Winton Hills, Winton Place and Spring Grove are all neighborhoods in Ohio that are surrounded by more than 50 polluting industrial facilities, and is commonly referred to as a “toxic donut” by residents. There are some important pieces of presenting data that establishes these concerns as issues of environmental justice. The neighborhoods that these industries are built in are those that have considerably low income and have a population made up of racial minorities, with African Americans making up 74 percent of this area. The average income for this area is $21,651 while the average for the state is $44,480. Thus those who live within this area make less than 50% of what the average income is per family in the state of Ohio.
Last year the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency made an announcement of a settlement with Cognis Corporation and Cognis Oleochemicals pertaining to violations in air pollutions are their Winton Place facility. The fine that for this violation was $290,000 and a $20,000 pollution prevention study. In addition, the company will begin testing air pollution equipment in the presence of government officials to ensure compliance. Citizens of Winton Hills, Winton Place and Spring Grove have a “bittersweet” success because the company has not been ordered to implement any new environmental safety practices for the future. They also are unsure if the monies recouped by the state are going to be applied to mediate the environmental damage to their neighborhoods.
Members of the group – Ohioans for Health, Environment and Justice (OHEJ) have requested that further access be granted to environmental information and that there be implementation of environmental justice in poor and minority neighborhoods. OHEJ has voiced concern that there is a current concentration of pollution in poor neighborhoods with minorities. As a result of this disparity, OHEJ is in the process of requesting that policies be implemented that coincide with environmental justice. They state, that “writing a state policy that’s in sync with federal and local standards is essential to ensure consistent application and enforcement”. The group is planning on having 3 forums in March in order to gather ideas and input from the community for an Ohio environmental justice policy. After this step is taken, they will hold field hearings where they will request the attendance of legislators and agencies to hear the voices of individuals who live within these communities.
David Crowley, the Councilman of Cincinnati has been working diligently with leaders in the community to draft a policy for environmental justice for Cincinnati; he has criticized the EPA for not enforcing the Executive Order 12898 of President Clinton (1994) which calls for environmental justice. The NAACP has voiced some concern over Councilman Crowley’s proposal, as race was not identified as an identifying characteristic of environmental justice protection. Edith Thrower, the president of the Cinciannati branch of the NAACP stated “It is well documented that America’s communities of color bear a disproportionate share of exposure to hazardous substances due to discriminatory land use, sitting and permit decisions”. Thus, the NAACP is working to make sure that race is also included as an area that requires protection under Crowley’s proposal.
The article pertains to the articles that were utilized in this week’s readings because it identified patterns in environmental justice and the measures that are being undertaken to resolve inconsistencies. Vig and Kraft (2005) discuss the theory of intentional discrimination, and note that “intentional discrimination can motivate the behavior of public or private actors, and these behaviors can affect the location of noxious facilities or the environmental management decisions of existing facilities” (p. 250). The position of the community members in Ohio coincides with this theory, in that they posit that race and class are the primary factors that brought about the high volume of polluting industrial facilities. David Crowley, Councilman of Cincinnati has stated that he believed that the EPA has not fulfilled their role in enforcing E.O. 12898 which gives credence to Vig and Kraft’s (2005) statement of “EPA officials are significantly more likely to approve permits for hazardous waste facilities in neighborhoods with large numbers of minority residents” (p. 251).
The importance of environmental justice can be a broad and extensive issue, which does not solely apply to race and income. Rast (2006) states that “although environmental hazards are a key concern of the environmental justice movement, the movement is broadly inclusive, incorporating health, employment, housing, transportation and educational issues” (p. 253). Thus the breadth of research that will be written on this topic is expansive and will continue to be a topic of interest for some time.
Last year the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency made an announcement of a settlement with Cognis Corporation and Cognis Oleochemicals pertaining to violations in air pollutions are their Winton Place facility. The fine that for this violation was $290,000 and a $20,000 pollution prevention study. In addition, the company will begin testing air pollution equipment in the presence of government officials to ensure compliance. Citizens of Winton Hills, Winton Place and Spring Grove have a “bittersweet” success because the company has not been ordered to implement any new environmental safety practices for the future. They also are unsure if the monies recouped by the state are going to be applied to mediate the environmental damage to their neighborhoods.
Members of the group – Ohioans for Health, Environment and Justice (OHEJ) have requested that further access be granted to environmental information and that there be implementation of environmental justice in poor and minority neighborhoods. OHEJ has voiced concern that there is a current concentration of pollution in poor neighborhoods with minorities. As a result of this disparity, OHEJ is in the process of requesting that policies be implemented that coincide with environmental justice. They state, that “writing a state policy that’s in sync with federal and local standards is essential to ensure consistent application and enforcement”. The group is planning on having 3 forums in March in order to gather ideas and input from the community for an Ohio environmental justice policy. After this step is taken, they will hold field hearings where they will request the attendance of legislators and agencies to hear the voices of individuals who live within these communities.
David Crowley, the Councilman of Cincinnati has been working diligently with leaders in the community to draft a policy for environmental justice for Cincinnati; he has criticized the EPA for not enforcing the Executive Order 12898 of President Clinton (1994) which calls for environmental justice. The NAACP has voiced some concern over Councilman Crowley’s proposal, as race was not identified as an identifying characteristic of environmental justice protection. Edith Thrower, the president of the Cinciannati branch of the NAACP stated “It is well documented that America’s communities of color bear a disproportionate share of exposure to hazardous substances due to discriminatory land use, sitting and permit decisions”. Thus, the NAACP is working to make sure that race is also included as an area that requires protection under Crowley’s proposal.
The article pertains to the articles that were utilized in this week’s readings because it identified patterns in environmental justice and the measures that are being undertaken to resolve inconsistencies. Vig and Kraft (2005) discuss the theory of intentional discrimination, and note that “intentional discrimination can motivate the behavior of public or private actors, and these behaviors can affect the location of noxious facilities or the environmental management decisions of existing facilities” (p. 250). The position of the community members in Ohio coincides with this theory, in that they posit that race and class are the primary factors that brought about the high volume of polluting industrial facilities. David Crowley, Councilman of Cincinnati has stated that he believed that the EPA has not fulfilled their role in enforcing E.O. 12898 which gives credence to Vig and Kraft’s (2005) statement of “EPA officials are significantly more likely to approve permits for hazardous waste facilities in neighborhoods with large numbers of minority residents” (p. 251).
The importance of environmental justice can be a broad and extensive issue, which does not solely apply to race and income. Rast (2006) states that “although environmental hazards are a key concern of the environmental justice movement, the movement is broadly inclusive, incorporating health, employment, housing, transportation and educational issues” (p. 253). Thus the breadth of research that will be written on this topic is expansive and will continue to be a topic of interest for some time.
Article:
Pollution for the Poor: Should environmental health depend on race and income? (Margo Pierce)
Date of article - 2/28/07
Environmental Justice(1) “is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people—regardless of race, ethnicity, income or education level—in environmental decision making. Environmental Justice programs promote the protection of human health and the environment, empowerment via public participation, and the dissemination of relevant information to inform and educate affected communities”.
ReplyDeleteThis is the definition for environmental justice that the Department of Energy is advertising through the promotion of their Environmental Justice programs, which according to the Department “are designed to build and sustain community capacity for meaningful participation for all stakeholders in Department of Energy host communities”.
I can see both in the analysis to this article, and in the definition detailed above, that for true environmental justice to be enforced:
• Good environmental quality and health measures got to be known and wanted to be achieved
• Good public participation and empowerment has to be enforced
• Good protection of human life, and its quality has to be enforced
• Meaningful participation of ALL stakeholders is to be hosted
In fact, all that we have studied before seems to be tied to good environmenmtal justice and stewardship.
Reference:
(1) http://www.lm.doe.gov/env_justice/definition.htm
Minority or low-income neighborhoods that are at risk because of toxins were the majority of environmental justice issues that I found. It was interesting to see that many of the articles mentioned that the Industirs were there first and the neighborhood came second, so the industries were "not at fault". Yet, the presence of the industrial sites were extremely related to the depressed residential property values, that subsequently attract low-income residents.
ReplyDeleteI agree that “writing a state policy that’s in sync with federal and local standards is essential to ensure consistent application and enforcement”. Pollution control is a must. Even though expensive, most industrial plants have the ability to reduce toxic emissions. States should be more proactive at achieving these reductions.
Good Job
I'm beating this civil rights issue to death, but I figure that the NAACP would be all over the skewed proportions of African Americans that live in neighborhoods with facilities of interest.
ReplyDeleteBased on the readings, the burden of proof seems more surmountable in court, and nobody focuses on that.
If I'm wrong, somebody tell me so.
I think you did a great job of highlighting the discriminatory practice in play here and noting that EPA has not fulfilled their role in enforcing E.O. 12898. As the readings pointed out intentional discrimination is very difficult to prove. However, this area clearly has a disproportionally high frequency of pollution emitting facilities that coincides with a minority population. This really is a textbook example of environmental discrimination. But, can it be entirely laid at the feet of the EPA? What is Ohio’s responsibility in all of this?
ReplyDeleteGreat article Christiana! It is amazing to think that this sort of thing happens so often in the U.S. As Shaun mentioned, it is difficult to prove intentional discrimination, but the facts are screaming otherwise. I'm just glad that some companies are being punished for their irresponsible actions.
ReplyDelete