How the EPA Was Disarmed in its Fight Against Climate Racism

By Willy Blackmore | Word In Black Overview: Title XI is an EPA rule designed to keep big polluters from using minority communities as dumping grounds. But the tables have turned, and Title XI has become a paper tiger. (WIB) – In 1992, Flint, Michigan, the town widely known for contaminated water,  had a different lead problem.  The issue was a proposal to build a power-generation station on the edge of town that could burn a variety of fuels, including a number of waste products like scrap wood. The Genesee Power Station would provide electricity for the small, largely white town of Genesee, but the actual generating — and the pollution that comes with it — would happen in a predominantly Black part of Flint.& LEARN MORE: ‘Send Him to Angola’: White Lawmaker Attacks First Black EPA Chief Flint Residents were worried, particularly because there was no guarantee that wood burned in the facility would have lead paint removed from it first.& There could potentially be mercury and arsenic emissions as well. So residents and local elected officials tried to voice their concerns during the public comment period, both through written comment and in-person hearings. But doing so proved to...