Lawsuit alleging environmental racism in Louisiana parish allowed to proceed, federal court says

EPA Environmental Justice Staff Seeks Return to Work

For the past two months, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff who had been assigned to work on environmental justice issues have been on paid administrative leave, with no agency access, and under orders not to conduct any official business. A legal complaint filed on their behalf by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) aims to reintegrate them into the EPA workforce with new assignments.In one of his first flurries of …

New life for lawsuit accusing Louisiana parish of environmental race discrimination

The lawsuit accuses the parish of a continuing violation of equal protection and other rights that has diminished property values and harmed health.

EPA Civil Rights Work Stalls Under Trump as Communities Wait for Justice

Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, the Environmental Protection Agency has not been allowed to accept new civil rights complaints or issue any findings of discrimination for existing complaints, according to former and current agency staff who spoke with Sentient. These informal directives have limited the EPA’s capacity to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act — a provision of the law that requires recipients of federal fu…

White Superintendent Facing Fifth Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

Eastpointe Community Schools Superintendent Christina Gibson faces her fifth federal racial discrimination lawsuit. Principal Falicia Moreland-Trice alleges a hostile environment and unequal treatment of Black staff.

Former White House official says legal resistance will blunt Trump’s rollback of environmental justice

A former top environmental justice adviser in the Biden administration says President Trump’s efforts to dismantle federal programs targeting pollution and health disparities will face strong legal and political resistance.Willy Blackmore reports for Word In Black.In short:Ryan Hathaway, who led environmental justice work in the Biden White House, says the Trump administration is trying to erase these initiatives but lacks the power to fully suc…

Lawsuit alleging environmental racism in Louisiana parish allowed to proceed, federal court says

A federal appellate court says a civil rights lawsuit alleging a south Louisiana parish engaged in racist land-use policies by placing polluting industries in majority-Black communities can move forward.