Fair treatment means that no group of people, including a racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic group, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal programs and policies.
Inequity permeates our region.
Low-income and minority communities in Southeast Houston are heavily burdened by industrial pollutants. Proximity to hazardous waste disposal facilities and contaminated sites lowers property value. Surveys indicate that more litter is present in low-income neighborhoods, and maps of the area reveal a higher number of illegal tire and trash dumps in the inner city. A national and local movement of grassroots activism is arising around environmental justice issues. The environmental justice movement has led government agencies to include equity issues in policy decisions.