CBA Record July-August 2021

cases, permit applications can serve as early warnings to neighborhoods that a permit could be issued indicating poten- tial pollutants want to move into the area. FOIA requests are also an option for concerned communities. Illinois EPA may send out notification letters to clients and attorneys notifying them of newly filed permit applications – another early warning system to allow maximum time for affected parties to prepare to challenge the granting of a permit. From an enforcement perspective, agencies are starting to look to “next gen- eration compliance,” which focuses on decreasing the high cost of enforcement and increasing measures to address and remediate the disparate impact of environ- mental injustice in redlined communities. Another remediation measure proposes that fines paid to the agencies for EPA vio- lations by polluting facilities be re-directed

What Is Environmental Justice? Environmental justice is 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, regu- lations, andpolicies, because no community shouldbear disproportionate risks of harmbecause of their demographic characteristics or economic condition. What is Redlining? In the United States and Canada, redlining is the systematic denial of various services to residents of specific, often racially associated, neighborhoods or communities, either explicitly or through the selective raising of prices. While the best examples of redlining have involveddenial of financial services such as banking or insurance, other services such as health care or even supermarkets have been denied to residents.

for reinvestment into the communities that suffered the harm. Some states, such as New Jersey, have proposed legislation to ensure a cumulative impact analysis of

environmental injustice over time, rather than case-by-case related to specific viola- tions.

View the on demand version of Environmental Justice: Its Impact on Local Underserved Communities at learn.chicagobar.org (2 IL MCLE Credit).

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