Presented By: Na’Taki Y. Osborne, MPH National Wildlife Federation

West Atlanta Watershed AllianceSpelman College – Environmental Science &

Studies Program

Environmental Justice: A Tool for Reducing Environmental Health

Threats in Low Income and Communities of Color

What is Environmental Racism?

Environmental Racism

• Encompasses any environmental policy, practice or directive that, intentionally or unintentionally, differentially impacts or disadvantages individuals, groups or communities based on race, color, or ethnicity.

• It also refers to the exclusionary and restrictive practices that limit participation by people of color in decision-making boards, commissions and staff, and other regulating bodies.

Environmental Racism: Themes• Disproportionate share of environmental

exposures

• Unequal protection under the law

• Poor and unhealthy land use decisions & planning

• Exclusion from decision-making process

Environmental InequitiesThemes

• Inequitable distribution of benefits vs. risks and burdens• Discrimination in residential and development patterns• Poor land use practices and facility siting• Transport of hazardous materials through low-income

neighborhoods• Lack of access to planning and decision making• Missing factors in design of impact assessments• Disparities in quality and quantity of services• Disparate access to information

(Bullard, 1998)

Disparate Outcomes: Issues to Consider

• Is the decision making process fair, equitable, and consistent?

• Do the same rules apply to everyone?

• Do decisions have regressive impacts?

• Are some locations favored?

• Who benefits and who pays?

• Who makes the decisions for whom? (Bullard, 1998)

Everybody produces waste, but everybody does not live near waste facilities.

Environmental Justice: A Short History

• 1968: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. travels to Memphis TN is support of striking black sanitation workers

• 1979: Houston TX lawsuit to keep landfill out of suburban black neighborhood

• 1982: Warren County NC struggle against a new PCB landfill

Environmental Justice: A Short History

• Late 80’s: Landmark study/statistical analyses on disproportionate burden of toxic land uses in communities of color – Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States

• 1991: First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit– 17 Principles of EJ createdEPA Office of Environmental Justice and NEJAC Created

• 1994 Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-income Populations

• Follow-up to landmark study released, Toxic Wastes and Race Revisited

• 2002: Second National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit

• 2007 – Toxic Wastes and Race at 25

What Is Environmental Justice?

• Environmental Justice is the fair treatment of people of all races, incomes and cultures with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Fair treatment implies that no person or group of people should shoulder a

disproportionate share of negative environmental impacts as a result of

a country’s domestic or foreign policies.

What is Environmental Justice?According to EJ Activists

• The Environment as People: Environment is where we live, work, play, worship, and learn

• Based on the premise that, “We speak for ourselves.”

• Convergence of civil rights, environmentalism, and public health

• Multicultural and Multi-ethnic• Grassroots• A global struggle• Focused on social justice and pollution prevention

Major Elements of EJ• Equal enforcement of laws for all people• Identifying and eliminating discriminatory practices

and policies• Addressing environmental and health disparities• Pollution prevention and right-to-know• Occupational safety and health• Community empowerment• Citizen involvement in decision making

(Bullard, 1998)

Community Solutions to Environmental Injustices

• Grassroots Community Organizing

• Community-based Participatory Research

• Legislative Initiatives

• Direct Action

• Developing Partnerships

• Leveraging Resources

• Education/Mobilization

Building Partnerships

• Community Empowerment Models

• Grassroots Leadership Development

• Hazard Reduction Plans

• Citizen Monitoring/Citizen Science

• Good Neighbor Agreements

• Technical, Scientific, and Legal Assistance

Local Environmental Justice Case Study: Atlanta, GA

West Atlanta Watershed: Environmental Hazards

• 2 Combined Sewer Overflow Outfall Facilities• Landfills• Wastewater Treatment Plants• Incinerators• CERCLA (Superfund) Hazardous Waste Sites• Diesel Truck Stops• Rail Yards• Rock Quarries• Concrete and Metal Recycling Facilities• Dilapidated Housing• Major Highways• Car Repair/Maintenance Shops

West Atlanta Watershed: High Health Burden

• Asthma and Other Respiratory Illnesses• Lead Poisoning• Cancer• Infant Mortality• Children’s Health Issues• Health is a function of multiple factors

including overall urban ecology and cumulative exposures

The West Atlanta Watershed

A LEGACY OF INJUSTICE: THE ATLANTA SEWER SYSTEM

• Sanitation originally limited to the central business districts and adjacent upper class white neighborhoods

• Waste was dumped in heavily populated neighborhoods and above water reservoirs of the poor

• As the system expanded, it primarily serviced middle and upper class whites

THE PROBLEM WITH ATLANTAS COMBINED

SEWERS.

• An overflow usually occurs during heavy rainfalls

• Pollutants in the overflow can impair water quality of the receiving stream and affect aquatic life

• Pollutants in the overflow can pose human health risks

CSOs AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

CSO 1-Mi. Radius Population % Black % White % Other

Median Income

Clear Creek

9,390 9.1 88.8 3.9 $54,551

Tanyard Branch

11,053 10.4 86.7 5.2 $50,899

North Avenue

5,948 80.5 18.4 2.9 $13,865

Greens-ferry

17,135 99.3 0.3 0.8 $15,718

Utoy Creek – North

12,561 98.2 1.6 0.3 $26,360

CSOs AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS Cont.

CSO 1-Mi. Radius Population % Black % White % Other

Median Income

Utoy Creek – South

14,280 97.8 2.0 0.4 $28,256

McDaniel Street

16,077 93.3 6.3 1.1 $14,045

Custer Avenue

10,864 54.6 33.0 28.0 $25,098

Intrench-ment Creek

5,846 87.5 11.6 36.4 $22,422

5 of 7 areas serviced by combined sewers are predominantly black

communities

A Question of Environmental Racism?

National Environmental Justice Case Study:

New Orleans, LA

Over the Years…New Orleans Communities have been plagued by the

impacts of…

Environmental and health hazards

Water Pollution…

Air Pollution…

Today, the struggle continues…

17 Principles of Environmental Justice

• 1. Environmental justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth, ecological unity and the interdependence of all species, and the right to be free from ecological destruction.

• 2. Environmental justice demands that public policy be based on mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free from any form of discrimination or bias.

• 3. Environmental justice mandates the right to ethical, balanced and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for humans and other living things.

Principles of EJ Continued

• 4. Environmental justice calls for universal protection from nuclear testing, extraction, production and disposal of toxic/hazardous wastes and poisons and nuclear testing that threaten the fundamental right to clean air, land, water, and food.

• 5. Environmental justice affirms the fundamental right to political, economic, cultural and environmental self-determination of all peoples.

• 6. Environmental justice demands the cessation of the production of all toxins, hazardous wastes, and radioactive materials, and that all past and current producers be held strictly accountable to the people for detoxification and the containment at the point of production.

The Principles...• 7. Environmental justice demands the right to participate as

equal partners at every level of decision-making including needs assessment, planning, implementation, enforcement and evaluation.

• 8. Environmental justice affirms the right of all workers to a safe and healthy work environment, without being forced to choose between an unsafe livelihood and unemployment. It also affirms the right of those who work at home to be free from environmental hazards.

• 9. Environmental justice protects the right of victims of environmental injustice to receive full compensation and reparations for damages as well as quality health care.

EJ Principles Continued...• 10. Environmental justice considers governmental acts of

environmental injustice a violation of international law, the Universal Declaration On Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on Genocide.

• 11. Environmental justice must recognize a special legal and natural relationship of Native Peoples to the U.S. government through treaties, agreements, compacts, and covenants affirming sovereignty and self-determination.

• 12. Environmental justice affirms the need for urban and rural ecological policies to clean up and rebuild our cities and rural areas in balance with nature, honoring the cultural integrity of all our communities, and providing fair access for all to the full range of resources.

17 Principles of EJ Cont...• 13. Environmental justice calls for the strict enforcement of

principles of informed consent, and a halt to the testing of experimental reproductive and medical procedures and vaccinations on people of color.

• 14. Environmental justice opposes the destructive operations of multi-national corporations.

• 15. Environmental justice opposes military occupation, repression and exploitation of lands, peoples and cultures, and other life forms.

EJ Principles...• 16. Environmental justice calls for the education of present

and future generations which emphasizes social and environmental issues, based on our experience and an appreciation of our diverse cultural perspectives.

• 17. Environmental justice requires that we, as individuals, make personal and consumer choices to consume as little of Mother Earth's resources and to produce as little waste as possible; and make the conscious decision to challenge and reprioritize our lifestyles to insure the health of the natural world for present and future generations.

Adopted today, October 27, 1991, in Washington, D.C.