What information did EPA rely upon to determine that environmental injustice exists?
In response to a variety of concerns raised by EPA staff and the public (the Michigan Coalition, Congressional Black Caucus, and others), the EPA Administrator William Reilly formed the EPA Environmental Equity Workgroup in 1990 with staff from all EPA offices and regions across the Agency. The Workgroup was directed to assess the evidence that racial minority and low-income communities bear higher environmental risk burden that the general population, and consider what EPA might to about any identified disparities. The report entitled Environmental Equity: Reducing Risk in All Communities reviewed data that existed on the distribution of environmental exposures and risks across population groups and summarized a review of EPA programs with respect to racial minority and low-income populations. The Workgroup reported several major findings indicating the existence of environmental injustice and made a number of recommendations to the Agency including the prioritization of environmental
