Main Features of Environmental Justice Principle

Environmental justice, environmental equity, and environmental racism are different phrases that describe and explain central features of the environmental justice principle focusing on the disparate impact of waste facility sites and other polluting facilities located in or near socio-economically distressed neighborhoods with high concentrations of ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged populations.

Environmental justice seeks the equitable treatment and involvement of people of all races, cultures, incomes, and educational levels in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental programs, laws, rules, and policies. Therefore, the concept of environmental justice as a term seeks justice on a distributive, procedural, and precautionary level requiring an equitable distribution of the costs of environmental risks and of the benefits of environmental values across the demographic and geographic scales. Considerable emphasis is placed on procedural justice defined as the extent to which political decision-making processes are applied fairly and people are empowered to control and influence the decisions that affect them. The precautionary principle is based on the attitude that uncertainties in short- or long-term environmental impacts resulting from deteriorating conditions in the everyday environment where people live and work call for decision-making to keep public health from harm,

including generational impacts and the responsibility of current generations to ensure a healthy and safe environment for future generations.

It links to higher order plans and NPF (9) Strategic Outcome re sustainable management of waste and other environmental resources.

With more and more decisions affecting County Galway being taken regionally and centrally it is absolutely essential that the Galway County Development Plan enshrines an overarching fair environmental justice approach ie in relation to all matters affecting communities which GCC can influence to ensure that no community is continually blighted by developments to which they are clearly opposed and which may blight their quality of life, their future positive development in terms of health wellbeing attraction of investment & tourism and to allow all communities have a reasonable opportunity to prosper within the county.

This Motion on Environmental Justice Principle below in red was passed unanimously and minuted on 4th May 2021 during this current statutory County Development Planning process – the agreed wording is clearly set out below as are the sections under which it is to be included. While I accept that efforts were made to sprinkle elements of environmental protection and justice through several chapters of the Draft CDP and while In accept that is very welcome, it seems that the substantive motion was inadvertently omitted from the draft CDP and I call for this to be corrected at this point an inserted in the form and wording and in the sections agreed and passed unanimously as set out below in the minutes of 4th May 2021.

‘’7.6 Waste Management

7.9 Environmental Protection

I propose an insertion here of the adoption of the Principle of Environmental Justice - a ‘fair’ distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, including the application of environmental policy planning implementation and governance is incorporated into the Co Galway CDP.

The issue of Environmental discrimination is one that environmental justice measures should address with regard to the serial siting of old Landfill, Superdump, waste facilities in an area of heightened environmental sensitivity and/or community amenity importance close to residential communities.

Areas of heightened socio-economic deprivation indices should be protected from compounding environmental injustice and environmental discrimination and should be reflected in planning policies & operations in environmental decision making and implementation. Policy implementation and planning can stack the odds against attracting industry and investment to certain locations within the county and blight communities from attracting investment and high value job creation despite outstanding infrastructure , location, resources, skills and natural environmental beauty. This principle of environmental justice will ensure that all communities will be supported by contents of the CDP TO improve and maintain a clean and healthy environment, especially those who have traditionally lived , worked and played closest to sources of pollution, therefore in the interests of equity I call that this principle of environmental justice is named and inserted into the CDP. ‘’

Proposed Cllr Evelyn Parsons

Seconded Cllr Geraldine Donoghue''

Mise le meas,

Evelyn

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