Dual Purpose Outreach to Enhance Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking

• Date: 01 August 2022
• Author: Chandra T. Taylor-Sawyer

82022 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 52 ELR 10629

COMMENT

In my work at the Southern Environmental Law Cen-

ter (SELC), I often face the question of how to do

everything possible during the policymak ing process

to involve the people who are most harmed by environ-

mental contamination. I have practiced in this area since

2006, and I have learned it helps to take a step back a nd

make sure we are thin king about the problem we want

to x. In this case, we are talking about environmental

injustice and the disproportionate burden of environ-

mental ha rm on people of color and people who do not

have a lot of money. e environmental contamination in

these communities is the symptom of the problem, and

the bigger problem is the legacy of economic and political

disempowerment of communities of color that have per-

sisted for generations.¹ SELC has dedicated a lot of time

to addressing the problem and its symptoms in partner-

ship with community groups that are experiencing envi-

ronmental harm.² We bring with us the entire tool kit of

laws, regulations, and policies that could possibly prevent

or lessen these burdens.

ere are ways in which citizen-driven and govern-

ment-driven eorts toward greater public participation

1. See, e.g., Henry M. Lane et al., Historical Redlining is Associated With Present-

Day Air Pollution Disparities in U.S. Cities, 9 E’. S.  T. L

345, 345 (2022), https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c01012;

Daniel Cusick, Past Racist “Redlining” Practices Increased Climate Burden

on Minority Neighborhoods, EE N (Jan. 21, 2020), https://www.sci

enticamerican.com/article/past-racist-redlining-practices-increased-cli-

mate-burden-on-minority-neighborhoods/; V. L. S E’ J

C  ., F D  D: E R

U COVID-19 (2021), https://www.vermontlaw.edu/sites/default/

les/2021-08/Federal-Dereliction-of-Duty-Full-Report.pdf.

2. Environmental Justice: Troubling the Water, S. E’ L. C, https://www.

southernenvironment.org/topic/environmental-justice-troubling-the-water/

(last visited May 25, 2022).

can help work on the symptoms. For example, SELC

worked with a partner group and community against a

pipeline, in an eort to protect the community’s aqui-

fer, as well as the use and enjoyment of their historic and

predominantly African-American neighborhoods.³ is

49-mile crude oil pipeline, called the Byhalia Pipeline,

could have contaminated drink ing water for one million

Memphis/Shelby Cou nty residents. e citizen-driven

public participation at the local government level against

this project was led by a very dedicated base of activists

who became environmental advocates because they cared

about their community and were opposed to this proj-

ect—vigorous citizen-driven public participation can be

expected more when there is a specic project with known

threats aecting a particula r place.

However, we also need to look at the bigger picture—

the problem of economic and political disempowerment

rooted in a long history of segregation of communities of

color and how government-driven eorts for enhanced

public participation can be better implemented. To do

this, we have looked to the guidance a nd executive orders

that outline how the federal government is addressing thes e

issues. For example, Executive Order No. 12898 is focused

on the fair treatment and meaning ful involvement of com-

munities of color and low-wealth communities. e mean-

ingful involvement part is so hard to achieve—or it seems

3. Victory for Southwest Memphis: Byhalia Pipeline Is Done, S. E’ L. C.

(July 2, 2021), https://www.southernenvironment.org/news/victory-for-

southwest-memphis-byhalia-pipeline-is-done/.

4. Hydrogeologic Report Warns of Pipeline reats to Memphis Drinking Water

Source, S. E’ L. C. (Feb. 24, 2021) (citing Douglas Cosler, Evalua-

tion of the Risk of Contamination of the Memphis Sand Aquifer by the

Proposed Byhalia Connection Pipeline (Feb. 1, 2021)), https://www.south-

ernenvironment.org/news/hydrogeologic-report-warns-of-pipeline-threats-

to-memphis-drinking-water-source/.

5. See S  P, https://www.memphiscap.org/home (last visited

May 25, 2022); P O A, https://www.protectouraquifer.

org/ (last visited May 25, 2022).

6. See Shannon Roesler, Racial Segregation and Environmental Justice, 51

ELR 10773, 10773 (Sept. 2021), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.

cfm?abstract_id=3929124.

7. Exec. Order No. 12898, 3 C.F.R. §859 (1995).

DUAL-PURPOSE OUTREACH TO

ENHANCE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN

ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONMAKING

by Chandra T. Taylor-Sawyer

Chandra T. Taylor-Sawyer is Senior Attorney and Environmental Justice

Initiative Leader at the Southern Environmental Law Center

Editors’ Note: Chandra Taylor-Sawyer’s Comment is based

on an edited transcription of her remarks at the Environmental

Law and Policy Annual Review conference. See 2021-2022

Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review Conference,

available at https://www.eli.org/environmental-law-poli-

cy-annual-review/2021-2022-ELPAR-conference.

Copyright © 2022 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.