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Commentary: Environmental Justice in the Big Easy? The Agriculture Street Landfill Tragedy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2009

Craig E. Colten
Craig E. Colten*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*
Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803; (e-mail) ccolten@lsu.edu.
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Extract

After 20 years, Superfund has evolved from a risk-based, technically oriented, litigation-driven site cleanup program to an effort that places greater emphasis on negotiated settlements, voluntary cleanups, and community involvement The USEPA's environmental justice initiative reflects this adjustment and sometimes presents unexpected difficulties for both agency personnel and affected community members. Superfund sites, such as the New Orleans Agriculture Street Landfill, assume qualities of what geographer Kenneth Foote refer to as “landscapes of tragedy.” Despite the merging of technical and community approaches to resolving Superfund problems, attachments to place sometimes defy agency efforts. The Agriculture Street situation suggests an additional assessment of community ties to the neighborhood could facilitate remediation and resolution.

Type
Features & Reviews
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , March 2001 , pp. 19 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © National Association of Environmental Professionals 2001

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References

Notes

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