Law Commons^™

Environmental Justice And Title Vi: Making Recipient Agencies Justify Their Siting Decisions, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Title VI prohibits federal agencies from providing funds to state or local agencies that discriminate. Environmental justice advocates have filed over fifty Title VI complaints with the EPA alleging that state or local environmental agencies have granted permits that will cause disparate impacts against minority groups. In February 1998, the EPA promulgated an Interim Guidance on Title VI to help the agency resolve these complaints. A wide range of state and local officials has criticized the Guidance because its vague definition of "disparate impact" may give the EPA too much discretion to find discrimination. This Article demonstrates, however, that the …