In the 13th episode of "Groundtruth," Associate Lauren Karam (Boston) speaks with Stella Keck, a Senior Scientist at Roux, and Andrew Shapero, a Senior Engineer at Roux. Lauren, Stella, and Andrew discuss new regulations in Massachusetts involving cumulative impact analyses for air permit issues in areas near environmental justice (EJ) communities, and how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other states address cumulative impacts in EJ communities ..read more

The Biden-Harris administration has placed an unprecedented federal focus on environmental justice using a whole of government approach, including issuing executive orders demanding accountability and action from a broad list of federal agencies and requiring input from impacted communities. In the 12th episode of "Groundtruth," Associate Hilary Jacobs meets with Ebony Griffin, an Environmental Justice Advocate with Earthjustice for a focused conversation about environmental justice and community engagement. They also discuss how regulators and companies can meaningfully engage with ..read more

In the 11th episode of "Groudtruth," Associates Noa Ervin and Claire McLeod interview Deniss Martinez, PhD Candidate at the University of California Davis, on the practices of prescribed burns. Indigenous people used prescribed burns in forests for thousands of years to manage land, reduce wildfire risk, and support cultural practices. This episode focuses on how colonial governments and land management agencies have suppressed these practices, and highlight the recent progress in restoring Indigenous fire management ..read more

In the tenth episode of "Groundtruth," Beveridge & Diamond Principal Julius M. Redd (Washington, DC) speaks with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. Commissioner LaTourette joined the first "Groundtruth" episode in April 2021, shortly after the Governor of New Jersey signed landmark environmental justice legislation into law in 2020. In our latest episode, he joins Julius again to discuss the Department’s proposed implementing rules for this law, which were published in early June 2022. “Groundtruth” is a podcast series, produced in pa ..read more

In the ninth episode of “Groundtruth,” Associate Hilary Jacobs (Washington, DC), speaks with Professor Achinthi Vithanage, the Associate Director of Environmental Law Programs at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, and Jesse Glickstein, Environmental & Human Rights Counsel for Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Global Social and Environmental Responsibility Team. They discuss environmental justice (EJ) on a global scale and what companies can do to advance EJ, climate justice, and human rights goals worldwide ..read more

In the seventh episode of "Groundtruth," the Co-Chairs of Beveridge & Diamond's Environmental Justice practice, Stacey Sublett Halliday and Julius Redd (Washington, DC), briefly recap recent EJ policy developments, the launch of the Council on Environmental Quality's Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), and what’s to come. They then talk with two EJ leaders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Matthew Tejada, Director of EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice, and Samantha Phillips Beers, Director of the EPA Region III Office of Communities, Tribes, and Envir ..read more

Beveridge & Diamond Principal John Cruden (Washington, DC), who formerly served as Assistant Attorney General of DOJ’s Environment & Natural Resources Division (2015-2017), speaks with renowned environmental justice (EJ) leader and advocate Benjamin F. Wilson. Ben, who recently retired after serving years as Chairman of Beveridge & Diamond, has deep experience with EJ representations and is a recognized leader on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the legal profession. In December, The American Lawyer presented Ben with its Lifetime Achievement Award, and Lawyers of Color l ..read more

In the fifth episode of “Groundtruth,” B&D Principal and former Special Counsel in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of General Counsel Stacey Sublett Halliday (Washington, DC) sits down with two environmental justice (EJ) leaders at EPA – Charles Lee (Senior Policy Advisor) and Matthew Tejada (Director of the Office of Environmental Justice) – to hear their insights on what’s in store for 2022. Charles and Matthew discuss how far EPA has come, how to contextualize the change that we are seeing, key goals for 2022, and best practices for those trying to incorporate EJ cons ..read more

In the third episode of "Groundtruth," Beveridge & Diamond Principal Roy Prather (Baltimore) provides an overview of important environmental justice (EJ) developments that occurred in 2021 at the federal and state levels, spurred in large part by the Biden Administration. Roy then interviews Roger Martella (Chief Sustainability Officer at General Electric) and Chonda Nwamu (Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary at Ameren Corporation) who each share about their company's approach to EJ and how it relates to the company's environment, social, and governance (ESG) policies, c ..read more

In the second episode of "Groundtruth," Beveridge & Diamond's Hilary Jacobs, speaks with Dr. Karla Drenner, a State Representative from Georgia, and Rebecca Saldaña, a State Senator from Washington, about the evolution of environmental justice (EJ) legislation in their states: Georgia House Bill 431 and the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act in Washington, which Governor Inslee signed into law on May 17, 2021. The speakers explore the history, evolution, and future of each piece of legislation, including its impetus, its implications, and what they have in common. The speakers also dis ..read more