Could Title VI Force Change in Indiana Environmental Policies?

Environmental and energy practice team co-leader and partner Max Kelln and partner Julian Harrell coauthored an article for the Indiana Lawyer that discusses how, if utilized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 could have far-reaching impacts on Indiana environmental policy and regulated facilities in the state.

The authors explain that facilities in Indiana rank high on USEPA’s environmental justice screening tool, EJScreen. They also provide examples of how administrative complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act have recently been used in other states to effectuate changes in state environmental policy.

Kelln and Harrell conclude that, given the number of facilities that score high on USEPA’s Environmental Justice Index, it is all but certain that the agency will embark on one or more enforcement cases in Indiana under the agency’s Environmental Justice initiative. They suggest that, for the next few years, facilities located near residential areas with low socio-economic demographics should be on the lookout for heightened enforcement and plan accordingly.

The full article is available for Indiana Lawyer subscribers.