A U.S. District Judge James Cain has permanently blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from enforcing “disparate-impact requirements” under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in Louisiana, a key civil rights tenet, effectively undermining EPA’s efforts to reduce pollution’s inequitable impacts on people of color in the state. The ruling, which EPA can appeal, comes after Cain agreed to a preliminary injunction in the Louisiana attorney general’s bid to halt future inquiries into the inequitable effects of state permitting decisions in areas like the Mississippi River industrial corridor. Louisiana’s Constitution bans racial discrimination, while state law bars discrimination by virtually all businesses and federal grant recipients.
Solar Dominates US Energy Capacity Growth
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has published data showing that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating
