Sun 9 May 2021 05.30 EDT
Last modified on Sun 9 May 2021 05.32 EDT
Just south of Oil City, where Louisiana representative Danny McCormick is from, is the predominantly Black city of Shreveport. Residents there breathe some of the most toxic air in the country. Oil refineries owned by UOP and Calumet contribute to the townâs toxic emissions, according to the EPAâs Toxic Release Inventory.
But McCormick, a Republican, introduced a bill at the Louisiana capitol last week that would protect oil companies and not residents in his district who have to breathe in that air. The bill would establish Louisiana as a âfossil fuel sanctuary stateâ and ban local and state employees from enforcing federal laws and regulations that negatively impact petrochemical companies.