Local risks, states' rights, and federal mandates: Remedying environmentalinequities in the US federal system

One of the most salient debates in environmental policy centers around perc eived racial and class biases in exposure to environmental hazards. As with most aspects of environmental policy, states are at the forefront in deali ng with these new issues. However we have only a cursory understanding of t he actions being taken by state governments to address environmental justic e issues. Equally important, scholars and practitioners have yet to take st ock of the likely consequences of federal policy directions to the states i n this area on the distribution of environmental hazards or on the distribu tion of authority between the federal and state governments. We address the first shortcoming using true original surveys of state environmental justi ce activities, and the second through a detailed discussion of current fede ral efforts aimed at promoting environmental justice in the states.