The Environmental Law Podcast Beveridge & Diamond PC

In the 13th episode of "Groundtruth," Associate Lauren Karam (Boston) speaks with Stella Keck, a Senior Scientist at Roux, and Andrew Shapero, a Senior Engineer at Roux. Lauren, Stella, and Andrew discuss new regulations in Massachusetts involving cumulative impact analyses for air permit issues in areas near environmental justice (EJ) communities, and how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other states address cumulative impacts in EJ communities.

The Biden-Harris administration has placed an unprecedented federal focus on environmental justice using a whole of government approach, including issuing executive orders demanding accountability and action from a broad list of federal agencies and requiring input from impacted communities. In the 12th episode of "Groundtruth," Associate Hilary Jacobs meets with Ebony Griffin, an Environmental Justice Advocate with Earthjustice for a focused conversation about environmental justice and community engagement. They also discuss how regulators and companies can meaningfully engage with impacted communities to address environmental justice concerns. 

In the 11th episode of "Groudtruth," Associates Noa Ervin and Claire McLeod interview Deniss Martinez, PhD Candidate at the University of California Davis, on the practices of prescribed burns. Indigenous people used prescribed burns in forests for thousands of years to manage land, reduce wildfire risk, and support cultural practices. This episode focuses on how colonial governments and land management agencies have suppressed these practices, and highlight the recent progress in restoring Indigenous fire management.

In the tenth episode of "Groundtruth," Beveridge & Diamond Principal Julius M. Redd (Washington, DC) speaks with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. Commissioner LaTourette joined the first "Groundtruth" episode in April 2021, shortly after the Governor of New Jersey signed landmark environmental justice legislation into law in 2020. In our latest episode, he joins Julius again to discuss the Department’s proposed implementing rules for this law, which were published in early June 2022.

“Groundtruth” is a podcast series, produced in partnership with the Environmental Law Institute's People Places Planet Podcast that explores EJ trends and developments. 

B&D Associate Hilary Jacobs (Washington, DC) led the content development for this episode.

Learn more about B&D's EJ practice: www.bdlaw.com/EJ.

In the ninth episode of “Groundtruth,” Associate Hilary Jacobs (Washington, DC), speaks with Professor Achinthi Vithanage, the Associate Director of Environmental Law Programs at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, and Jesse Glickstein, Environmental & Human Rights Counsel for Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Global Social and Environmental Responsibility Team. They discuss environmental justice (EJ) on a global scale and what companies can do to advance EJ, climate justice, and human rights goals worldwide.

More than 30 years ago, roughly 1,100 people attended the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in Washington, DC to discuss the environmental injustices they were experiencing in their communities. Considered by many as the birth of the environmental justice (EJ) movement, the four-day summit concluded with the adoption of the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice, still relevant today.

In the eighth episode [link] of "Groundtruth," the Environmental Law Institute (ELI)’s Arielle King chats with key organizers and leaders of the historical summit: Vernice Miller-Travis, a longtime EJ advocate and cofounder of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a northern Manhattan community-based organization, who currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Metropolitan Group; and Charles Lee, organizer of the First Summit who currently serves as the Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Environmental Justice. The episode honors and celebrates the 30th anniversary of the 17 Principles by taking a look at how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go.

“Groundtruth” is a podcast series, produced in partnership with the Environmental Law Institute’s People Places Planet Podcast, that explores EJ trends and developments.

Beveridge & Diamond Associate Jessica Maloney (New York) led the content development for this episode.