Environmental Injustice

in Mossville, Louisiana
Samantha Wilkinson

PHI 422 Honors Contract

1. BACKGROUND
CONTEXTUAL AND HISTORICAL FACTORS

Mossville is a small Louisiana community founded by freed slaves in the 1790s. After

World War II, Louisiana attracted industries by waiving property taxes1 and granting permits to

locate near residential neighborhoods, leaving Mossville with the highest concentration of vinyl

production facilities in the country.2 These factories emit dioxins, which are linked to cancer,

reproductive and developmental problems, and immune and hormonal system damage.3

From 1997 to 1999, government agencies discovered that residents had extremely high

blood dioxin levels and symptoms of toxic industrial pollution4, but failed to identify a source

and denied that exposure had resulted in symptoms, thereby absolving factories of

responsibility. Because of past racism by both industrial polluters in locating in Mossville and

the government for providing them permits to do so5, the predominantly African American

population has been exposed to disproportionate levels of pollution and negative health

impacts. Following decades of government neglect, these residents are now being coercively

displaced by international petrochemical company Sasol with the governments support.

KEY EVENTS 2012-PRESENT: SASOL AND RESIDENT DISPLACEMENT

2012: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that international energy and chemicals

company Sasol would receive a 10-year exemption to paying property taxes6 and a $115 million

Cooperative Endeavor Agreement grant to purchase land and facility infrastructure.7

1
Jeannine Cahill-Jackson, Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States: Is a Solution to Environmental Injustice Unfolding? (Pace Intl)
173
2 Revathi Hines The Price of Pollution: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Mossville, Louisiana.
3 Ibid
4 Ibid
5
Ibid
6 "Environmental Justice in Mossville." (PBS)
7
DiCesare, Frank. "Majority of Mossville, Brentwood residents sign up for Sasol buyout offer." (American Press Home)
2013: Sasol initiated the Voluntary Property Purchase Program, which allows residents to sell

their homes to Sasol and relocate. As of 2014, only 62 Mossville residents expected to stay.

2014: Calcasieu Parish Police Jury approved rezoning Mossville to expropriate the properties of

residents who refused to participate in Sasols Voluntary Property Purchase Program. 8

2. PROBLEM DESCRIPTION
Because of vinyl chloride production, Mossville residents continue to suffer the negative health

impacts of high levels of dioxin exposure. In addition, the Sasol Corporation is now displacing

Mossville residents with the financial and political support of the Calcasieu Parish and the

Louisiana state government.

3. KEY ACTORS
Affected Community: Residents of Mossville, most of whom are low-income African Americans.

KEY ACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE CREATION OF THE PROBLEM

Industrial Factories: The 14 industrial factories located within a half-mile of Mossville annually

dump millions of pounds of toxins into the environment, causing negative health impacts.9

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), and

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: Failed to connect industrial pollution and

negative health impacts in Mossville residents or address the problem.

Environmental Protection Agency: Issued permits allowing the hazardous facilities to operate

near and has failed to address the pollution by revoking or modifying the permits to lower the

amount of allowed contaminants, as per its duty under environmental law.10

8 Ibid
9 Revathi Hines, The Price of Pollution 201
10 Jeannine Cahill-Jackson, Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States 182
Sasol: Currently displacing residents and failing to account for residents moving costs in their

purchase program offers and has not addressed health impacts of its pollution on residents.

Calcasieu Parish Police Jury: Approved rezoning of Mossville as heavy industrial land to

expropriate the properties of residents who refused Sasols Property Purchase Program offer.

KEY ACTORS HELPING TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM

Mossville Environmental Action Now (MEAN): Community activism organization representing

Mossville residents. MEAN has proposed stricter emission standards and policies and organized

rallies demanding that the state stop the dioxin emissions in Calcasieu parish and address

residents health problems resulting from such emissions.11

Advocates for Environmental Human Rights: Legal firm representing Mossville residents. Has

petitioned the Louisiana Attorney General to evaluate legality of Sasol activities in Mossville.

4. RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

1: ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF MOSSVILLE RESIDENTS

Louisiana State Legislature:

Address the needs of Mossville residents by listening to their grievances regarding the Sasol

land acquisition and enact legislation to address their unfair treatment, meet their relocation

needs, and protect the property rights of remaining residents.

Action Strategies
+Convene legislative committee sessions to hear resident testimony.

+Enact legislation to redress the unfair treatment of Mossville residents during the Sasol land

acquisition, such as additional compensation for Voluntary Property Purchase Program

11
Revathi Hines, The Price of Pollution 201
participants to cover moving costs, childcare, mortgage debt, security deposits, and increased

cost of living.

+Enact corrective legislation to set minimum requirements for industrial land acquisition

funded or authorized by state and local governments, such as requiring approval by 80% of

neighborhood (not Parish) residents for factories to expand operations.12

Obstacles to
Solutions
Implementation
Legislature may be Reach out to larger organizations, such as the Sierra
unwilling to convene or Club, and draw national media attention to the lack
listen of government action to gain leverage over
Committees

Barriers to attendance: legislators

Resident schedules and MEAN work with legislative aides to organize
transportation expense sessions
Provide transportation for residents with funds
raised by MEAN

Inadequate financial MEAN conduct a survey of residents to document

resources for moving perceived unfair treatment, with separate surveys
Unfair Treatment

cost compensation for VPPP participants and non-participants; develop

Difficulty defining redress recommendations accordingly
unfair treatment and MEAN provide estimate of per-family moving
redress expenses
Use established media attention to pressure Sasol
into providing additional discretionary funding for
residents
Conflict between Prioritize community engagement, incorporate
prospective minimum surrounding communities and national organizations
Legislation
Corrective

requirements and in movement

current Sasol land
holdings.
Follow-through and
enforcement

2: INVESTIGATE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COOPERATION WITH SASOL

12
(Stopping Land Theft in Mossville)
Louisiana Attorney General:
+ Investigate whether Governor Jindal is authorized by federal or state law to execute a

Cooperative Endeavor Agreement on behalf of the State of Louisiana. The agreement fails to

correctly identify Sasol as a foreign corporation, and payment of $115 million in state tax

dollars to foreign corporations for land purchases is against the state constitution.

+ Investigate the Sasol land acquisition to determine whether the Port of Lake Charles is

authorized by federal or state laws to expropriate land at Sasols request. The agreement fails

to correctly identify Sasol as a foreign corporation, and the expropriation of land to foreign

corporations is against the state constitution.

+ Investigate the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury to determine whether its decisions to rezone

properties in Mossville to heavy industrial (1) coerced Mossville residents to accept Sasols

property purchase offers; and (2) constituted an unlawful taking of properties in Mossville in

violation of the due process rights of property owners.13

Advocates for Environmental Human Rights: Evaluate investigations and provide evidence that

Parish decisions were coercive. Inform community members and other movement members of

investigation progress and maintain public pressure to investigate quickly and enforce rulings.

Obstacles to Implementation Solutions

Urgency of timeline: Investigation Louisiana Attorney General should start the

can only have positive impact if they
precede Sasol construction
activities. Therefore, all tax funding
and expropriation measures would
have to be halted pending
completion of the investigation.
investigation immediately
MEAN lead public pressure on Attorney General
If Sasol spends state money only to have the
Attorney General Determine that it is illegal, they
should be obligated to repay the full amount
granted PLUS compensation to displaced residents.

13Stopping Land Theft in Mossville, Louisiana by the SASOL Corporation & Governmental Authorities. Advocates for
Environmental Human Rights.
 Bibliography

DiCesare, Frank. "Majority of Mossville, Brentwood residents sign up for Sasol buyout offer."
American Press - Home. January 13, 2014.

"Environmental Justice in Mossville." PBS. 2015.

Hines, Revathi. The Price of Pollution: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Mossville,
Louisiana. 2015

Jeannine Cahill-Jackson, Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States: Is a Solution to

Environmental Injustice Unfolding? 3 Pace Intl L. Rev. Online Companion 173 2012.

Murphy, Tim. "This Massive Chemical Plant Is Poised to Wipe Another Louisiana Town off the
Map." Mother Jones. March 27, 2014.

Stopping Land Theft in Mossville, Louisiana by the SASOL Corporation & Governmental
Authorities. Advocates for Environmental Human Rights. December 2014