In Delaware, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accepted a Civil Rights complaint filed against Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and Sussex County, Delaware, for discriminating against the local community when reviewing permits for a proposed factory farm gas and composting facility in Seaford, Delaware.
EPA agreed to investigate whether DNREC discriminated against the Black, Hispanic, Latinx, and Haitian community on the basis of race, color, and national origin, and the Spanish and Haitian Creole speaking community with limited English proficiency. EPA said it will also investigate whether DNREC is complying with their “general nondiscrimination obligations,” and has a “public participation policy and process that is consistent with Title VI and other federal civil rights laws.”
EPA said while it will not formally investigate Sussex County, it’s considering initiating a compliance review to determine whether the county is also complying with Title VI.
