In an important decision that helps
define the reach of the Environmental Justice initiatives of the Federal Government, a
United States District Court in New Jersey issued a preliminary injunction against a
steel by-product processing facility, finding that the applicable rules for determining
whether a major new source permit could issue under the Clean Air Act do not necessarily
go far enough to satisfy the Civil Rights Act. In
South Camden Citizens in
Action v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, No. 01-702 (D.N.J.
Apr. 19, 2001), Judge Stephen Orlofsky found that the Plaintiffs, who were mostly
residents of the neighborhood where the facility was to operate, had established that
there were indirect impacts of the facility, including motor vehicle exhaust, that would
adversely impact public health and that the neighborhood already suffered from a higher
disease rate than the general population. The
neighborhood is made up predominately of Afro-American and Hispanic residents. Even though the ambient air quality and other
technical criteria applied by the State of New Jersey in issuing the permit were
“neutral”, the USEPA and state environmental justice rules and policies prohibit
official actions that have the effect of discriminating against individuals based on race,
color, or national origin. Given the showing
in Court and the comments of record in the State permit proceeding demonstrating
significant disparate and adverse impact of the proposed facility based on color or
national origin, the Court found the Plaintiffs to have sustained the burden required to
obtain a preliminary injunction.