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Take Back the Courts: Racial Discrimination and Environmental Justice

  • Organization: NCRCR
  • Document Type: Brief/Motion Papers
  • Date Created: Thursday, September 17, 2009
  • Submitted: Thursday, September 17, 2009
  • Attachment(s): HTM

Camden has the second highest cancer rate in New Jersey, and the eighth highest in the nation thanks to over 100 toxic waste sites. When the St. Lawrence Cement Company tried to build yet another polluting factory in Camden, citizens banded together and convinced a district court to halt construction. Then the Supreme Court ruled in Alexander v Sandoval that citizens could not sue based on discriminatory effect. In order to block the construction of yet another polluter, citizens would need to show that there was intentional discrimination.