Environmental-law suits succeed by attacking permitting procedure rather than outcomes

Evidence

The crux of successful lawsuits based on environmental law is the focus on procedure. Many state and federal environmental laws, especially those related to permitting facilities, are procedurally oriented: they set out a series of procedural hoops to be jumped through; once an applicant has successfully jumped through the hoops, the applicant receives a permit. For example, lawyers using this approach filed suit on behalf of Mothers of East Los Angeles to point out flaws in the environmental review of a proposed toxic waste incinerator. When the community group won the lawsuit, the incinerator company withdrew its application rather than complete a full environmental review. — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 557

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the earlier chapter claims that Wins moved political pressure (ch1) and corporate withdrawal conceded victory (ch1); shows the same private-concession mechanism through litigation. — connects to: Procedural violations, not civil rights claims, won the Buttonwillow trial case. — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 464; State permitting laws structurally determine community influence over siting; Environmental law achieves reform by attacking procedure, not substance or outcome (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Procedural inclusion by itself increases acceptance of adverse environmental decisions #corroborates (0.78) — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 831