Center for American Progress

Securing Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthy Environment for All
Video

Securing Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthy Environment for All

How Federal Investments and Empowered Community Leadership Are Building Healthy Communities in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Beyond

Industrial facilities are most often located in or near Black, brown, and low-income communities who face the brunt of harmful industrial pollution, climate change impacts, and other environmental and public health hazards—something Harold Mitchell experienced firsthand in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Fortunately, the Biden administration’s long-overdue environmental justice investments can ensure that all people—regardless of race, income, or ZIP code—have clean air and clean water and live in safe and healthy communities.

Part of a Series

On the front lines of industrial pollution and neglect, communities bearing the brunt of public health impacts and environmental degradation can find new hope through the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Environmental justice leader Harold Mitchell’s firsthand experience with pollution’s dire effects in Spartanburg, South Carolina, inspired him to establish the ReGenesis Institute and ignited a movement for change. The success and lessons learned in Spartanburg are guiding ReGenesis in their efforts to expand their model of community engagement and restoration to other communities, by leveraging the groundbreaking investments from the IRA and BIL. Critical investments in environmental justice are not just addressing past and ongoing harms but also empowering communities with resources to improve public health, lives, and livelihoods in front-line communities.

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Authors

Devon Lespier

Research Assistant, Energy and Environment Campaigns

Margaret Cooney

Senior Campaign Manager of Storytelling, Energy and Environment Campaigns

Hannah Malus

Senior Director, Strategy and Operations

Cathleen Kelly

Senior Fellow

Producers

Hai-Lam Phan

Senior Director, Creative

Matthew Gossage

Events Video Producer

Jeremy Hill

Contractor

Andrew Sonntag

Former Events Video Producer

Toni Pandolfo

Video Producer, Production

Team

Domestic Climate

It’s time to build a 100 percent clean future, deliver on environmental justice, and empower workers to compete in the global clean energy economy.

Explore The Series

A group of environmental justice activists is seen in front of some trees and cars.

Black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities are tapping into the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented climate, clean energy, and environmental justice investments. These communities are using this new influx of funding to secure clean air and water, affordable clean energy, living-wage jobs, and improved public health.

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