FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2017
Contact: Frazier Haney, Conservation Director, Mojave Desert Land Trust
Phone: 760-366-5440 x 229
frazier@mdlt.org

Mojave Desert Land Trust statement on the introduction of the Environmental Justice Bill 2017

Joshua Tree, CA – The Mojave Desert Land Trust has issued a statement in support of the landmark bicameral Environmental Justice Act of 2017, introduced by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-CA) on October 23, 2017. This bill enables those most disproportionately at risk to bring lawsuits directly against an entity or agency based on the Civil Rights Act, places a greater requirement on polluters to consider the ambient and cumulative impacts on air quality, and obliges agencies to report to Congress on certain metrics related to regulated pollutants.

Statement by the Mojave Desert Land Trust:

“This legislation recognizes the connection between healthy landscapes and healthy communities, and we applaud this step to ensure protection of both people and the environment. Congressman Ruiz has demonstrated leadership on environmental justice and conservation issues to constituents of the 36th Congressional District time and again, and communities here are grateful for his work.”

“Mojave Desert Land Trust works across the California desert, and our work is inseparable from the dozens of underserved, low income communities that call this place home. Many of the communities bear the terrible health effects of air and water pollution caused by power plants, toxic runoff, and chemical use. We have witnessed the effects of this in the communities around the Salton Sea and Imperial Valley which experience some of the highest adult and childhood asthma rates in the country, caused by windblown dust carrying heavy metals and pesticides, while producing agricultural goods that help feed the entire nation. This legislation will empower people in our region to take direct action to protect their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.” – Frazier Haney, MDLT

The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to protect and care for lands with natural, scenic and cultural value within the Mojave Desert. For more information, visit www.mdlt.org