This decision prohibits the EPA’s Office of External Civil Rights Compliance and the Justice Department from enforcing the provision against any entity in the State of Louisiana.

The ruling came after the EPA announced it was ending an investigation into “Cancer Alley,” a predominantly Black and low-income area with high cancer rates due to petrochemical production.

Environmental advocacy group Earthjustice strongly criticized the decision, stating that it gives industrial polluters in Louisiana a free pass to harm communities, particularly minority groups.

The ruling is significant after the Supreme Court ruled against the so-called Chevron deference, which previously gave federal agencies broader latitude to interpret federal law.