(Daily360.com) – In its attempts to shut down a chemical maker’s facility, it looks like the Biden administration may have fabricated a paper trail. The Biden administration is trying to shut down an American manufacturing plant in Saint John the Baptist, Louisiana. The plant produces neoprene, a synthetic rubber-like material often found in items like wetsuits and military equipment. The administration is saying the plant presents a possible cancer risk to people within Saint John the Baptist.
They are using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to accomplish their goal. EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited the Louisiana town on his “journey for Justice” tour and said he’d make it a priority to close the plant down due to emissions it creates. Regan then filed a lawsuit demanding the plant owners, a company called DPE, make several changes to the plant and reduce its emissions.
Only weeks after filing the suit, the Justice Department got involved and asked the courts to shut down the plant entirely if the emissions modifications were not made immediately. DPE responded by saying their demands would be impossible to comply with and were in essence a “shutdown order.” They also cited a recent study showing that Saint John the Baptist had one of the lowest cancer rates in Louisiana, making the urgency and threat claims seem meritless.
Part of launching this shut-down initiative involved an email sent by the EPA’s region 6 science liaison, Michael Morton. As part of making its case, the administration is citing an email allegedly sent by Morton that detailed a nonpartisan scientific review of the plant and the town that showed significant health risks. However, during recent testimony, Morton says he sent no such email despite the fact that it came from Morton’s government email address. Morton says not only did he not write it, he could not guess who may have written and sent it.
The petrochemical industry is one of Louisiana’s largest and represents a large economic and employment driver in the state. Should the Biden administration succeed in closing this plant and potentially others, it would lead to more unemployment and less revenue for Louisiana.
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