Current:Home > ScamsRepublican AGs attack Biden’s EPA for pursuing environmental discrimination cases -CapitalCourse
Republican AGs attack Biden’s EPA for pursuing environmental discrimination cases
View
Date:2025-04-12 00:02:21
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Republican attorneys general attacked the Biden administration’s stated goal of pursuing environmental justice, calling it a form of “racial engineering.‘’
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and 22 other GOP officials asked the EPA Tuesday to stop using civil rights laws to investigate actions and policies that result in harm to Black people or other minority groups — even unintentionally — more than white residents.
“The EPA should be focusing on enforcing the environmental laws passed by Congress, not so called ‘environmental justice,’ which is a euphemism for Biden’s extreme agenda,‘’ Moody said. Their petition demands that the EPA change decades-old rules, though the civil rights law could still be used where discrimination was intentional.
The petition is unlikely to convince the Biden administration to back away from an issue EPA Administrator Michael Regan has taken pains to highlight. Regan, for example, went on a “Journey to Justice” tour to places like the industrial stretch of Louisiana typically called Cancer Alley to show how majority-Black communities living near polluters were being hurt. To address such harms, the EPA has turned in part to a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 called Title VI to open investigations and pressure states to make changes.
The petition in an election year is the latest in Republicans’ expanding fight against federal policies aimed at addressing historic racial discrimination and they believe courts are on their side. They cited the recent Supreme Court decision that eliminated affirmative action in college admissions, arguing it shows the court is wary of race-conscious federal policies.
“Because the EPA’s regulations prohibit any action that results in racial disparities, a funding recipient must set demographic targets for their projects to maintain compliance,” the attorneys general wrote. “This kind of allocation based on group membership is a constitutional nonstarter.”
The Florida attorney general’s office, which took the lead on the petition, said the states would sue if the EPA does not amend its rules.
EPA declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation around the issue.
Title VI aims to prevent discrimination in programs that receive federal funds. The agency can investigate allegations of discrimination, publish their findings and pressure states and local governments to agree to change policies. The federal government can yank funding if they find a Title VI violation.
Debbie Chizewer, managing attorney in the Midwest office at the environmental group Earthjustice, said Title VI is part of the country’s historic fight against discrimination and is still a critical tool. Elected officials across the county permitted numerous polluting factories, chemical plants and refineries near minority communities that now are burdened with the effects, including poorer health, lower property values and economic blight.
“I think it is a perversion of our civil rights laws to say otherwise, to say that you can’t account for these past harms by creating policies that protect communities that are disproportionately harmed,” she said.
Previously, Title VI has been a relatively weak environmental weapon, rarely resulting in significant changes to environmental policy. Under the Biden administration, however, environmental and civil rights groups were hopeful it could be used to do more.
Those groups asked the EPA to investigate Louisiana’s regulation of air pollution, arguing that it disproportionately hurt majority-Black communities near heavy industry. They highlighted the Denka Performance Elastomer plant that makes synthetic rubber and emits harmful chloroprene. It’s located a half-mile from an elementary school. The agency agreed to investigate and released initial findings saying there was evidence of discrimination.
But before the state agreed to any changes, the EPA dropped its investigation. The end came soon after Louisiana sued the agency, arguing that focusing on policies that may harm one group more than another but weren’t intentionally discriminatory went too far.
That lawsuit has so far seen success. In January, a federal judge in Louisiana put a temporary halt on the EPA’s power to investigate discrimination that had a so-called “disparate impact.” A final decision in the case hasn’t come yet.
Environmental groups have worried that the EPA’s move in Louisiana amounts to a pullback on the Biden administration’s commitment to fighting environmental discrimination.
EPA officials are wary of unfavorable court rulings and a conservative Supreme Court that has already curtailed its regulatory power. The Supreme Court restricted the EPA’s authority to fight air and water pollution — including a landmark 2022 ruling that limited the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming.
Regan said earlier this month that he believes strongly in using Title VI to fight environmental discrimination, but it’s complicated.
“It is not just on this issue, we face headwinds in the courts on a lot of issues,” Regan said. He added that the EPA is trying to ensure every action it takes can withstand a court challenge.
But the agency has other options to hold polluters accountable, he said. Recently, for example, the EPA finalized new, tougher, emissions limits for more than 200 chemical plants, including the Denka facility under scrutiny in Louisiana.
___
The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
veryGood! (73287)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Ravens' Ronnie Stanley: Refs tried to make example out of me on illegal formation penalties
- Horoscopes Today, September 5, 2024
- Michael Keaton Isn't Alone: Gigi Hadid, Tina Fey and Tom Cruise's Real Names Revealed
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Chiefs look built to handle Super Bowl three-peat quest that crushed other teams
- Nicole Kidman Shares Relatable Way Her Daughters Sunday and Faith Wreak Havoc at Home
- I’m a Shopping Editor, and These Are the Doc Martens Shoes Everyone Needs in Their Fall Wardrobe
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Linkin Park announces first tour since Chester Bennington's death with new female singer
Ranking
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Report calls for Medicaid changes to address maternal health in Arkansas
- A look at the winding legal saga of Hunter Biden that ended in an unexpected guilty plea
- Video shows flood waters gush into Smithtown Library, damage priceless artifacts: Watch
- Trump's 'stop
- Kansas City Chiefs superfan ChiefsAholic sent to prison for string of bank robberies
- Surfer Caroline Marks took off six months from pro tour. Now she's better than ever.
- Linkin Park reunite 7 years after Chester Bennington’s death, with new music
Recommendation
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
When is the next Mega Millions drawing? $740 million up for grabs on Friday night
Target adds 1,300 new Halloween products for 2024, including $15 costumes
Can I still watch NFL and college football amid Disney-DirecTV dispute? Here's what to know
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Giants reward Matt Chapman's bounce-back season with massive extension
Ravens' Ronnie Stanley: Refs tried to make example out of me on illegal formation penalties
Soccer Star Alex Morgan Reveals She’s Pregnant With Baby No. 2 in Retirement Announcement