 113 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 5: and so pretty, the green grass and everything. Then back 114 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 5: in the sixties, that's when the first industry came down 115 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 5: in Saint James. 116 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: The bulk of that industry is concentrated in the black 117 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: neighborhoods of Saint James Parish. If you look at the 118 00:07:55,320 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: demographics of the parish, it seems very mixed, almost exactly 119 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: fifty percent black fifty percent white. 120 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 9: But those chemical facilities are also concentrated in the districts 121 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 9: of Saint James Parish that are predominantly black. 122 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: This is Jane Patten. She was born and raised in 123 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: Louisiana and now works as both a campaigner for the 124 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: Center for International Environmental Law and as the director of 125 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: no EAIST Louisiana. 126 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 9: So the parts of Saint James Parish that are predominantly 127 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 9: white have significantly fewer and in at least the case 128 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 9: in the case of at least one district, there are 129 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 9: no chemical plants in that majority white district. And yet 130 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 9: the two majority black districts in Saint James have almost 131 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 9: all of the petrochemical footprint, plastics production capacity, an aluminum plant, 132 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 9: there are several oil refineries, so this is a very 133 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 9: significant industrial footprint and it's very visible when you're driving 134 00:08:55,640 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 9: around the parish. So as the local community in Saint 135 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 9: James likes to say, Saint James's full. 136 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: Over the past few years, local resistance has been mounting 137 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: and the region has attracted national attention from environmental law 138 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 1: groups too. Here's Julie Teal Simmons with the Center for 139 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:17,040 Speaker 1: Biological Diversity. 140 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 10: You were at a meeting in Texas about the oil 141 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 10: and gas industry and the petrochemical build out, and I 142 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 10: met with Anne Rolfuss of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and 143 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 10: was just astounded to hear about this new plastics plant 144 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 10: proposed for Saint James Parish, Louisiana. 145 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:42,079 Speaker 1: Anne Rolfus is the founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, 146 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: an environmental justice nonprofit in Louisiana. She's the woman we 147 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: heard from at the top of the episode talking about 148 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: the fight against Bayou Bridge, that southern leg of the 149 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 1: Dakota Access pipeline that was built through Saint James. So 150 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: Anne and Julie were talking and it didn't take long 151 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 1: for all of them and Julie, Sharon and Jane to 152 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: start working together. At the time, in twenty eighteen, several 153 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: nonprofit organizations and community groups had started fighting new permits 154 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: for facilities in Cancer Alley and tax breaks that the 155 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: oil industry was looking for in the area too. More 156 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 1: on that. After the break. 157 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 9: In twenty sixteen, the governor, in response to a lot 158 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:41,959 Speaker 9: of organizing and advocacy, the Louisiana Governor John Bell Edwards 159 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 9: issued an executive order changing the way that the exemptions 160 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 9: for local property taxes were granted. So instead of having 161 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 9: a state board do it and they always got a 162 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,440 Speaker 9: rubber stamp, they then had to get approval from each 163 00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:01,120 Speaker 9: local permitting authority, and the industry didn't like that so much. 164 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:03,000 Speaker 1: This is Jane Patten again. 165 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:05,600 Speaker 9: And so since that executive order has been put in place. 166 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 9: They've been trying to push legislation through the state legislature 167 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:15,080 Speaker 9: to centralize the decision making, to try to actually put 168 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 9: the original terms of the taxi emption program back in place. 169 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 9: There was a whole constitutional amendment that was voted on 170 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:27,079 Speaker 9: last year that tried to put the actually a more 171 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 9: generous version of the pre existing taxes emption program in place, 172 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 9: and they lost, and that again was due to really 173 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 9: significant local organizing. It was actually really tied in by 174 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 9: that time with the campaign against Formosa because the Formosa 175 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 9: plant is within its first ten years of existence supposed 176 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 9: to get approximately a billion dollars in local tax breaks. 177 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 1: A petrochemical plant that the community doesn't want that will 178 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 1: be a significant source of income for the company and 179 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: of pollution for the region is getting a one billion 180 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: dollar tax break over its first decade of operating. That's 181 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,359 Speaker 1: after tightening the laws around tax breaks to industry. 182 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 9: And they're going to be building in a parish that 183 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 9: is really strapped for cash, a parish that is having 184 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 9: to fire thirty of its public school teaching staff this 185 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 9: school year because they don't have enough funds to pay them. 186 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 9: And Formosa is actively trying to not have to pay 187 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,959 Speaker 9: their local property taxes, and of course they're not more 188 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,719 Speaker 9: guilty of that than any other industry actor. They all 189 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,319 Speaker 9: don't want to pay their property taxes, but that doesn't 190 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 9: help a local community. 191 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: Julie Teel Simmons organization had been working on various issues 192 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: in the Gulf Coast ever since the deep water oil 193 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: spilled back in twenty ten, but it hadn't gotten involved 194 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: in any of the Cancer Alley fights until the FOREMOSTA 195 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 1: proposal came along. 196 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 10: This foremost a plastics plant proposed for Saint James Parish, 197 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 10: is on a twenty four hundred acre site and the 198 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,959 Speaker 10: build out of the facilities it will have fourteen different plants. 199 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 10: It literally is bigger than some many Louisiana towns and 200 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 10: it really is an industrial city that we're. 201 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: Talking about over in Texas. Diane Wilson heard about it too, 202 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 1: and she was worried. 203 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,719 Speaker 2: Those people in Louisiana, in Saint James Parish, in that 204 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:20,840 Speaker 2: little that's what they got to look for. 205 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 3: They got no idea. 206 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 2: It will destroy everything. 207 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 1: They got everything. Sharon Levigne has already seen her community 208 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: emptied out as industry has come in and with Formosa, 209 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: enough was enough. Sharon's deeply religious, and she says God 210 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: told her to fight this one. I feel like you 211 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: guys have been a lot more successful than many other 212 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: communities fighting these things. Why do you think that is? 213 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:52,840 Speaker 8: I think because he's God's combined. 214 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: It's a little hard to hear Sharon in this recording, 215 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,680 Speaker 1: but she says Rise has been successful because they've been 216 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:03,200 Speaker 1: clued to God and what they're doing. Early on, the 217 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 1: community groups opposing FORMOSA linked up with environmental law groups 218 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 1: like Julie Peel Simmons group, the Center for Biological Diversity. 219 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 10: We started looking into it, and we've worked with golf 220 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 10: groups a lot, for example on the BP oil spill. 221 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 10: And this facility, though, just presented such an intersection of 222 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,359 Speaker 10: all the issues that we care about. So this facility 223 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 10: would not only be built on top of wetlands and 224 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 10: adjacent to the Mississippi River and adjacent to really important 225 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 10: national estuary, but it also would create a massive amount 226 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 10: of air pollution. It's going to be it's the single 227 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 10: largest proposed source that we've been tracking of greenhouse gas 228 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 10: emissions in the country. It's going to be permitted to 229 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 10: it has been permitted to emit thirteen point six million 230 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 10: metric tons of CO two every year. It's the equivalent 231 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 10: of three and a half coal fired power plants. Just 232 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 10: to give you some context. 233 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: Today, there are several different lawyers fighting FORMOSA on multiple fronts. Simmons' 234 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: group is focused on a federal complaint against the Army 235 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: Corps of Engineers, which was in charge of issuing Formosa 236 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: permits to build on wetlands in Saint James. 237 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 10: Obviously, this project sits right on the Mississippi River, right 238 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 10: next to the levee, and there are wetlands on site 239 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 10: and adjacent to the property that connect to this national estuary, 240 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 10: and fishing grounds and recreational grounds that folks like to use, 241 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 10: and obviously will also impact the Mississippi River, and they 242 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 10: want to build a dock and do a lot of 243 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 10: work that will impact waters and wetlands. So the Army 244 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 10: Corps still has jurisdiction over that that is not delegated 245 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 10: to the States. So we commented on the proposed permit, 246 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 10: obviously opposing it for a whole host of reasons. 247 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: Then there were the local permits that Louisiana's Department of 248 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 1: Environmental Quality had to issue for the project. 249 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 11: So we were approached by a local resident who has 250 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 11: lived in Saint James all her life and was concerned 251 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 11: about particularly the environmental justice aspect of Formosa's proposed plan 252 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:14,480 Speaker 11: because her community, which is predominantly African American, has been 253 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 11: overburdened with industrial pollution. 254 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,800 Speaker 1: This is Kimberly Terrell with the Tulane University Law Clinic. 255 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: The woman she's talking about there isn't Sharon Levin, but 256 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: she is a member of Sharon's group Rise Saint James. 257 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: The first chance the public got to formally voice their 258 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: opposition to the project came when Formosa applied for its 259 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:35,840 Speaker 1: air permit. 260 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 11: So the first thing we did was the attorneys at 261 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 11: the clinic submitted comments on Beverly's behalf regarding environmental justice 262 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 11: concerns for Formosa's air permit. You know, that was important 263 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 11: to raise those issues before DEQ made its decision in 264 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 11: order to be able to challenge that decision. 265 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: One of the things that Terrell and her colleagues argued 266 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,880 Speaker 1: was that Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality ld EQ had 267 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: looked at outdated information to determine the environmental justice impact 268 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:16,400 Speaker 1: of the Formosa plant. Here'sterrell's colleague Devin Lowell. 269 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 12: This petition just challenges deq's environmental justice analysis that they 270 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 12: did and put in analysis there in air quotes. DQ 271 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 12: in this decision used outdated cancer risk information to the 272 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 12: claim that there was no evidence that the nearby community 273 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:40,400 Speaker 12: already faced a disproportionate burden from air pollution, but that 274 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 12: information was outdated when they made the decision. There was 275 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,879 Speaker 12: updated information that showed that in fact, the community of Welcome, 276 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 12: which is closest to the proposed facility, actually faces cancer 277 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,880 Speaker 12: risk in the eighty six percentile from air toxics, which 278 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,360 Speaker 12: is much higher than the state average. 279 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: And Rolfus is involved in that suit too, as is Simmons, 280 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,640 Speaker 1: who's working on both the state and federal fights. Despite 281 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: a lot of opposition, the Army Corps approved Formosa's permit 282 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: to build on those wetlands in September twenty nineteen. 283 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 10: This decision was one of the worst I've seen. They 284 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 10: issued a very very short decision document that just had 285 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 10: so many holes in it. And so in January of 286 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,199 Speaker 10: twenty twenty, we went to federal court. We actually filed 287 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,399 Speaker 10: in the District of d C where the headquarters for 288 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 10: the Army Corps is, and we filed a lawsuit challenging 289 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 10: the Army corps issuance of this permit on many many grounds, 290 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 10: and there are violations of law under the Clean Water Act, 291 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 10: but also the National Environmental Policy Act and the National 292 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:50,400 Speaker 10: Historic Preservation Act. 293 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,800 Speaker 1: Both the federal and state cases are ongoing, but Formosa's 294 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: opponents have stacked up some wins. A judge just ruled 295 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: in the state case that Luisiana de Eq has to 296 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 1: go back and look at current information to make a 297 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: decision on the environmental justice impact of the plant, and 298 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: the Army Corps has put a halt to building on 299 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: those wetlands because the facility wasn't just planned for wetlands, 300 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 1: it was planned for old plantation sites. 301 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,160 Speaker 10: There was a discovery that there are at least two 302 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 10: cemeteries of former slaves unmarked burial sites on that site, 303 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 10: and there are several other anomalies on the property, which 304 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 10: is the word archaeologists used to define areas that can't 305 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 10: be ruled out as significant historic properties. So we also 306 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 10: had a claim in our lawsuit stating that the Army 307 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:48,639 Speaker 10: Corps violated the National Preservation Act by failing to adequately 308 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,360 Speaker 10: assess and protect those sites. 309 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: That made this a constitutional case too, and the Center 310 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 1: for Constitutional Rights came on board to help. 311 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 13: And so we've been assisting Rise Saint James in other 312 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 13: ways or helping them unnurse the information about the burial 313 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 13: site on the property make sure that they can have 314 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 13: access to those sites. 315 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: This is Pam Speace, senior staff attorney with the Center 316 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: for Constitutional Rights. She filed a public records request to 317 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: see if she could figure out if Formosa knew about 318 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 1: the graveyard before it submitted its plan. 319 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:31,120 Speaker 13: What we know from the public records request is that 320 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,239 Speaker 13: the company was actually wanting to remove cemetery if they 321 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:39,680 Speaker 13: found it on the Acadia plantation, because where that site 322 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 13: was located is where they wanted to place a utility 323 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 13: plant that would power the because this complex is so massive, right, 324 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 13: it's going to need its own utility plant, and that's 325 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 13: exactly where it was going to be located. 326 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:53,080 Speaker 8: So if they found. 327 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 13: Graves on that site, they were in the position of 328 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 13: having to either reconfigure all of the site plans or 329 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,199 Speaker 13: seek permission to remove those remains, which would have been 330 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,720 Speaker 13: a really big deal. So I would imagine it's because 331 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,440 Speaker 13: either they just didn't think about it and didn't think 332 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 13: it's worth reporting out and nobody would care, or they 333 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,680 Speaker 13: realized that people would care a whole lot and didn't 334 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:18,919 Speaker 13: want to call too much attention to it. 335 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: Whatever happened, it was good enough to pause the project 336 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: at least a bit that the Army Corps permitted until 337 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,160 Speaker 1: next year. But it was more than just a delay. 338 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 1: This news also brought a lot of negative attention and 339 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,399 Speaker 1: national press to the project. When Sharon Levine wanted to 340 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: have a Juneteenth celebration at the site of the graveyard, 341 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: her petition was initially denied, but she fought that decision 342 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,480 Speaker 1: and she won. She and her group had that celebration 343 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,639 Speaker 1: first in twenty twenty and again this June. 344 00:21:53,000 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 8: Oh, we're saying we had a whole agenda insane and 345 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 8: opening prayer and like to turn. 346 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 6: This into sacred ground by a blessing with holy water. 347 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 8: The minister's just the grave site. Some people give some 348 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:19,439 Speaker 8: accountability of what they experience in Saint Change, and some 349 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 8: are little history of different things in Saint James. 350 00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:26,200 Speaker 1: For Spees, it's sent a powerful message. 351 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 13: Well, I think the graves have done something very profound. 352 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 13: They have really erased what was an imaginary line between 353 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:37,479 Speaker 13: the past and present. 354 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:39,719 Speaker 7: M I. 355 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 13: You know, I think it made it. It's all, it's 356 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:48,919 Speaker 13: all very present right now. That's the you know. And 357 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,159 Speaker 13: I certainly think for folks and Rhymes and in the community, 358 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:59,640 Speaker 13: the rediscovered connection to these graves is so profound and 359 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 13: it it gives them more strength and courage and commitments 360 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 13: to the struggle, and they certainly I don't think there's 361 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 13: any way you can divorce what's happening now in terms 362 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 13: of the sighting of these facilities and who's burying the 363 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 13: biggest burdens from the history of slavery in that area. 364 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 8: It's all. 365 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 13: There's a straight line connecting at all. 366 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,400 Speaker 1: Next time on drilled what happened when the pandemic made 367 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:33,640 Speaker 1: plastic a little more appealing. 368 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 14: There's a remarkable instance of this where you have an 369 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:43,719 Speaker 14: industry representative actually fantasizing, and I'm using this word very advisedly, 370 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,080 Speaker 14: fantasizing that they'll be able to get the public to 371 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 14: rep bananas and apples in plastic packaging in the name 372 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 14: of hygiene and finding the COVID canda and if there's 373 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,119 Speaker 14: any And I think that that is a testament to 374 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 14: how oh, really optimistic the industry is about how it's 375 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 14: going to be able to exploit COVID nineteen to fill 376 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:09,639 Speaker 14: that gap in plastic demand. 377 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:21,240 Speaker 1: Drilled as an original production of the Critical Frequency Podcast Network. 378 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: The show is reported, written, and hosted by me Amy Westerveldt. 379 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: Additional reporting this episode from Sarah Dern in Louisiana. Our 380 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 1: producer this season is Juliana Bradley. Our editor is Julia Ritchie. 381 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 1: Our theme song this season is Death Song by b Beamon. 382 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:43,640 Speaker 1: Additional music for the season composed by Elliott Peltzman. Our 383 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,880 Speaker 1: artwork for the season is done by Matthew Fleming. Our 384 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:52,120 Speaker 1: First Amendment attorney is James Wheaton at the First Amendment Project. 385 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 1: You can find additional reporting and photos for this season 386 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,880 Speaker 1: on our Twitter feed at we Are Drilled or online 387 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: at drillednews dot com. If you're a fan of the show, 388 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:08,399 Speaker 1: please consider supporting us in two ways. 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