Community groups seek relief from racially discriminatory pollution burden and health harms

EPA and DOT Acceptance of Title VI Complaint

State faces possible loss of millions in funding for authorizing pollution in violation of civil rights laws

Brandywine is in an unincorporated portion of Prince George County that is 72 percent African-American. A 990-megawatt power plant, proposed by Mattawoman Energy, LLC, would be the fifth fossil-fueled power plant to operate within 13 miles of the community. Brandywine already faces excessive levels of pollution because two of the state’s power plants are either…

Brandywine faces excessive levels of pollution because two of the state's power plants are either in the community or nearby. Three additional plants that have been permitted, including the one proposed by Mattawoman, have yet to be built.

The communities in closest proximity to all Maryland’s 13 power plants are disproportionately black.

The state of Maryland faces a federal civil rights complaint, filed by Earthjustice, on behalf of residents in the majority black community of Brandywine, Md., after the state approved a permit for a gas-fired power plant that would have disproportionate pollution impacts on the basis of race.

Exhibit List. The state of Maryland faces a federal civil rights complaint, filed by Earthjustice, on behalf of residents in the majority black community of Brandywine, Md., after the state approved a permit for a gas-fired power plant that would have disproportionate pollution impacts on the basis of race.

The plant would increase pollution in a county already violating national air quality standards

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.