Environmental justice refers to the principal that every person, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, should enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards as well as equal access to the decision-making process affecting them. It is meant to address circumstances in which minority communities disproportionately bare the burden of environmental contamination. (See U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Justice).

Environmental justice is not a new concept. The Environmental Justice Movement grew out of the Civil Rights Movement. Often cited as the catalyzing event for the movement on a national scale, the Warren County Protests brought civil rights and environmental activists together for a non-violent sit-in—an attempt to halt the siting of a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) landfill in a rural area with an overwhelmingly Black population. (See U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Justice Timeline).