Louisiana chemical plant threatens to shut down if EPA emissions deadline isn’t relaxed

By MICHAEL PHILLIS
Associated Press

Denka Performance Elastomer in Louisiana threatened to shut down if the Biden administration doesn’t give it more time to reduce its emissions. The company makes the synthetic rubber neoprene — and federal officials have accused the plant of increasing cancer risk to the nearby, majority-Black community. The Environmental Protection Agency in April imposed new emissions rules on more than 200 industrial facilities. Denka argues that more dangerous facilities face a 2-year deadline, but it was instead singled out with a much shorter 90-day deadline. It wants a federal appeals court to block the agency from enforcing that deadline.