A federal appeals court has rejected a Louisiana chemical company’s bid to stop EPA from singling it out for accelerated compliance with newly strengthened air toxics regulations.
In a brief order, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday denied Denka Performance Elastomer’s bid to block the 90-day deadline for meeting the new requirements.
The company “has not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” the panel wrote.
The company’s plant in a predominantly Black part of Louisiana is the nation’s only maker of neoprene, a compound used in products ranging from medical equipment to wetsuits. The plant also emits chloroprene, a compound that EPA deems a likely cause of cancer.
