"The burdens of environmental pollution have long been borne disproportionately by members of minority and low-income communities," Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said this month, in discussing the creation of an Office of Environmental Justice.
Most living in Appalachia would agree. Certainly, there are too many who have experienced the effects of environmental pollution first hand.
Among the tools to be used by the new office is reinstatement of a program that allowed fines paid by industry to go to community activities such as river cleanups, health clinics or other programs.
This kind of thing is not new. Back in 2007, a settlement with Valero included a $4.25 million penalty and $232 million in pollution controls at refineries in Tennessee, Ohio and Texas. One requirement was that the company spend at least $1 million to enhance efforts by a health center to diagnosis and treat respiratory problems.
There is reason to be cautious about such an effort. Poor and vulnerable populations often think of some of these polluters as their only employment option. Further, to whom will these companies pass along the cost of complying with newly enforced regulations and penalties?
Air pollution, unsafe drinking water, cancer risk … bad actors do deserve to pay a price for the damage done to some communities. It will take a careful effort to ensure this office does not do more harm than good to the people it is meant to help.