Administrative Watch: DEQ Takes Environmental Justice Actions
North Carolina has taken important steps forward on environmental justice over the past week.
On Wednesday, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) introduced the members of the new Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board. The board’s purpose is to “assist the Department in achieving and maintaining the fair and equal treatment and meaningful involvement of North Carolinians regardless of where they live, their race, religion or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”
DEQ Secretary Michael Regan said, “These Board members have been tasked with working directly with me and DEQ staff to help us elevate the voices of the underserved and underrepresented as we work to protect the public’s health and natural resources. I am looking forward to working with each and every one of these distinguished board members to provide science-based environmental stewardship for the health and prosperity of all North Carolinians.”
Then on Thursday, DEQ and environmental groups announced settlement of civil rights complaints filed against DEQ under the McCrory Administration, asserting that DEQ was approving permits for factory-style hog farms with no analysis of the harm being done to minority communities.
Key points of the settlement include enhanced air and water quality monitoring in and around a major Duplin County site, enhanced public participation and transparency in reviewing animal waste operation permits, and a timeline for DEQ to prepare a new draft rule addressing environmental violations by factory-style farms operating under a type of broad general authorization called a “general permit.”
Naeema Muhammed, executive director of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN), called the settlement “groundbreaking,” but cautioned that “at the same time, the harmful effects of the hog industry on communities in eastern North Carolina continue, and all of us involved in this struggle need to keep the pressure on. There is still a long way to go to address the harms caused by the swine industry.”
“Most importantly, we believe that this agreement signifies a new dynamic in the relationship between DEQ and the communities of color that are most severely impacted by the policies and decisions it makes,” said Muhammed. “As a result of the process we have engaged with DEQ over the last three years, the needs and priorities of those communities will be at the forefront of DEQ’s considerations going forward.”
Complainants in the case included NCEJN, the Waterkeeper Alliance, and the Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help (REACH). The complaints were filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Civil Rights. The complainants and DEQ have been involved in mediation of those complaints since June of 2017.
