Eventually the EPA granted the permits for this waste disposal site, which brought nationwide protests. According to the EPA definition, deliberate discrimination need not be involved. Any siting which disadvantages protected groups more than proportionately is in violation of EPA's rules. The difficulty arises in defining what to measure and in comparison to what. As a first step in evaluating whether a group is unduly disadvantaged, a policy maker must consider who is affected.
Most ethnic data relate to census tracts, zip codes, city boundaries, and counties.
Another difficulty arises in determining whether and how particular groups will be disadvantaged. Landfills, chemical plants, and other industrial works bring benefits to some although they may harm others. They create jobs, change land values, and generate revenues that are spent in the community. There are conflicting studies of the question of disparate impacts. Decisions about siting of industrial and waste facilities inevitably generates controversy.