Brief History of Environmental Justice

The spark that lit the fire for the Environmental Justice/Equity Movement had its beginnings in a small, low-income, predominately African-American community in the South. And while there had always been an awareness of the disproportionate burden borne by minorities and low-income communities, events did not give rise to a "movement" until 1982 in Warren County, North Carolina.

A landfill was created on those lands, to be used for the disposal of PCB contaminated soil, removed from 14 colonies throughout the state. Many civil and states-rights activists collaborated to stage numerous demonstrations, which resulted not only in the arrest of more than 500 people, but in the creation of a rallying point for those eager to focus on the prejudiced usage of community lands.

At the request of congressman Walter Fauntroy, the US General Accounting Office conducted a study of eight southern states to determine the correlation between the location of hazardous waste landfills and the racial and economic status of the surrounding communities. The disheartening results showed obvious bias in the placement of the landfills: three out of every four landfills were located near predominantly minority communities.

Another milestone commission on racial justice showed that race was in fact the most significant factor in determining the siting of hazardous waste facilities. This study found that three out of every five African-Americans and Hispanics live in a community housing unregulated toxic waste sites. The commission also noted that African-Americans were heavily over represented in areas with the greatest number of toxic waste sites. While race plays a great part in determining the location of hazardous waste landfills, economic status is also important. Often, poor communities are intentionally chosen to house such sites. Why? There is no expectation of resistance from community residents and/or leaders, as there simply may not be enough money to fuel confrontations. Thus the degradation of environmental justice continues.

Closely following this commission was a study by the National Law Journal. It found that the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) took 20% longer to cite abandoned sites in minority communities as a priority, as compared to the time it took the EPA to prioritize sites in white communities. It also noted that polluters of such communities paid fines 54% lower than polluters of white communities.

However, actions have been taken to right these unjust wrongs. The EPA maintains that it has made environmental justice a priority. The administration has "documented its concern over this issue through issuing Executive Order 12898 Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low Income Populations (February 11, 1994.)" This order "requires that federal agencies make achieving environmental justice part of their mission." The EPA created an office of environmental justice in 1992, commissioned a task force to address environmental issues, and is making progress towards a more equal environmental community. Finding its roots in Warren County, North Carolina, environmental justice is quickly becoming a global concern.

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