Chapter 16:
Siting Unpopular Land Uses
•
NIMBYs, LULUs, and Neighborhood
Opposition
•
Responses to Siting Dilemma
• Environmental Justice & Siting Decisions
•
Race/ethnicity, Economics, or Both?
•
Federal and State Initiatives
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Sean Cororan, WGBH Boston,
With Two Final Permits, Cape Wind
Cleared for Development
(May 12, 2012). p. 884
Organized, Vehement Local Opposition
• Appropriate level of government
• Global warming
• Sustainable and clean energy
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Cape Wind Project Cont’d
View from Cotuit - 5.6 Miles
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Cape Wind Project Cont’d
View from Craigville - 6.5 Miles
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Cape Wind Project Cont’d
View from Edgartown - 9.0 Miles
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Cape Wind Project Cont’d
View from Nantucket - 13.8 miles
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound,
Inc. v. Energy Facilities Siting Board
932 N.E.2d 787, 795 (Mass. 2010)
• Consent
Tools of Opposition
• Protest
• Supermajority requirement or
• Veto
• Public hearings
• Legitimate testimony
• “Public Clamor”
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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California Wilderness Coalition v.
U.S. Dept. of Energy ,
631 F.3d 1072 (9 th Cir. 2011), p. 901
“Backstop Authority”
• Pre-emption (sort of)
• FERC
• National Interest Electric
Transmission Corridor
• One year deadline
• Consultation
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Environmental Justice
• Race/ethnicity, economics, or both?
• Federal and state initiatives
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Commission for Racial Justice (UCC),
Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States
(1987), p.911 ( not assigned )
Role of Race in Siting LULUs
• Hazardous waste facilities
• A “striking relationship”
• Socioeconomic status
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Christopher Boerner et al .,
Environmental Justice?
(1994), p. 913 ( not assigned )
Criticism of UCC Study
• Definition of “minority community”
• Population density
• Zip codes
• Discriminatory siting practices v. siting disparities
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Federal Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations,
Exec. Order No. 12,898, 59 Fed. Reg. 7629 (1994), p. 917
• Minority and low-income
• Empirical debate
• Effect
• 20 th Anniversary
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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South Camden Citizens in Action v.
New Jersey Dept. of Envtl. Protection ,
274 F.3d 771 (3d Cir. 2001), p. 919
Private Right of Action?
• Intentional discrimination v. disparate impact
• 3d Cir. & U.S. Supreme Court
• Regulations v. statute
• Agency v. Congress
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke
St. Lawrence Cement Co.
Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Other Federal
Environmental Justice Programs
• National Environment Justice
Advisory Council (NEJAC)
• Environmental Justice Grants
• Environmental Justice Community
Intern Program
• Federal Interagency Working Group
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty:
1987-2007
Key Findings
• Greater disparity than previously reported
• Race is significant and robust predictor
• People of color majority of those living within 3 km of hazardous waste facilities
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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Environmental Justice in Texas:
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
(TCEQ)
1. The Environmental Equity Office,
2. The Office of Public Interest
Counsel, and
3. H.B. 3078 (introduced March 2003).
U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N Professor Marcilynn A. Burke Copyright©2014 Marcilynn A. Burke
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