“When I Take Off My EPA Hat”: Using Intersectional Theories to Examine Environmental Justice Governance

Abstract

Environmental justice governance is affected not just by the political context within which it is executed but also by the choices made by the individuals who are responsible for implementing, enacting, and enforcing policies. In this article, I examine the experiences of seven African American women at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to argue that their lived experiences of oppression affect their approach to environmental justice governance. Using an intersectional environmental justice framework and drawing on semistructured interviews, I contend that these women believe that they have to go above and beyond for the environmental justice communities they serve because they are their communities. One way they do this is by drawing on the networks they have due to their positionality as EPA employees to connect communities to resources to which they might not otherwise have access. In this way, they help communities while still staying within the confines of the regulatory framework imposed on them. In conclusion, I contend that it is necessary to examine the mechanism of environmental justice governance and to do that we must pay attention to the intersectional identities of the people who enact these policies. Key Words: black geographies, environmental governance, environmental justice, Environmental Protection Agency, intersectionality.