What Is Environmental Justice? | Advisory Board | Staff | History

What Is Environmental Justice?

Environmental Justice is Equal Protection

“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

- 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution

Environmental Justice is Seeking Redress for Grievances

“Congress shall make no law . . . abridging . . . the right of the people . . . to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

- 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution

Environmental Justice is the Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

- United States Declaration of Independence

Definitions of Environmental Justice

Environmental justice can be defined as the crossroads of the civil rights movement and environmental activism. Environmental justice is a grassroots social movement founded on two beliefs:

1. All people have the right to live, work, learn, and play in safe and healthy environments.
2. People have the right to have a say in decisions that affect environmental quality in their communities.

California law defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” [Calif. Gov. Code § 65040.12(c)]

Environmental justice advocates recognize that because of race and class discrimination, and because of the dominant decision-making paradigm based on “risk management” and “risk assessment” only serves to accommodate environmental hazards, communities of color and low-income neighborhoods are the most likely to be harmed by toxic chemicals and negative land uses, and the least likely to benefit from efforts to improve the environment.

To accomplish the goals articulated by environmental justice movement supporters, the definition of environmental justice – and the polices adopted to achieve it – must affirm that:

1. All people have the right to a clean and healthy environment;
2. Pollution prevention (i.e., the elimination of threats before they occur) must be the preferred strategy for dealing with environmental justice issues;
3. Polluters bear the burden of proof in demonstrating the safety of their practices;
4. Communities and agencies must not be required to show or prove “intent” to discriminate to achieve redress for problems of disproportionate environmental impacts; and
5. Targeted actions and resources must be used in communities with the highest concentrations of environmental hazards.

The Need for Environmental Justice

Pollution kills. Pollution causes developmental maladies, learning disabilities, and birth defects in children. It leads to cancer. It causes heart disease. It causes and exacerbates respiratory illnesses. Virtually every new study on the health impacts of pollution shows that government officials have been underestimating the damage caused by toxic chemicals. Environmental justice communities generally bear the greatest pollution exposure burdens and enjoy the fewest benefits when it comes to environmental protection policies.

A Brief History of Environmental Justice

1982 – Warren County, North Carolina

Civil rights leaders and community activists protest the dumping of PCB-contaminated waste in a predominantly African American and low-income community of Warren County, North Carolina. Protesters decry environmental racism.

1983 – U.S. General Accounting Office Study

The U.S. General Accounting Office issues its report, “Siting of Hazardous Waste Landfills and Their Correlation With Racial and Economic Status of Surrounding Communities.” The GAO finds that three out of every four landfills in the Southeast United States are located in communities of color.

1987 – United Church of Christ Commission on Racial Justice Study

The United Church of Christ Commission on Racial Justice issues its study on environmental injustice, “Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States.” The commission found race to be the most significant factor in predicting the location of hazardous waste facilities in the United States. The commission also found that three out of every five African Americans and Hispanics in the United States live near unregulated toxic waste sites.

1990 – Group of Ten Letter

Hundreds of activists write the 10 major national environmental groups (the “Group of Ten”). The activists charge the Group of Ten with failing to recognize environmental racism, a lack of diversity in their organizations, and making policy decisions without including those affected in the process.

1991 – People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit

More than 650 activists gather at the National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. Summit participants adopt the “Principles of Environmental Justice,” which articulate the goals and demands of the environmental justice movement for the first time.

1992 – National Law Journal Study

The National Law Journal publishes the results of its study, “Unequal Protection: The Racial Divide in Environmental Law.” Investigators find that the United States Environmental Protection Agency took 20% longer to place abandoned sites in communities of color on the national priority (“Superfund”) list and that polluters in those neighborhoods paid fines 54% lower than those who pollute in white communities.

1994 – President Clinton Executive Order 12898

President Clinton signs Executive Order 12898, which directs each federal agency to develop an environmental justice strategy for “identifying and addressing . . . disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations.”

1999 – California Senate Bill 115

The California Legislature passes and Governor Gray Davis signs into law a bill by then-Senator Hilda Solis that defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies” and requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to incorporate environmental justice principles into its programs, policies, and standards.

2001 – California Air Resources Board Environmental Justice Policies

The California Air Resources Board adopts a detailed set of environmental justice policies and action items.

2002 – Cal/EPA Advisory Committee on Environmental Justice

The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) hosts the first meeting of its Advisory Committee on Environmental Justice. The advisory committee advises Cal/EPA on the development and implementation of an environmental justice program strategy.

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