The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently launched the Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website (www.epa.gov/echo/), making available a complete compliance history of major facilities (locations such as power plants where pollution can occur).
The website reported only 27 percent of the major facilities in the State and 15 percent of those in minority neighborhoods (defined as having at least a 50 percent minority population) have been inspected in the past two years. According to ECHO, just one of eight major facilities in Waltham has been inspected in the last two years.Brandeis Environmental Studies Program Associate Director Linda Goldin said minority neighborhoods suffer because of their political disempowerment. "These minority neighborhoods are being exposed to pollution at a much higher rate than the rest of the country," Goldin said.

Studies show the lifestyles of those in poverty-stricken and less educated communities subject them to greater health risks. Goldin points out that studies have also shown that even after high-risk lifestyles are accounted for, it is still true that the market increase in pollution exposure is high.

The consequences of high pollution exposure rates are great, most commonly including life-shortening effects such as cancer, asthma, birth defects and neurological damage. "Every functional and bodily system can be and is being affected by chemicals," Goldin said.

The two strongest indicators of living in an area exposed to environmental hazard are race and income, according to Goldin. "It vilifies those in the environmental justice community that things are really out of whack," she said.

Enforcement director for the regional EPA Ken Moraff explained that the data is misleading. "The information is accurate but only representative of a small slice of activities by the EPA. You can't really use it to see how much we are protecting minorities," Moraff said.

Only 15 percent of the major facilities in minority areas have been inspected in the same amount of time that more than 27 percent of major facilities have been inspected in other areas. Moraff said there are 31 facilities in minority neighborhoods, which is too small of a sample to accurately reflect EPA activity. A larger sampling is the 392 major facilities in partially - minority neighborhoods, defined as having 25 to 50 percent nonwhite populations, which have an inspection rate of over 26 percent in aggregate.

The 31 facilities in the ECHO database located in minority neighborhoods are only two percent of all area-wide facilities.
Moraff said there is another discrepancy in the data. The EPA has been concentrating on water inspection, with 79 percent of major water facilities inspected in the last two years. There are no major water facilities in minority neighborhoods. "The fact that water facilities are inspected so frequently brings up the average for non-minority areas that contain major water facilities," Moraff said.

"We don't think the data shows that there is a real difference. We will probably continue to do inspections at roughly the same places and we will continue to focus
on sources we think are causing problems," Moraff said.

According to Moraff, the EPA has put a lot of resources into determining the greatest environmental risks in urban areas and has found that the major facilities listed in ECHO are not the big problem. "The smaller facilities are more often the ones causing the problems," Moraff said.

Moraff said larger public health problems stem from non-traditional factors, such as lead paints and diesel fuel, which are not tracked in ECHO. The data in ECHO is only for major facilities tracking compliance for air and water pollution and hazardous waste.

Goldin partially blames Massachusetts' weak economy for its low inspection rates. The current period of fiscal restraint leaves less money allocated to agencies such as the EPA, she said. Additionally, state legislatures perceive the necessity to promote development and jobs that come with it. This offers competing pressure for developers to get permits.

Goldin does not agree with the state legislatures. She said that if environmental law is carried out well and efficiently, it should help economic development by making an area a more appealing place to live and work.

Goldin does not see current environmental law as efficient. She said the Bush administration is moving backward on the issue. During January's State of the Union Address, President Bush promised to ask Congress to pass a Clear Skies Initiative, which would mandate a 70 percent cut in air pollution from power plants over the next 15 years. "(The initiative) is not futile, but if it has any payoff, it will be far into the future," Goldin said.

Goldin suggested that instead of rolling back standards and making plans for new laws, the Bush administration should impose stricter standards on our present laws. "There are many more things that need to be done now and quickly in order to make a difference," Goldin said. She suggested better fuel economy requirements, tax
credits and stronger regulations of buses and Sport Utility Vehicles.

In order to better direct their energies, Region 1 EPA, responsible for the six New England States, has sent up a voluntary compliance program with major facilities, including universities. Brandeis is included in the 65 percent of New England's 425 colleges that participate in the voluntary programs.
The self-audit system allows the university to hire a third-party to inspect its program and perform a complete environmental audit. After spending about three
weeks on campus, the third-party generates a report of potential violations.

The advantages of the program are that the EPA expends fewer resources to inspect universities, and the universities are able to fix violations without being fined. Environmental Safety and Health Manager Bob Elias said he was happy to report that after this summer's self-audit, the University had no violations and no fines.
Elias said Brandeis is able to keep good levels of compliance because we have an environmental management system in place. "The key is to maintain that level of scrutiny on an internal basis. That takes money and hard work," he said.

Money and hard work are not easily attainable for some communities and these are the people who suffer, according to Goldin.

But, Goldin said she does not feel internal scrutiny can solve all environmental problems. "I fear that the level of enforcement and environmental protection will be severely limited. No matter how bad it is now, it is going to get worse," she said.