A coalition of six grassroots environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against a 2024 Louisiana law suppressing community-based air monitoring in the state. 

The lawsuit calls the law an “industry-friendly ban” that bars groups from using their own independent air monitoring systems to inform residents in “fenceline” communities about potential health risks. 

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“Our legislature and officials should do everything in their power to stop industry from polluting our air in the first place,” Joy Banner, cofounder of The Descendants Project and one of the six plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said. “To attack our First Amendment rights instead is arcane, illegal, and dangerous.”

The coalition argues that Louisiana’s air monitoring law suppresses evidence from low-cost air quality monitoring equipment by barring using their data to identify air quality violations.

The law imposes penalties of up to $32,500 a day, plus $1 million for intentional violations. The plaintiffs argue this violates their right to free speech.

“These restrictions silence free speech, infringe on [groups’] right to petition, and undermine federal laws and policies designed to improve air quality through greater deployment of air sensors and other means,” the lawsuit reads.

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Louisiana is one of the most industrialized states in the country. It has 476 major air pollution sources, including petroleum, chemicals, plastics, and sugar facilities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

The state is also home to “Cancer Alley,” an 85-mile stretch of communities along the banks of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. These communities are surrounded by around 200 fossil fuel and petrochemical operations and face an elevated risk of serious health problems