Assertion Supported AI assessment confidence: 90% certainty 4/5 debate potential 3/5

Schleifstein: Louisiana DEQ rarely denies permits to industrial companies

Mark Schleifstein · Introducing Discarded: Episode 1, David vs. Goliath · Mar 13, 2023 · at 23:56

Environmental journalist Mark Schleifstein discusses the permitting process and regulatory record of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

0:00 / 0:08exact quote · 8.1s

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“The result of that is that It's rare that companies do not get the permits that they need.”

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The claim, plainly

It is rare for industrial companies to be denied the permits they need by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

Mark Schleifstein's statement that it is rare for industrial companies to be denied necessary permits by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is supported by comprehensive regulatory reviews, legal case histories, and investigative findings. Evaluations by the Environmental Law Institute and a January 2024 report by Human Rights Watch establish that LDEQ routinely facilitates permit approvals through iterative modifications and negotiations rather than issuing denials, treating denial as an extreme last resort. Furthermore, major environmental and administrative litigation in Louisiana overwhelmingly involves third-party community groups challenging permits already granted by LDEQ (such as Formosa Plastics and Commonwealth LNG) rather than industrial operators appealing permit denials, with agency denials remaining exceptional anomalies.

Environmental Law Institute (2007) and regulatory evaluations found LDEQ operates under an administrative posture where permit denials are rare and treated as a measure of last resort.
A January 2024 Human Rights Watch investigation ('We're Dying Here') documented that LDEQ rarely, if ever, denies industrial air and water permit applications.
Historical records of major contested industrial cases (e.g., Formosa Plastics, Commonwealth LNG) show a consistent pattern of LDEQ issuing permit approvals that are subsequently challenged by public/environmental groups, rather than LDEQ denying applications.

Checked against

[1] eli.org [2] nawm.org [3] hrw.org [4] floodlightnews.org [5] afslaw.com [6] all4inc.com [7] liskow.com [8] sunshineprojectla.com

"LDEQ" "denied" OR "denial" permit rate Louisiana OR "approval rate" "Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality" "rarely denies" OR "never denies" OR "denial rate" "Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality" "rarely" "deny" OR "denies" OR "denial" "Department of Environmental Quality" Louisiana "denied" permit statistics "LDEQ" "denied" OR "denies" "permit" "percent" OR "percentage" OR "rate" LDEQ rarely denies permits Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality permit approval rate denial rate "Department of Environmental Quality" Louisiana "permit applications" denied approved

assessed as of 2026-09-02

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Mentioned

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality

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