EPA Must Be an Active Agent of Change

• Author: Martin A. McCrory
• Position: Associate Professor Indiana University
• Pages: 37-37

MAY/JUNE 2021 | 37

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, May/June 2021.

Copyright © 2021, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

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EPA Must Be an Active Agent of Change

Fredrick Douglass said that

-

ment, but continues to main-

tain a dreadful system begun in

avarice, supported in pride, and

perpetuated in cruelty. The sub-

ordination and oppression of the

non-elite and non-entitled is now

reaching crisis level.

For decades we have known

that there is a direct correlation

between race, income, socioeco-

nomic status, and the amount

of environmental degradation

people are forced to endure. Flint,

Michigan, and Franklin, Indiana, are

prime examples of how racism and

classism create a persistent, inter-

generational pattern of differentia-

tion in relation to risks and harms.

Whether intentionally or not, EPA

and the regulatory elites have pro-

mulgated so-called “neutral rules”

that perpetuate an ever-growing

environmental caste system.

Black Lives Matter and Stop

AAPI Hate typify the call for a sys-

tem of governance that does not

default to the template that has for

decades oppressed and subordinat-

ed rural communities, poor com-

munities, and communities of color.

EPA must stop being a knowing or

unknowing participant in regulatory

oppression and become an active

agent of change. This type of equi-

table social change is only possible

when all people are seen as impor-

tant and all “the important people”

are seated at the regulatory table.

To accomplish this, the Biden

EPA must go beyond working pri-

marily with states and localities to

working directly with the disenfran-

chised. It must come in as a mindful

collaborator, building the power

of non-elites. Active engagement

would be a step toward ending the

hegemonic power exercised by

governmental regulators over his-

torically subordinated people.

One example of where such a

partnership between EPA and the

traditionally disenfranchised should

be leveraged is in addressing the

recent Clean Water Act regulatory

changes relative to the statute’s

protection of Waters of the United

States. Our country contains forty

million acres of lakes, ponds, and

reservoirs; over two million miles

of rivers and streams; one hun-

dred million acres of wetlands;

and twenty to thirty times more

groundwater than all of these sur-

face waters combined. After last

year’s WOTUS changes, many of

these miles and acres are no longer

protected by the CWA — affecting

millions who rely on these sources



and recreation.

As with most environmental

laws, the WOTUS regulations

can have both immediate and

multigenerational effects on com-

munities. EPA must actively bring

in previously excluded peoples in

regulatory negotiations and rule

promulgations. Accordingly, the

agency must build new collabora-

tive alliances based on transcul-

tural and transracial respect and

understanding.

After issuing an executive order

formalizing the principles of inclu-

sion, antiracism, anticlassism, and

antisubordination, President Biden

should direct EPA to evaluate the

new WOTUS regulations with an

eye toward those who are cur-

rently affected by contaminated

water and those who could be

most adversely affected by a less-

ening of CWA protections. Next,

the agency must go to the affected

or potentially affected communi-

ties and let the people speak for

themselves. Therefore, elites, such

as scientists, lawyers, judges, regu-



legislators, academics, etc., cannot

be “the sole or controlling voices”

in this transformative paradigm for

multigenerational socioenviron-

mental change.

WOTUS regulations must incor-

porate the voices, the experiences,

and perspectives of traditionally

eco-marginalized and subordinated

peoples. Enhanced participation

and collaboration will help ensure

the agency’s environmental pro-

tection for all. EPA can create a

new era of equitable, sustainable

and representative environmental

justice for the people who need it

the most. Affected communities

can actively and directly share the

responsibility of environmental

governance and regulatory change.

This is the essence of our democ-

racy; this is the essence of “We the

People.”

“Whether intentionally or not,

EPA and the regulatory elites

have promulgated so-called

‘neutral rules’ that perpetuate

an ever-growing environmental

caste system”

Martin A. McCrory

Associate Professor

Indiana University