Arnold & Porter Sponsors Post-Election ABA Environmental Justice Symposium at Howard University School of Law

On November 14-15, 2024, Arnold & Porter sponsored the American Bar Association’s first Environmental Justice Symposium and Day of Service — a CLE and networking program held at the Howard University School of Law centered upon practical intersections of law and environmental justice (EJ). Taking place just one week after the U.S. presidential election, the question of what lies ahead for EJ given the incoming Trump administration was very much front of mind. The resounding answer from the program’s speakers was clear: regardless of the change in administration, EJ is likely to remain a key focus area for a wide array of stakeholders, including state and local governments, environmental and community advocacy organizations, and private sector companies and their investors. Remarks by White House Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer, Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, directly addressed this point, reminding attendees that the concept of EJ existed long before the Biden administration, acknowledging a broad array of examples from state and local governments, nonprofit organizations (NGOs), community organizations, and private companies.

Additional takeaways include:

• State and local governments continue to incorporate and advocate for EJ considerations in permitting decisions: A panel focused on EJ and permitting offered concrete examples of how state laws, including Louisiana’s Public Trust Doctrine and Virginia’s Environmental Justice Act, incorporate EJ-related requirements, which are likely to have a continued impact on projects in Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia. A panelist from the Harris County Attorney’s Office further highlighted how counties and municipalities are taking measures to advocate for EJ consideration in permitting when they believe state action has been insufficient.
• Private companies are likely to continue considering EJ for company-wide risk mitigation and ESG reporting compliance: A panel on the intersection between environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and EJ showed how many private sector companies continue to voluntarily incorporate EJ through corporate policies and practices to mitigate operational, reputational, and compliance-related risks. In addition, emerging global reporting requirements, as well as investor inquiries, may drive greater transparency on community engagement and impacts, presenting a strong business case for proactive oversight and management of EJ-related risks.
• Unprecedented capacity building and national coalition building may lead to increased advocacy and litigation: Panelists noted that unprecedented capacity and coalition building within and amongst community organizations could result in significant advocacy and litigation activity in coming years, including legal challenges to Trump administration rollbacks of federal EJ initiatives and advocacy for EJ-related state and local legislation.
• Federally funded partnerships may continue to grow independent of federal funding: Several panels featured case studies on collaboration to advance EJ, including recent partnerships between national environmental NGOs, community-based organizations, and private sector companies facilitated by funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Panelists suggested that this momentum may continue to support multi-stakeholder collaboration, innovation, and impact-driven investing to deliver community benefits.

In addition to Dr. White-Newsome, program speakers represented a wide variety of disciplines and stakeholders, including community organizations, industry, federal and state governments, law firms, and law schools. The CLE program was accompanied by a service day component, where volunteers visited local Washington, D.C. schools to teach a brief course on the history of environmental law and EJ in the United States, and a career roundtable, featuring mentor-mentee pairs who spoke to the diversity of legal and non-legal roles that incorporate EJ.

The ABA Symposium was co-chaired by Stacey Sublett Halliday and co-hosted by ABA’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, the Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice, and the Environmental Justice Task Force. A recorded version of the CLE program and summary webinar will be available in early 2025. In the interim, please contact any of the authors of this post for further information on the program and key takeaways.

* Anika Rutah contributed to this Blog. Ms. Rutah is employed as an Environmental Paralegal in Arnold & Porter’s Washington, D.C. office.

© Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP 2024 All Rights Reserved. This Blog post is intended to be a general summary of the law and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.