September 23, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released its
Environmental Justice: Examining the Environmental Protection Agency Compliance and Enforcement of Title VI and E.O. 12,898,
which found that the Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Final Coal Ash Rule disproportionately impacts low-income and
communities of color and places the burden of enforcement on these
communities.
The Commission’s findings support Rep. Hank Johnson’s bill, the
Coal Ash Landfill Safety Act of 2016 (CALSA),
H.R. 4827. CALSA would protect citizens from dangerous coal ash being
disposed in municipal landfills, which are not equipped to handle
the toxic substance, and requires the EPA to re-examine its rules to
determine if such criteria are as protective of health and the
environment. The report found the “EPA did not fully consider the civil
rights impacts in approving movement and storage of
the coal ash” despite the agency finding “the percentage of minorities
and low income individuals living within the … area of coal ash disposal
facilities is disproportionately high.”
Rep. Johnson (GA-04) released the following statement on the report:
“The Commission’s
findings once again bring attention to the critical environmental
justice concerns that plague low-income, tribal, and minority
communities,” said Johnson. “These communities are disproportionately
affected by the location of waste disposal facilities that take in
toxic materials, such as coal ash, and lack the resources to prevent
dumping near their schools, homes, and neighborhoods. The burden of our
environmental regulations should not fall on those
who are at the greatest risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals. As we
have seen in Georgia, Flint, Michigan and in the Dakotas, we must act
now to prevent corporate polluters from further poisoning our lands and
water supply.”
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