Environmental Justice Interview with Kim Ferraro

Interview with Kim Ferraro, Senior Attorney

Kim E. Ferraro is the Senior Attorney at the Conservation Law Center, known for her pivotal role in securing landmark legal victories for environmental protection during her tenure with the Hoosier Environmental Council. Kim’s achievements include halting threats posed by factory farms, compelling cleanups of industrial waste sites, and preventing the construction of hazardous industries near critical natural areas and marginalized communities, demonstrating her commitment to conservation, and addressing environmental injustice.

Question: What initially drew you to environmental justice issues, and how has your commitment to this cause evolved throughout your legal career?

Ferraro: Early on in my practice, I was involved in a legal challenge of a Clean Air Act permit that Indiana’s environmental agency issued for the BP oil refinery inWhiting, Indiana. The permit authorized BP to expand its already massive refinery on the shores of Lake Michigan to process heavy crude oil extracted from the Canadian tar sands and piped in via the controversial Enbridge pipeline. Making matters worse, this permit exempted BP from having to install pollution controls. This allowed for the release of cancer-causing air toxics, smog-forming pollutants, and climate-warming greenhouse gases from processing tar sands, which is a fuel even dirtier than coal.

Environmentalists—including me—were outraged that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) would approve this. After all, it’s no secret that mining and refining tar sands produces up to three times more climate-changing emissions than conventional crude, uses and pollutes tremendous amounts of water, and turns pristine Canadian forests into wastelands. But the people who lived near the BP refinery viewed this as just more the same—just another instance of the government enabling a big industrial polluter to use their community as a sacrifice zone because they are black, brown, and poor.

What I have come to understand since then is that these residents are absolutely right. Their circumstance is rooted in the same patterns of systemic racism that have existed in our country since its founding. To this day, infrastructure investments are more likely to be made in affluent communities, where environmental laws are more likely to be enforced, and where polluters are more likely to be held accountable or kept away entirely. In contrast, minority-black, brown, and impoverished communities are routinely treated as the dumping grounds where waste can be disposed of, industrial warehouses and polluting factories can be concentrated, and where natural resources can be readily exploited or destroyed. So, in my view, stopping the dirtiest industries from being forced on the most vulnerable communities is not just a cause, it’s a moral imperative.

Question: Collaboration is essential in addressing environmental justice issues. Can you discuss your experiences working with community organizations, advocacy groups, or government agencies to advocate for marginalized communities?

Ferraro: A notable example is the effective collaboration I was involved in that began in 2008 in response to BP’s plans to expand its refinery to process Canadian tar sands. A large coalition of environmental organizations and local citizens and groups banded together to challenge the air permit IDEM issued allowing the expansion without necessary air pollution controls. We also petitioned the U.S. EPA to intervene. As a result of this collective action, we ultimately achieved a 2012 consent decree requiring BP to install the air pollution control technologies that it should have installed in the first place. BP also had to pay an $8 million civil penalty and conduct fence-line air monitoring for two years so the impacted community could better understand the refinery’s effect on their air and health.

BP’s effort to evade its responsibility to control its refinery’s air pollution was, in effect, an effort to impose the real cost of processing dirty oil on the community in the form of pollution-induced illnesses, hospital visits, and medical bills. By joining forces and pooling resources, we were able to empower the community to hold BP accountable and make sure EPA stayed on the job. For that matter, in the decade since, EPA has ramped up its enforcement of BP’s continuing environmental violations. In May of this year, EPA entered a consent decree requiring the company to pay a record $40 million civil penalty for emitting excess volatile organic compounds and other hazardous air pollutants at the refinery. The consent decree also requires BP to spend more than $197 million to install additional air pollution controls and more fence-line monitoring stations so that neighbors know what they are being exposed to.

Question: What role do you believe environmental lawyers play in advocating for systemic change and policy reforms to address environmental injustices on a broader scale?

Ferraro: Environmental attorneys play a crucial role in addressing environmental injustice by empowering communities to overcome entrenched and structural barriers to remedying environmental hazards. The term, “environmental justice” essentially means that everyone—regardless of race, color, national origin, or income—has the right to the same environmental protections and benefits, as well as meaningful involvement in the decisions and policies that shape their communities. Yet, environmental, zoning, and land use laws are extremely complex, making it difficult for most people to participate meaningfully in environmental permitting and enforcement decisions without legal and technical assistance – and that assistance is financially out-of-reach for even moderate-income individuals, much less those who live in poverty and need the assistance the most.

That means environmental lawyers must step in. Environmental attorneys working for government agencies are needed to help develop and enforce policies that protect the environment for all citizens, not just white and affluent ones. Environmental attorneys who work for industry must ensure that their clients’ actions do not further contaminate and exploit the environments of already overburdened communities. And finally, we need more environmental lawyers to provide free legal support to marginalized communities so that their voices are heard, and their interests are fairly represented in decision-making that impacts their health, well-being, and quality of life.