Who is Responsible for Ensuring Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Centers are Lead Free?

Who is Responsible for Ensuring Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Centers are Lead Free?

For over a century, our governments failed to regulate lead as it entered almost every facet of our consumer market and infrastructure. Despite long-standing knowledge of the risk of lead poisoning, lead was used for its versatility and low-cost. New studies estimate that at least half of the United States population was exposed to adverse lead levels during early childhood. While statutes and regulations have been put in place to prevent the continued use of lead in infrastructure and some products, few hold anyone responsible for affirmatively removing lead hazards. 

24 Black Environmentalists to Know in 2024

24 Black Environmentalists to Know in 2024

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services would like to highlight these twenty-four champions of the environment in honor of Black History Month 2024. As an organization dedicated to uplifting the voices of underserved communities, Fair Shake celebrates their contributions to the fight for environmental justice and conservation. Whether new to the fight for our environment like youth animal rights activist Genesis Butler or a cornerstone of the movement for decades like Dr. Robert Bullard, these advocates inspire us to live in harmony with our planet and to fiercely protect the places where we live, work, and play.

It’s Time to Face the Music: Harms of Noise Pollution and the EPA’s Ineffective Regulation

It’s Time to Face the Music: Harms of Noise Pollution and the EPA’s Ineffective Regulation

While noise pollution poses a substantial threat to human health and the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charged with regulating it has been largely inactive under its Congressional authority to do so within the Noise Control Act of 1972 (NCA). Under the NCA, the EPA is given the authority to identify and regulate products that are “major sources” of noise. The NCA also leaves the primary responsibility of noise control to state and local governments, while recognizing that federal action is needed for major noise sources in commerce.

West Virginia Zoning Case's Potential Impact on Local Control of Oil and Gas Activities

West Virginia Zoning Case's Potential Impact on Local Control of Oil and Gas Activities

SWN Production Company, LLC, a Texas-based natural gas developer, is appealing a West Virginia circuit court decision upholding local zoning laws’ ability to limit the location of oil and gas activities. The appeal’s outcome may greatly affect the ability of local governments to control oil and gas activities in their communities.

FAIR SHAKE BRINGS ON NEW LAWYER TO EXPAND SERVICES FOR COMMUNITIES WITH LEAD EXPOSURE

FAIR SHAKE BRINGS ON NEW LAWYER TO EXPAND SERVICES FOR COMMUNITIES WITH LEAD EXPOSURE

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services has provided assistance to communities experiencing lead exposure for over seven years. While the mission of Fair Shake is to foster equal access to environmental justice in the Appalachian Region, the variation of laws governing lead between state and local jurisdictions have been a barrier to the expansion of services for lead exposure. That is why Fair Shake is excited to announce that Brooke Christy, a recent Pitt Law graduate, has joined Fair Shake’s staff as an Equal Justice Works Fellow dedicated to specializing in lead exposure.