Each waste facility permit is assessed in isolation from prior facilities

Evidence

After the prospective waste facility developer initiates the process by choosing a potential site location, it applies for a permit from the state environmental agency. The agency evaluates the application, then approves or rejects the permit application according to whether the applicant has met all the legal criteria for receiving a permit. In assessing the suitability of a proposed waste facility site, decision makers rely primarily on technical criteria and an environmental assessment of the facility. Decision makers generally do not consider the cumulative impact of the new facility and the preexisting facilities or land uses, the potential for disproportionate location of facilities in the host community, or the demographics of the targeted community. Instead, each permit is considered in a vacuum, requiring only that the individual facility at issue comply with applicable environmental regulations and other environmental assessments (e.g., avoiding a certain degree of proximity to wells, surface waters, residences, recreational areas, wetlands, and endangered species habitat). — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 374

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘each permit in a vacuum’ point explains the cumulative-burden dynamic behind Chester and Cancer Alley cases — ties to chapter 5 claims about single-permit outcomes. — connects to: Facility siting laws evaluate each permit in isolation, enabling toxic clustering.; Waste facility siting defines the movement’s central arena and studies — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 117; Neutral permitting laws perpetuate waste-siting inequalities — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 353

Broader Connections

• Neutral permitting laws perpetuate waste-siting inequalities #corroborates (0.72) — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 353