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Paddock, LeRoy C. (Lee) --- "The Role of Public Engagement in Achieving Environmental Justice" [2012] ELECD 651; in Le Bouthillier, Yves; Cohen, Alfie Miriam; Gonzalez Marquez, Juan Jose; Mumma, Albert; Smith, Susan (eds), "Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Law

Editor(s): Le Bouthillier, Yves; Cohen, Alfie Miriam; Gonzalez Marquez, Juan Jose; Mumma, Albert; Smith, Susan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781003282

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: The Role of Public Engagement in Achieving Environmental Justice

Author(s): Paddock, LeRoy C. (Lee)

Number of pages: 25

Extract:

7. The role of public engagement in
achieving environmental justice
LeRoy C. (Lee) Paddock*

7.1 INTRODUCTION
Over the last 25 years significant environmental inequalities have been docu-
mented in the United States. Low income communities and communities with
large minority populations are often exposed to more environmental hazards ­
waste management facilities, air pollution, degraded water ­ and are more
vulnerable to the impacts of environmental catastrophes ­ witness hurricane
Katrina ­ than higher income or majority communities. Studies have also
demonstrated that fewer environmental enforcement resources are typically
deployed in these communities. One reason for this situation is that low-
income communities and minority communities are frequently under-repre-
sented in government decision making. The opportunities for all members of
affected communities to fully participate in governmental decision making is
a problem that reaches well beyond the issue of environmental justice, but it
is of particular concern in the context of environmental justice because of
increased risks that many low-income and minority populations face.
Historically, the most common approaches to public engagement in govern-
ment decision making in the United States often:

· occur too late in the decision making process to have a major impact on
development decisions;
· do not involve genuine consultations with communities;
· fails to provide communities with the type of information and resources
they need to have a real impact on decisions;
· are not designed to address cultural issues that may limit participation;
· may not take into account language and other constraints such as time,
location and nature ...