Environmental justice embodies a goal of achieving healthy, sustainable communities for all people. As part of this goal, environmental justice calls for equal protection for all people under the nation’s environmental laws.
In light of these aims, a significant focus of environmental justice efforts have been the activities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the central governmental office in the U.S. charged with protecting public health and the environment. While there are numerous public institutions whose activities bear directly on issues of environmental justice, EPA has jurisdiction over many of the core issues, especially the prevention and control of industrial pollution,...
