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The expansion of ExxonMobil’s Beaumont Refinery in Texas is one of the cases where the EPA failed to investigate civil rights complaints filed more than a decade ago.
(Photo courtesy of Randy Edwards)
feature March 8, 2016

What You Need To Know About Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination on the basis of color, religion, national origin and gender. The text of the law is thematically organized into eleven sections, Title I to Title XI. Title VI is of particular significance. Find out why.

Annette Gibbs and her husband William stand in their front yard, near the Arrowhead Landfill in Perry County, Ala. Four million cubic yards of toxic coal ash were scooped up from Harriman, Tenn., the site of the nation's worst toxic spill, and dumped at the landfill.
(Chris Jordan-Bloch/Earthjustice)
Article February 17, 2016

Coal Ash Dump in Alabama's Black Belt: Another Symbol of Racism's Staying Power

In Uniontown, Alabama, a mountain of coal ash containing carcinogens and neurotoxins is threatening the town's residents.

Pastor Ron Smith with his mother Ann Smith, retired teacher and community leader, in Ann's office at her home near Tallassee, AL. Ann and her late husband, Thomas Smith, were the first ones to speak up against irregularities in the Stone's Throw landfill's operation.
(Jeronimo Nisa for Earthjustice)
feature October 30, 2015

Corrigiendo Las Injusticias Civiles Del Pasado

Desde California hasta Michigan, las comunidades de color de bajos recursos llevan años esperando que la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de EEUU (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) tome una posición respecto al racismo medioambiental.

Pastor Ron Smith with his mother Ann Smith, retired teacher and community leader, in Ann's office at her home near Tallassee, AL. Ann and her late husband, Thomas Smith, were the first ones to speak up against irregularities in the Stone's Throw landfill's operation.
(Jeronimo Nisa for Earthjustice)
feature October 30, 2015

Righting Civil Wrongs

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the few enforceable civil rights laws that cover environmental actions. And from California to Michigan, low-income communities of color have been waiting years for the EPA to take a stand against environmental racism.

Annette Gibbs and her husband William stand in their front yard, near the Arrowhead Landfill in Perry County, AL. Four million cubic yards of toxic coal ash were scooped up from Harriman, TN, the site of the nation's worst toxic spill, and dumped at the landfill.
(Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice)
Press Release August 5, 2015

NBC & CPI Series Spotlight Crucial Need for EPA Action on Race Discrimination

Statements by Ala. community & Earthjustice attorney featured in series

The devastating coal ash spill at Kingston, TN in December 2008. One billion gallons of toxic coal ash spilled from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant, covering 300 acres, destroying homes, poisoning rivers and contaminating coves and residential drinking waters.
(Photo courtesy of United Mountain Defense)
Article December 8, 2014

Five More Things You Need to Know About Coal Ash

Five things that the 60 Minutes investigation on coal ash didn't tell you.

A coal ash spill in Tennessee in 2008 destroyed or damaged two dozen nearby homes
(United Mountain Defense)
feature September 1, 2014

Ashes: A Community’s Toxic Inheritance

An Alabama community inherited the worst coal ash spill in U.S. history—four million cubic yards of toxic ash. This is the story of how residents of Uniontown are fighting back.

William Gibbs and his wife live near the massive coal ash dump in Uniontown, AL. "I wanted to move away from the noise and the hardness of the city. So I came here for some peace and quiet in the country ... now they've pushed this thing right on top of us. Now, I'm too old to move and no one would want to buy this place anyways," says Gibbs.
(Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice)
Article August 19, 2014

Uniontown Prepares to Demand Justice

Residents of Uniontown, Alabama prepare for EPA visit to investigate the complaint filed by many of its citizens under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

The massive coal ash dump at Arrowhead landfill. The trash liners in the bottom left photo were used to hold the coal ash in place on the train as it left the predominantly white and middle class area of Harriman, TN. However, as soon as the coal ash arrived in Perry County, the liner was ripped off and the coal ash was dumped into the open landfill.
(Top left: Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice. All others: Photos Provided by John L. Wathen)
Press Release August 14, 2014

Alabama Residents Speak Out Against Alleged Civil Rights Violations Involving Coal Ash Dump in Black Community

Residents are exposed to toxins linked to cancer, asthma, and nerve damage

Client Esther Calhoun holds a button from the local community group fighting coal ash pollution in Uniontown, AL.
(Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice)
case March 10, 2014

Defending Uniontown, AL from Toxic Coal Ash

On Dec. 22, 2008, just after midnight, a massive coal ash dump in Kingston, Tenn., burst through a dike, sending more than a billion gallons of toxic waste across 300 acres of riverfront property, damaging and destroying two dozen nearby homes. The owner of the dump, the Tennessee Valley Authority, has since spent $1.2 billion…

feature March 6, 2014

A Toxic Inheritance

The nation’s worst coal ash spill was scooped up from a prosperous community and dumped across state lines into the lives of a low-income community. But Alabama’s Perry County is fighting back.

Article December 23, 2013

Five Years Later and the Story of the TVA Spill Continues

On December 22, 2008, just after midnight, the town of Harriman, Tennessee woke to the flood of more than one billion gallons of toxic coal ash sludge that burst through an earthen dam on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant.