Professional Documents
Culture Documents
in Mossville, Louisiana
Samantha Wilkinson
Mossville is a small Louisiana community founded by freed slaves in the 1790s. After
World War II, Louisiana attracted industries by waiving property taxes1 and granting permits to
locate near residential neighborhoods, leaving Mossville with the highest concentration of vinyl
production facilities in the country.2 These factories emit dioxins, which are linked to cancer,
reproductive and developmental problems, and immune and hormonal system damage.3
From 1997 to 1999, government agencies discovered that residents had extremely high
blood dioxin levels and symptoms of toxic industrial pollution4, but failed to identify a source
and denied that exposure had resulted in symptoms, thereby absolving factories of
responsibility. Because of past racism by both industrial polluters in locating in Mossville and
the government for providing them permits to do so5, the predominantly African American
population has been exposed to disproportionate levels of pollution and negative health
impacts. Following decades of government neglect, these residents are now being coercively
2012: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that international energy and chemicals
company Sasol would receive a 10-year exemption to paying property taxes6 and a $115 million
1
Jeannine Cahill-Jackson, Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States: Is a Solution to Environmental Injustice Unfolding? (Pace Intl)
173
2 Revathi Hines The Price of Pollution: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Mossville, Louisiana.
3 Ibid
4 Ibid
5
Ibid
6 "Environmental Justice in Mossville." (PBS)
7
DiCesare, Frank. "Majority of Mossville, Brentwood residents sign up for Sasol buyout offer." (American Press Home)
2013: Sasol initiated the Voluntary Property Purchase Program, which allows residents to sell
their homes to Sasol and relocate. As of 2014, only 62 Mossville residents expected to stay.
2014: Calcasieu Parish Police Jury approved rezoning Mossville to expropriate the properties of
2. PROBLEM DESCRIPTION
Because of vinyl chloride production, Mossville residents continue to suffer the negative health
impacts of high levels of dioxin exposure. In addition, the Sasol Corporation is now displacing
Mossville residents with the financial and political support of the Calcasieu Parish and the
3. KEY ACTORS
Affected Community: Residents of Mossville, most of whom are low-income African Americans.
dump millions of pounds of toxins into the environment, causing negative health impacts.9
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: Failed to connect industrial pollution and
Environmental Protection Agency: Issued permits allowing the hazardous facilities to operate
near and has failed to address the pollution by revoking or modifying the permits to lower the
8 Ibid
9 Revathi Hines, The Price of Pollution 201
10 Jeannine Cahill-Jackson, Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States 182
Sasol: Currently displacing residents and failing to account for residents moving costs in their
purchase program offers and has not addressed health impacts of its pollution on residents.
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury: Approved rezoning of Mossville as heavy industrial land to
expropriate the properties of residents who refused Sasols Property Purchase Program offer.
Mossville residents. MEAN has proposed stricter emission standards and policies and organized
rallies demanding that the state stop the dioxin emissions in Calcasieu parish and address
Advocates for Environmental Human Rights: Legal firm representing Mossville residents. Has
petitioned the Louisiana Attorney General to evaluate legality of Sasol activities in Mossville.
Address the needs of Mossville residents by listening to their grievances regarding the Sasol
land acquisition and enact legislation to address their unfair treatment, meet their relocation
Action Strategies
+Convene legislative committee sessions to hear resident testimony.
+Enact legislation to redress the unfair treatment of Mossville residents during the Sasol land
11
Revathi Hines, The Price of Pollution 201
participants to cover moving costs, childcare, mortgage debt, security deposits, and increased
cost of living.
+Enact corrective legislation to set minimum requirements for industrial land acquisition
funded or authorized by state and local governments, such as requiring approval by 80% of
Obstacles to
Solutions
Implementation
Legislature may be Reach out to larger organizations, such as the Sierra
unwilling to convene or Club, and draw national media attention to the lack
listen of government action to gain leverage over
Committees
12
(Stopping Land Theft in Mossville)
Louisiana Attorney General:
+ Investigate whether Governor Jindal is authorized by federal or state law to execute a
Cooperative Endeavor Agreement on behalf of the State of Louisiana. The agreement fails to
correctly identify Sasol as a foreign corporation, and payment of $115 million in state tax
dollars to foreign corporations for land purchases is against the state constitution.
+ Investigate the Sasol land acquisition to determine whether the Port of Lake Charles is
authorized by federal or state laws to expropriate land at Sasols request. The agreement fails
to correctly identify Sasol as a foreign corporation, and the expropriation of land to foreign
+ Investigate the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury to determine whether its decisions to rezone
properties in Mossville to heavy industrial (1) coerced Mossville residents to accept Sasols
property purchase offers; and (2) constituted an unlawful taking of properties in Mossville in
Advocates for Environmental Human Rights: Evaluate investigations and provide evidence that
Parish decisions were coercive. Inform community members and other movement members of
investigation progress and maintain public pressure to investigate quickly and enforce rulings.
13Stopping Land Theft in Mossville, Louisiana by the SASOL Corporation & Governmental Authorities. Advocates for
Environmental Human Rights.
Bibliography
DiCesare, Frank. "Majority of Mossville, Brentwood residents sign up for Sasol buyout offer."
American Press - Home. January 13, 2014.
Hines, Revathi. The Price of Pollution: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Mossville,
Louisiana. 2015
Murphy, Tim. "This Massive Chemical Plant Is Poised to Wipe Another Louisiana Town off the
Map." Mother Jones. March 27, 2014.
Stopping Land Theft in Mossville, Louisiana by the SASOL Corporation & Governmental
Authorities. Advocates for Environmental Human Rights. December 2014