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Environmental Justice In The United States: The Human Right To Water, Tamar Meshel

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

Many low-income communities, communities of color, and indigenous communities in the United States are suffering from unequal access to safe and affordable water. This is partially the result of an ineffective and fragmented legal framework governing water issues in the country. In addition, the notion of a human right to water and sanitation, accepted internationally to reinforce and protect human needs related to water, has yet to be meaningfully recognized in the United States. This article sets out, first, to examine the legal framework governing access to freshwater in the United States and the concerns underlying the reluctance of the …