Land Use And Environmental Racism

Lawyers for a New Jersey citizen's group raised the issue of "environmental racism" when it asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to close a cement plant located in a mostly African-American and Latino neighborhood. The group's lawyers are arguing that the New JerseyDepartment of Environmental Protection was wrong to allow the plant to open before conducting a "disparate-impact" analysis to determine if the facility would affect minorities more than whites. The group says that the plant is imposing an unfair pollution burden on a poor, minority neighborhood. The case is being watched closely nationwide as it could have a profound effect on citizen-filed, civil-rights lawsuits.

Thanks to California Policy Forum