Today, the Justice Department, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dismissed a lawsuit against Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (Denka) concerning its neoprene manufacturing facility in LaPlace, Louisiana. The dismissal fulfills President Trump’s day one executive order, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” signed to eliminate ideological overreach and restore impartial enforcement of federal laws. Concurrently, EPA withdrew its referral of the case to the Justice Department to align with Administrator Lee Zeldin’s pledge to end the use of “environmental justice” as a tool for advancing ideological priorities.
The lawsuit, originally filed by the Biden Administration on Feb. 28, 2023, relied on the Clean Air Act’s rarely invoked “Emergency Powers” provision (42 U.S.C. § 7603). That statute authorizes EPA to seek immediate restraints on pollution sources presenting “an imminent and substantial endangerment” to public health or the environment. In an effort to satisfy this standard, the Biden-era complaint alleged a marginally increased risk of harm after prolonged exposure. The complaint did not allege that emissions from Denka’s LaPlace plant violated any regulatory air quality standard. The prior administration framed the case as part of its “ongoing effort to advance environmental justice in overburdened communities.” The Biden Administration EPA used its EJScreen tool to define such areas partly by the percentage of “people of color” present — a clear example of the racial preferencing now prohibited by President Trump’s executive order.
“Today’s dismissal reflects ENRD’s renewed commitment to enforce environmental laws as Congress intended — consistently, fairly and without regard to race,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We do not regulate through litigation, nor do we stretch statutes beyond their plain meaning to advance political agendas.”
“The dismissal of this case is a step toward ensuring that environmental enforcement is consistent with the law,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “While EPA’s core mission includes securing clean air for all Americans, we can fulfill that mission within well-established legal frameworks, without stretching the bounds of the law or improperly implementing so-called ‘environmental justice’.”
Denka’s LaPlace facility produces neoprene, a synthetic rubber essential for products like orthopedic braces, wetsuits and automotive components. Following a 2017 settlement with the State of Louisiana, Denka invested over $35 million to cut chloroprene emissions by 85 percent. Despite this progress, the Biden Administration sought a preliminary injunction to halt operations, a request effectively denied when the court deferred a hearing on the preliminary injunction to the bench trial.
On Feb. 21, ENRD reinstated enforcement principles which require that complaints be “well founded in existing law,” avoid “regulation by litigation,” and “seek relief authorized by . . . law.” By ending United States v. Denka, the Justice Department and EPA are delivering on President Trump’s promise to dismantle radical DEI programs and restore integrity to federal enforcement efforts.