19642014 Environmental Justice Timeline and Milestones

of persistent chemicals to northern Indigenous peoples and a call for

the phase of these chemicals as a necessary measure to protect health
and cultural survival: Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Arctic: A
Report for the Delegates of the 4th Conference of the Parties Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (www.akaction.org).

In May, the National Academy of Public Administrators published an

independent evaluation of the Community Action for a Renewed
Environment (CARE) demonstration program. The CARE model
provides a solid and tested framework for engaging communities and
other stakeholders. The CARE model involves decades of thought and
effort by EPAs career staff, especially those working in environmentally
overburdened and economically disadvantaged communities.
In May 2009, several environmental justice organizations in Detroit filed a
lawsuit challenging the Federal Highway Administrations (FHWA) record
of decision (ROD) concerning the proposed construction of a new

On May 2, 2009, GreenLaw

and Georgia Appleseed, with
the help of Liberty County
resident Meredith Devendorf,
organized a legal seminar to
address the complex issues
facing African-American
heirs to property in coastal
Georgia. Dubbed a Peoples
Law School, this seminar
familiarized landowners
with basic property law and
addressed pressing concerns
such as estate planning, title,
heirs property, community
preservation, zoning, and
legal protection from nuisances
including facility-siting and
neighboring polluters.

66 Environmental Justice

international bridge known as the Detroit River International Crossing,

connecting Detroit, Michigan with Windsor, Ontario. The lawsuit
alleged that the ROD violated NEPA by not properly accounting for
environmental justice because the community where the bridge was
to be located was an economically depressed and minority community.
Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development v. Federal
Highway Administration, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48452 (E.D. Mich. April
5, 2012).
In May, President Barack Obama proposed allotting $1.25 billion in the
fical year 2010 budget to settle discrimination lawsuits by thousands
of black farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nearly $1
billion in damages were paid out on almost 16,000 claims, but nearly
75,000 additional black farmers filed their claims after the deadline.
On May 2, 2009, GreenLaw and Georgia Appleseed, with the help of Liberty
County resident Meredith Devendorf, organized a legal seminar to address
the complex issues facing African-American heirs to property in coastal
Georgia. Dubbed a Peoples Law School, this seminar familiarized
landowners with basic property law and addressed pressing concerns
such as estate planning, title, heirs property, community preservation,
zoning, and legal protection from nuisances including facility-siting and
neighboring polluters. Knowing their rights and responsibilities will
enable the descendants of slaves who were granted land by General
Shermans 1865 Field Order, to defend their property in the face of the

19642014 Environmental Justice Timeline and Milestones

justice, air pollution and asthma, and skills related to fundraising and
communications.
Governor Lincoln Chafee signs into law legislation banning the siting of

schools in Rhode Island on contaminated sites where there is an ongoing

potential for toxic vapors to enter into school buildings, and establishing
a public review process for using other contaminated sites formerly
used for industrial or landfill purposes. The law was developed by a
court-ordered stakeholder group arising out of the Hartford Park Tenant
Association v. Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
lawsuit decided in the plaintiffs favor in 2005.
On February 27, 2012, the Obama Administration announces that federal

agencies are finalizing strategies for incorporating environmental justice into

their operations (i.e., Federal Transit Administration, Labor Department,

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

USDA releases its environmental justice strategic plan and provides an overall

April 18, 2012, EPAs Office

of Environmental Justice
launched its Environmental
Justice in Action blog. The
blog is a resource for
educating, communicating and
engaging with government
employees, external
stakeholders and the broader
public about the actions and
ideas that stakeholders are
using to advance the mission
of environmental justice.

direction for continued integration of environmental justice at the

department in February 2012.The goals were developed with the input
of the USDA Environmental Justice Working Group, comprised of key
staff and leadership from each of the departments mission areas.
Two nonprofit environmental groups filed a complaint in intervention
in United States v. City of Baton Rouge, 01-CV-978 (M.D. Tenn.), alleging
that EPA has failed to prosecute the lawsuit diligently and otherwise
failed to enforce a consent decree entered into by the parties in 2002
concerning Clean Water Act violations at a wastewater treatment plant
in Baton Rouge.
On March 20, 2012, GreenLaw informs the Georgia Public Service
Commission that Georgia Power is not going far enough by retiring two
aging coal-fired units at Plant Branch near Milledgeville. Based on Georgia
Powers own analysis, additional pollution controls that are required to
meet public health standards would render the operation of these units
uneconomical.
April 2012, Maryland Legislature passes HB 644, authorizing Maryland
Department of the Environment to administer the EPA Renovate, Repair
and Paint rule and require lead dust testing after renovations on pre1978 homes.
On April 4, 2012, the Southern California Association of Governments

76 Environmental Justice

The Law of Environmental Justice (Detail Updates)

9/29/14, 6:39 PM

motion for interlocutory appeal. Padres Hacia Una Vida Mejor v. Jackson, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49047
(E.D. Cal. April 6, 2012).

District Court Held that Government Agency Must Take Steps to

Ensure Complete Administrative Record in Case Concerning Bridge
Located in EJ Community
1

Several environmental justice organizations in Detroit filed a lawsuit in May 2009 challenging the Federal
Highway Administrations (FHWA) record of decision (ROD) concerning the proposed construction of a new
international bridge known as the Detroit River International Crossing, connecting Detroit, Michigan with
Windsor, Ontario. The lawsuit alleged that the ROD violated NEPA by not properly accounting for
environmental justice because the community where the bridge was to be located was an economically
depressed and minority community. After filing the action, the plaintiffs filed a motion seeking discovery to
determine whether the administrative record was complete. In an April 5, 2012 decision, the district court
held that it was unable to evaluate the adequacy of the FHWA administrative record, and ordered FHWA to
take additional steps in order to enable the court to assess the completeness of the record. Latin Americans
for Social and Economic Development v. Federal Highway Administration, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48452
(E.D. Mich. April 5, 2012).
2

Environmental Groups Seek to Intervene in Lawsuit, Alleging that

EPA Failed to Enforce Consent Order at Wastewater Treatment
Plant
On March 4, 2012, two nonprofit environmental groups filed a complaint in intervention in United States v.
City of Baton Rouge, 01-CV-978 (M.D. Tenn.), alleging that EPA has failed to prosecute the lawsuit diligently
and otherwise failed to enforce a consent decree entered into by the parties in 2002 concerning Clean Water
Act violations at a wastewater treatment plant in Baton Rouge. According to the complaint, the plants
continued violations under the CWA impose offensive odors, sewer flies, and unsanitary conditions on nearby
minority residents, violating those residents human rights and creating an environmental injustice. The
groups are being represented by the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic. The complaint in intervention is
available at http://www.tulane.edu/~telc/assets/pdfs/3-4-12_BR_POTW_.5th_Cir.pdf.

Obama Administration Announced that Federal Agencies are

Finalizing Strategies for Incorporating Environmental Justice into
their Operations
On February 27, 2012, the Obama Administration announced that federal agencies are finalizing strategies
for incorporating environmental justice into their operations. For example, the announcement mentioned
that the Federal Transit Administration will help grant recipients determine if minority or low-income areas
will be affected by transit projects, and the Labor Department is translating educational materials into
Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese, so workers can avoid environmental hazards. The Veterans Affairs
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/environment_energy_resources/publications/books_related_products/ejupdates/ejweb.html

Page 2 of 103