[CPEO-BIF] "Environmental Justice Issues Force Cement Plant to Close"

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

To read the entire article go to:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2001/2001L-04-24-06.html

Environmental Justice Issues Force Cement Plant to Close 
By Cat Lazaroff 
CAMDEN, New Jersey, April 24, 2001 (ENS) - In a precedent setting environmental
justice decision, a federal judge has halted operations at a New Jersey cement
plant, saying toxic emissions from the facility would harm nearby residents and
violate their civil rights. The plant was officially dedicated last March by
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman, then New
Jersey's governor. 

On April 19, Federal District Court Judge Stephen Orlofsky granted a motion for
a temporary injunction prohibiting St. Lawrence Cement Co. from beginning
operations of its $50 million cement manufacturing facility in Camden, New
Jersey. 

The Court found that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) had violated the civil rights of the African-American and Hispanic
residents, who comprise 90 percent of the residents in the census tract where
the SLC facility is located, when the agency issued a permit to the plant. 

Orlofsky also said the state DEP failed to consider the cumulative threat posed
by pollution from industrial sources already located in the primarily minority
community. 
"Much of what this case is about is what the NJDEP failed to consider,"
Orlofsky wrote. "It did not consider the pre-existing poor health of the
residents of Waterfront South, nor did it consider the cumulative environmental
burden already borne by this impoverished community. Finally, and perhaps most
importantly, the NJDEP failed to consider the racial and ethnic composition of
the population of Waterfront South." 

Orlofsky's 120 page ruling orders the plant, built by the St. Lawrence Cement
Group of Montreal, to be closed for 30 days, during which the DEP must complete
a full review of the air pollution permits issued to the facility. The closure
is projected to cost St. Lawrence up to $200,000 a week. 

continued...
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2001/2001L-04-24-06.html

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