Sheila D. Brown, Rockdale County, GA
Over the course ofthe last 10 years I have lived in three states and the District of Columbia. During that time, I had the privilege of studying, working and developing professionally in communities largely populated by African-Americans and Latinos.
I'll never forget the first day ofmy IL year at Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School ofLaw. Itwas a sunny day in August of2006 as Iwalkedfrom my dorm apartmentto the main campus bright and early on that morning. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, till suddenly an invisible cloud oftoxins descended on the area and filled my lungs with the most putrid, all-invasive stench from seemingoutofnowhere.
I held my breath, covered my nose and mouth, and hurried my steps, but Ijust couldn't seem to escape that smell. What really bothered me though is that no one could tell me where the smell
was coming from. That unfortunate eventhappenedmanytimes.
Now I live in Georgia. But recently, I had a similar experience while shopping at a popular retailer in the area. As my son and I headed to the front ofthe store to pay for our items, we were distracted by one of the most grotesque odors we've ever smelt. The smell was so unbearable that I stopped a store manager to askhim where it was coming from and what he was tryingto do about it.
The store manager tried to calmly reassure me that everything was ok and that from time to time the smell came into the store due to a nearby power plant. Despite the heavy stench, everyone continued shopping and working like nothing happened. This reminded me ofthe experience I had in Houston and made me question why this type ofoccurrence keeps happening in areas I lived or frequented. Why didn't anyone else seem equally offended? Was there an environmental explanationbehindthe smell events in Houston and Conyers, orjustcoincidence?
I discovered the work ofa Dr. Robert Bullard, an expert on environmental issues. Dr. Bullard has a body of work that examines the environmental factors affecting African-American and otherminority communities.
In 1979, Dr. Bullard noticed that all the city dumps in Houston were located in and around neighborhoods inhabited primarily by African-Americans, despite the fact they only made up 25% ofHouston'spopulation. Although that was decades ago, there is still evidence today of what Dr. Bullard coined, "environmental racism." He explains that on average, African-Americans emit about 20% of greenhouse gases, yet 68% ofAfrican-Americans live within 30 miles ofcoal-firedpowerplants. In comparison, 56% ofwhites and 39% ofLatinos live in suchproximityto coal-firedplant.
The state ofGeorgiahas a very pronouncedhistory ofracial inequity and environmental injustice towards blacks. In 2009, African-Americans made up 30.2% ofGeorgia's population. Howevertwo ofthe three proposed coal-fired power plants that sought permits in GA sought locations in predominatelyAfrican-Americancounties.
In fact, all three ofthe proposed coal-fired power plants located in Georgia cities with AfricanAmerican populations ranging from nearly 50% to 60%. African-American and poor communities are also being targeted by nuclear energy companies. The Shell Bluffcommunity in Burke County, GA, has an African-American population of51% and is the proposed site for
new nuclearpowerplantsthat expectto produce I,000 megawatts. Currently there is a heated battle ensuing in Lithonia, GA over a gasification plant. Lithonia consists of 80% African-Americans. The Board ofCommissioners for DeKalb County voted to allowthe gasification plant despite the angry protestofDeKalb Countyresidents and community activist including the DeKalb County NAACP, Operation Lead, and Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment (CHASE), as well as, local churches and other civic groups. These groups express grave concerns about the potential exposure oftoxic emissions from the facilities, truck traffic anddiesel emissions.
DeKalb County's decision to issue a special land use permit is not unchallenged. These groups have banned together to sue the county and seek an injunction on the gasification plant's construction. Ihope African-American andother disadvantagedcommunities take note ofwhat's happening and draw strength from the powerful activism occurring in

### DeKalb County and use these insights to protect their own communities. I urge the EPA to continue to work to eradicate environmental racism and injustice and study the impact it has on African-American, Hispanic anddisadvantagedcommunities.