By Holly Westerfield

Muncie, IN - During this year’s trade shows, there was a lot of talk about environmental justice. The EPA defines this as “…the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

“We will be driven by our conviction that every person has the right to clean air, clean water, and a healthier life—no matter how much money they have in their pocket, the color of their skin, or what community they live in.”

-EPA Administrator Michael Regan

This means that all people, regardless of race or income, should have equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. All Americans deserve the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards. This is being emphasized because there are communities across the country that have been having problems and concerns for generations, only to be overlooked and ignored. Recent studies, such as the ones discussed in this article from Scientific American, show that this problem is particularly bad in formerly “redlined” communities.

The term redlining describes a discriminatory practice from the mid-20th century where banks and real estate agents would direct Black home buyers to buy properties in certain neighborhoods. This essentially had the same effect as Jim Crow laws as this practice kept neighborhoods racially segregated. Redlining was made illegal by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, but the ramifications of this practice are still affecting millions of Americans today. Not only are these conditions causing health complications like higher rates of asthma, but recent studies show that redlined districts are physically warmer than other neighborhoods which makes heat waves deadlier in these communities. As Professor Robert Bullard, often described as the father of environmental justice, once said, “Whether by conscious design or institutional neglect, communities of color in urban ghettos, in rural 'poverty pockets,’ or on economically impoverished Native-American reservations face some of the worst environmental devastation in the nation."

One clear example of this phenomenon occurred in Miami, Florida. In the early 1920s, the still heavily segregated city of Miami built a new trash incinerator in the district now known as Coconut Grove. The facility was built less than a quarter of a mile from where the black K-12 school, George Washington Carver School, had stood for almost 30 years. The predominately poor Black residents of the area called it “Old Smokey” and quickly realized that it was dangerous to their health. For nearly 50 years, the incinerator belched out toxic ash and rained down hot embers, which repeatedly lit neighboring wood-frame houses on fire. Despite the numerous and repeated complaints about the effects of the incinerator, Old Smokey was not closed down until 1970. The desegregation of the formerly blacks-only George Washington Carver School is widely considered to be a major catalyst for the incinerator’s closure. However, officially the incinerator was shut down in response to the second lawsuit from the neighboring affluent city of Coral Grove, which argued the pollution was negatively influencing their lives several miles downwind.

The incinerator was torn down in 1974 and left vacant for a decade before it eventually became the Miami Fire Department Fire College.  But the story doesn’t end there. In 2011, an environmental assessment revealed that the soil contained unsafe levels of carcinogens and heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, and barium. These toxic chemicals were found in the soil in surrounding properties as well, including a public park, a children’s community center, and the school. But residents didn’t learn about these results for another two years when an environmental law professor at a local college was tipped off to the report. To this day, residents remain worried about the lingering effects of Old Smokey.

In response to inequality such as this, the Office of Environmental Justice was formed in 1992. Since then, the OEJ has been coordinating efforts within the EPA to decrease the negative environmental impacts that overburdened communities face. They do this by providing grants that will help fund infrastructure projects that improve public health and environmental protection. They also talk directly to underserved residents who have suffered and bring their perspective back to policymakers, as EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan did in 2021 with the Journey to Justice tour. They also provide technical assistance and training to struggling communities, fund research to help improve urban water quality, and help build more sustainable futures for communities through workforce development and job training.

The impact of the OEJ can be found in our industry as well, in the Brownfields Grants provided by the EPA.