Chapman Law Review
Article Title
“Individually Minor But Collectively Significant”: The Right to Cumulative Impact Analyses and Substantive Protections in Wilmington, California
Abstract
"As the concept of environmental justice has increasingly permeated law and policy debates around the world, a heightened awareness of communities facing disproportionate pollution burdens has emerged. In Wilmington, residents—the vast majority of whom are Hispanic—largely find themselves without legal solutions to the cumulative pollution burdens they endure.20 Part I of this Article describes the origin and nature of the pollution sources harming residents of Wilmington and the negative health consequences that have resulted from cumulative pollution impacts. Part II first identifies the limited substantive legal protections available to Wilmington residents and then turns to existing procedural mechanisms for deterring environmental harms. These include the National Environmental Policy Act ('NEPA'), which requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement ('EIS') prior to the initiation of any major federal actions in the United States, and the California Environmental Quality Act ('CEQA'), which imposes similar obligations for state-supported actions in California.21 Environmental impact assessment ('EIA') requirements exist in jurisdictions around the world. Accordingly, Part III compares NEPA and CEQA with EIA laws in Guatemala and South Africa, spotlighting the virtues of the Guatemalan and South African laws given their broader scope and substantive force."