With liberty and “environmental justice” for all

Abstract

The term “environmental justice” is becoming more recognizable in a regulatory context, and elicits occasional responses such as, “Ah yes, environmental justice, I need to consider that in my facility's community involvement plans, don't I? What is it again?” Facility and project managers know it is important, but they do not know exactly what it is. Is it a law? What constitutes an environmental justice area? And the questions go on and on. This article attempts to answer the basic questions surrounding the environmental justice initiative and gives some guidelines for incorporating environmental justice strategies into your community outreach activities.