HJBR Jan/Feb 2020

Fort Randolph and Buhlow State Park administrator at the agency for over 20 years, told ProPublica that he could not recall a single permit ever being denied by the agency. But he added that the DEQ sometimes approves pro- jects with a lower cap on emissions than com- panies request. Pictured right Figure 3, is Formosa, a $9.4 billion industrial plastics complex that, once permitted, is expected to open in St. James Par- ish by 2022. It will consist of 16 facilities and is expected to double emissions in the parish. ProPublica hired an expert to calculate what the estimated air toxicity levels from can- cer-causing chemicals would look like once Formosa is up and running, using the expected emissions from the company’s permit applica- tion and the same model used by the DEQ to calculate chemical concentrations. Here’s what the result looks like. (Illustration 4) Formosa spokesperson Janile Parks said that the company’s air modeling results complied with the state’s standards. However, Louisiana’s air standards are far less stringent than those in other states. Illustration 3 Illustration 4