The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines environmental justice 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.” According to the EPA, environmental justice can be achieved when all communities have the same level of protection from environmental and public health hazards and can take part in equitable decision-making processes.
The environmental justice movement emerged during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as communities of color sought to address environmental inequities and public health hazards. For example, during the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike, sanitation workers advocated for better working conditions and fair pay. In 1979, Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management, Inc. was the first lawsuit in the United States that charged environmental discrimination in waste facility siting under civil rights laws, opening the doors for future environmental justice cases. In the mid-1980s, following the protest of a hazardous waste landfill in Warren County, N.C., the General Accounting Office published a study titled “Siting of Hazardous Waste Landfills and Their Correlation with Racial and Economic Status of Surrounding Communities,” which found that three out of four hazardous waste landfills examined were located in primarily low-income communities of color.
Decades later, environmental hazards continue to disproportionately impact minority and low-income communities, including the increased proximity and exposure to hazardous waste facilities and other industrial facilities that contribute to pollution. Given the growing awareness of these impacts, state legislatures and the federal government have been taking steps to identify impacted communities, measure long-term health impacts, evaluate the siting of future industrial projects, and ensure that all communities have equal access to a healthy environment.