Golden Gate University

ELJC is staffed by two faculty attorneys, one attorney fellow, and our student clinicians. ELJC clinicians are certified under State Bar of California rules to perform many of the tasks of an attorney. Under close faculty supervision, they interview and counsel clients, develop legal strategies, draft legal documents, appear at hearings, and negotiate with opposing parties.

The Clinic and Environmental Justice

The San Francisco Bay Area has numerous densely urbanized zones that are hot spots of industrial activity and traffic. People who live or work closer to these places are likely to be exposed to higher levels of air, water, and other forms of pollution and thus bear a higher burden of environmental health risk than the population in general. Environmental injustice exists because underprivileged people--people of color and those in lower economic categories--are more likely to live and work near urban pollution hot spots.

In recent years, the presence of environmental inequity has been confirmed by many studies. Evidence is also emerging that people living in highly impacted areas become more sensitive to environmental pollution: resistance to disease may be undermined by the cumulative effect of a series of adverse conditions, including pollution, noise, and socio-psychological stress. Global climate change is another source of environmental inequity. For example, global warming will exacerbate heat waves and raise air pollution levels in some of our large urban centers, where most underprivileged people live.

Over the last two decades, numerous Bay Area community and environmental organizations have focused on the problem of inequitable pollution exposure. The goals of these groups include eliminating environmental discrimination, reducing cumulative environmental health risks, establishing health-protective regulations and ensuring their strict enforcement, and having a voice in industrial permit proceedings.

ELJC offers services to environmental justice advocates so that they may work more effectively in a political environment that is frequently indifferent and sometimes inhospitable to these objectives. We help community advocates to engage with different government agencies, from the local and state, to the national levels. We are a free resource for groups who want to challenge polluting industries, so that they pay attention to public health and not just profits.

After several decades of organizing, environmental justice advocates have convinced government agencies--at both the state and federal level--to craft a variety of environmental justice plans and policies. Today, the movement for environmental justice is in a new and perhaps more difficult phase. It is now time for policy suggestions to be incorporated concretely into environmental regulation and decision making. This step will require significant political organizing and a more technically sophisticated environmental justice movement.

Support for Neighborhoods with Pollution Problems

A large part of our work consists of providing legal services to communities facing a variety of environmental pollution problems, such as toxic air emissions from power plants and manufacturing facilities. Matters that we normally handle include: enforcement of federal and state pollution laws, participation in permit proceedings, and challenges to environmental rulemaking or the siting of hazardous facilities. Our staff scientist provides technical assistance to our legal staff on these cases as well as other clinic projects. The Clinic also advises clients on options to solve problems without bringing a lawsuit.  We do not represent clients who are having disputes with neighbors or skeeing money damages.

Working for New Policies to Reduce Pollution

Additionally, ELJC works in collaboration with environmental advocates to strengthen regional and national environmental policies to protect public health and the environment. In one of our projects, for example, the Clinic's staff scientist provides technical support and policy analysis to the Bay Area Environmental Health Collaborative (BAEHC), a coalition of more than thirty Bay Area environmental and community groups advocating for changes in regional air pollution policies.

Honors

The Clinic's work on behalf of environmental justice communities and in the field of clinical legal education has been recognized locally and nationally:

• In 2009, the US EPA Region 9 presented ELJC with an "Environmental Award for Outstanding Achievement."
• In 2009, we received a $300,000 cy pres award from the the law firm of Saveri & Saveri, Inc. as part of the California Smokeless Tobacco Antitrust Settlement.
• In 2006, the Clinical Legal Education Association gave its "Award for Excellence in a Public Interest Case or Project" to the Clinic for our work on the Southeast San Francisco Energy Project. The award recognizes projects that "significantly redress a high-priority need of a low-income community."
• In 2004, San Francisco County recognized the Clinic for its work in protecting the environment.
• In 2000, Environment Now gave former Clinic Director Alan Ramo the "Wells Family Award" for his work on urban environmental issues.
• On Earth Day 1999, the US Environmental Protection Agency honored the Clinic along with one other San Francisco public interest organization for our work in protecting the environment.
• In 1998, the Clinic was one of three university presenters at a plenary meeting of the American Association of Law Schools' workshop on "New Strategies for Inner Cities: Academics, Professionals and Communities in Partnership."
• In 1997, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors commended the Clinic's work with the Bayview-Hunters Point community.
• In 1995, the American Bar Association's Section on Natural Resources, Environmental and Energy Law gave ELJC its student Law clinic award for our work in Bayview-Hunters Point.

Clinic Application Form

Who can apply for the clinic?

The clinic is open to second- and third-year students who have successfully completed all first-year courses and have completed Evidence or are concurrently enrolled in Evidence. Prior or concurrent enrollment in Environmental Law and Policy is helpful for clinic students, but not required. Special scheduling arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis for night students whenever possible.

Can Honors Lawyering Program students work at the clinic?

Yes. We accept HLP students for placement based on the clinic's caseload and our ability to provide adequate supervision. HLP students must take the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic seminar for credit while working in the clinic. HLP students must indicate in the ELJC application their interest in applying to the ELJC as an HLP placement.

What do students do in the clinic?

Students work under the guidance of two professors and a graduate fellow to directly represent and advocate for clients in real-life public health, toxics, and environmental justice matters. Students support the clinic's docket by interviewing clients, researching and authoring memoranda, and drafting declarations and briefs. Students may also participate in settlement conferences, and attend community meetings and court hearings. Where circumstances allow, students may argue in court on behalf of clients.

Where do our clients come from?

We typically represent community groups in low-income and minority communities, as well as environmental organizations. Sometimes, our clients come to us through our telephone intake process. Many of the groups we represent have been our clients since our inception. Clients also come to us through referrals from current and former clients and our community contacts.

What material does the seminar cover?

The seminar explores law and policy issues central to the environmental justice movement. Students will specifically explore matters that recur in the representation of clients disproportionately impacted by pollution. Topics covered include the ethical responsibilities of attorneys in environmental justice matters, the interplay of civil rights and environmental justice and the sources of environmental justice problems.The seminar also provides information and the skills training necessary for effective legal advocacy. Skills training is tailored to the needs of the clinic's caseload, but typically covers environmental legal research and writing, fact investigation, and brief writing.

What is the California State Bar certification program for Practical Training of Law Students (PTLS)?

The program allows a certified law student to perform permitted activities, such as representing clients at hearings under the supervision of a supervising attorney. ELJC clinicians are certified by the State Bar's PTLS program. For more information, see CalBar-PTLS.

What are the number of units and time commitment involved?

Clinic students enroll in the 3-unit Environmental Law & Justice Seminar plus an additional 1-3 clinic credits.

• 1 clinic credit = 10.5 hours/week, with at least 5 in-clinic hours
• 2 clinic credits = 13 hours/week, with at least 7 in-clinic hours
• 3 clinic credits = 15.5 hours/week, with at least 8 in-clinic hours

Students may return for additional clinic units in subsequent semesters without re-enrolling in the seminar. (Priority is given to students taking 5 or 6 units.)

Can I enroll in the seminar without taking the clinic?

Yes. We accept students, such as LLM candidates, for the seminar without participation in the clinic. The seminar-only students must write an in-depth research paper. The Seminar examines the background of the environmental justice movement, legal theories to address environmental injustice, and general lawyer practice skills.

Should I take the clinic if I do not plan to practice environmental law?

Yes. You will learn a wide range of lawyering skills in the clinic that will be useful to you in other areas of law. In particular, students interested in going into fields that are governed by regulations, such as securities law, may find the clinic beneficial. You will gain confidence that you can practice law once you graduate, having worked with real clients in real cases involving a regulatory scheme.

The clinic provides free legal assistance and environmental science consulting to non-profit community groups and individuals working on environmental pollution problems. Our focus is on communities that are disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area.

We can help you in the following ways:

• Getting more information from government agencies and evaluating regulatory documents related to your pollution problem
• Helping you participate in a regulatory public comment process
• Identifying and explaining your legal options for eliminating a pollution problem
• Helping you to formulate a plan of action around your issue (which may include a legal strategy)
• Representing you in a lawsuit to achieve your environmental and public health protection goals
• Providing a scientific or public health analysis of environmental pollution in your neighborhood

Please note that there are some limitations on the types of legal assistance that we can provide to our clients. For example, we do not represent clients who seek damages in personal injury cases or are involved in private disputes with neighbors over chemical use issues.

To find out if we may be able to help you, please contact us by phone at:

We will assign your matter to one of our certified law student clinicians. After a short interview, we will analyze your case to determine whether it fits within ELJC's mission and goals and whether staffing resources allow the clinic to represent you.

Donations

ELJC is a program of Golden Gate University, a 501(c)(3) charitable educational organization. All contributions are deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. We welcome individual and foundation donations and grants, as well as donations of stocks and securities. Your donations will go directly to support ELJC's work, including supporting the positions of Graduate Fellow and Environmental Scientist. Please contact Clinic Director Helen Kang if you wish to make a donation or have questions.

Cy Pres

Designating ELJC as a Class Action Cy Pres Recipient is another way to support our work. Not all class members in class actions may be found, or it may be infeasible to make full restitution to class members. In such cases, a court may approve a charitable donation out of the unclaimed residue of class action funds, or a direct grant in lieu of damages, to any entity that will vindicate class member rights in the future.

We thank the law firm of Saveri & Saveri, Inc. for naming us as a Cy Pres recipient to the California Smokeless Tobacco Antitrust Settlement in 2009. The Cy Pres award of $300,000 will allow the Clinic to continue assisting communities working for environmental justice.

Donations to ELJC may be made in two ways:

1. You may print out our donation form and mail in your contribution:

• Download a Printable Donation Form (PDF)

2. You may make an online contribution by accessing:

• Golden Gate University's Online Giving Site (be sure to designate the "Environmental Law and Justice Clinic" in the designation box.)

ELJC Faculty

ELJC Staff

Fe Gonzalez is the Clinic's program assistant. Before joining us in June 2002, Fe worked for 22 years as a paralegal and legal secretary for a consortium of shipping companies in the Philippines. She earned her Associate Degree at Philippine Christian University.

Shanna Foley is a staff attorney with the Clinic. She graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2010 with specializations in environmental and public interest law. During law school, Shanna was an ELJC student-clinician and an editor for the Law School's Environmental Law Journal. She also completed internships at the Center for Biological Diversity, the Law Offices of Stephen Volker, and the Homesless Advocacy Project, and the Public Utilities Commission.

Helen Kang, Clinic Director

Pursuing Environmental Justice: Obstacles and Opportunities - Lessons from the Field, 31 Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 121 (2009).

The pursuit of environmental justice has not moved much beyond the rhetorical sphere, although some hopeful signs have emerged from government agencies as a result of advocacy from communities that are heavily impacted by pollution. Government at all levels must implement ideas such as ending the grandfathering of new major sources and eliminating emission credits in highly polluted areas. The federal government must also initiate rulemaking to address nuisances that plague highly polluted areas. In addition to government action, citizens must organize to demand government action to address cumulative pollution.

Fighting for Environmental Justice Takes Long-Lasting Coalitions, 45 Clearinghouse Review, Journal of Poverty Law and Policy 158 (2011).

Collaboration between grassroots groups, environmental groups, city politicians, law professors, and law students has resulted in closure of two dirty power plants in the City of San Francisco, while also preventing other energy generation projects using fossil fuel. The success is attributable to the community's ability to gather critical health information and educate the city politicians, long-term stability of the community's advocates, and coalition building that extended beyond the borders of the community.

Deborah Behles, Staff Attorney

Why CEQA Exemption Decisions Need Additional Notice Requirements, 33 ENVIRONS 111 (2009).

Public agencies that exempt projects from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act may not be required to record or publish their decisions. As a result, agencies can exempt even large projects, such as construction of a new facility in a heavily polluted area, from the statute's environmental assessment requirements without the public's knowledge. This problem can and should be remedied. Agencies should notify the public about exemption decisions that could cause environmental impacts. Exemption decisions otherwise will remain unchecked, and communities will have no way to ensure that significant projects undergo environmental review.

Why California Failed to Meet Its RPS Target, 17 West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law & Policy 163 (Summer 2011).

California's Renewable Portfolio Standard required 20% of the state's energy to be generated from renewable resources by 2010 and 33% by 2020. California failed to meet its 2010 goal despite having expended significant resources toward that end. Three prominent reasons for this are the decentralized administration of the program, the lack of strong enforcement provisions, and the state's extensive reliance on information provided by utility companies. California should enact clear and enforceable requirements administered by one centralized agency that independently assesses renewable policy and goals.

Examining the Air We Breathe: EPA Should Evaluate Cumulative Impacts When It Promulgates National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 28 Pace Environmental Law Review 200 (2010).

Inhaling air pollutants can lead to a variety of adverse respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. Despite the evidence of potential impacts of inhaling multiple pollutants at the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has continued to focus its analysis of health impacts on individual pollutants instead of the actual mixture we breathe. The agency should evaluate and consider cumulative health impacts when it sets national ambient air quality standards under the Clean Air Act. There is agency precedent for considering at least two pollutants together in an assessment, and the agency should do a similar type of evaluation for human health impacts of inhaling multiple pollutants.

California PUC Orders Utilities to Prioritize Clean Energy over Fossil Fuels

On behalf of Pacific Environment, the Clinic obtained a favorable decision from the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that strengthens clean energy policy in California. The decision clarifies that the utility companies should always consider conservation and renewables before fossil-fuel facilities in supplying electricity to consumers. Student clinicians participated in every aspect of this proceeding, including drafting the briefs and appearing at hearings. "This decision prevents the utilities from undermining California's development of renewable energy. Now California can more effectively move toward reducing its reliance on fossil fuels," said Patrick Sullivan, one of the law students who worked on the case. "This common sense approach should go a long way in helping California meet its clean energy goals," said Aaron Gaspard, another student on the team.

• Access the Decision

ELJC Sues to Reduce Pollution from Kraft Pulp Mills

The clinic is representing Greenpeace and Port Townsend Airwatchers, which are working with Center for Biological Diversity on the lawsuit.

• See the Press Release

ELJC's 2011 Fall Report

National and local work by The Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

• Read the Fall 2011 Report

Clinic Helps States Fight Climate Change

States seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks, including the State of California, recently defeated a legal challenge by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Automobile Dealers Association in the D.C. Circuit court. The Clinic represented prominent climate scientists who were amici curiae (friends of the court), providing their opinion on the imminent dangers of climate change. As a result of this victory, states will be able to continue with their steps to reduce greenhouse gases from transportation sources, which account for nearly 30% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Southeast San Francisco Power Plant Closes

This February, the Potrero power plant (the last of San Francisco's fossil-fuel plants) was officially shut down. The facility's closure represents a victory for the Clinic and numerous local community advocates. Potrero's main generating unit was constructed in the 1960s and produced large environmental impacts compared to modern power generating technologies. Over several decades, ELJC assisted groups such as the Morgan Heights Homeowner's Association, the Southeast Alliance for Environmental Justice, Communities for a Better Environment, and Bayview-Hunters Point Community Advocates in monitoring the facility's compliance with regulations, in preventing expansion efforts, and in demanding an end to air and water pollution created by the plant. Numerous Clinic students participated in this effort.

Victory at the California PUC

The Clinic scored another victory for communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution. ELJC's participation before the California Public Utilities Commission led to the denial of PG&E's request to build a large natural gas-fired power plant in Antioch, CA (the Pittsburg-Antioch area is already home to 14 fossil-fueled power plants). GGU students' exceptional legal research and writing enabled the Clinic to argue successfully on behalf of our client, Pacific Environment. Students prepared written testimony and legal briefs. The Clinic argued that the plant was unnecessary and inconsistent with California's energy policy and renewable energy goals.

ELJC Wins Appeal on Behalf of Hinkley, CA Residents

The Clinic successfully defended its 2008 lower court victory overturning San Bernardino County's approval of an open-air sewage sludge compost facility in Hinkley, a rural Southern California town, with a sizeable Latino community. The County is now required take a hard look at whether a human waste composting facility should use today's technology and enclose the operation. Our clients said: "No one would help or listen until the legal teams at the Golden Gate University Environmental Law and Justice Clinic and the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment came to the aid of our community." ELJC Graduate Fellow, Lucas Williams, argued the appeal. Lucas is a former ELJC student.

Ongoing...

Working for Renewable Energy in California

California law requires that 20 percent of the state's generated electricity come from renewable energy resources by 2010. Energy providers covered by the law have failed to achieve this important goal. The Clinic, on behalf of Pacific Environment, is participating in California Public Utilities Commission proceedings to ensure that renewable energy resources are integrated into the power grid in a timely manner and that innovative, low-polluting technologies are used for back-up capability.

ELJC Supports Bay Area Coalition to Reduce Air Pollution

The Clinic has been an active member of the Bay Area Environmental Health Collaborative (BAEHC) since 2005. BAEHC is a partnership of six environmental health coalitions (including numerous grassroots community groups) whose goal is to reduce cumulative air pollution in San Francisco Bay area communities. BAEHC advocates for stronger air pollution controls and increased community participation in environmental decision-making processes. The Clinic assists BAEHC with environmental science and policy analysis and houses its staff.

• Visit the BAEHC Website

Fighting Climate Change

ELJC works to prevent global climate change, which is causing significant environmental harm and injustice in the US and around the world. For example, as noted above, we represented several respected climate scientists who provided expert testimony in a key federal climate change case.

• See our Amicus Brief

The Clinic also submitted a comment letter on behalf of several Bay Area clients which calls on the US EPA to look more closely at environmental justice impacts when it regulates greenhouse gases. The letter advocates against trading greenhouse gases

• Read ELJC's Greenhouse Gas Letter

Mailing Address

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic
Golden Gate University School of Law
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-2968

Phone: 415-442-6647
Fax: 415-896-2450

Clinic Contacts

Helen Kang, Clinic Director
E-mail: hkang@ggu.edu

Important Note

Please do not e-mail us concerning potential representation. Because we receive a significant volume of e-mail, your important e-mail may not be read. Your e-mail may also be inadvertently categorized as spam. For these reasons, you should call the Clinic first with any inquiries about representation. Before you call, please review the information on this web page to see whether your matter is similar to the kinds of cases taken by the Clinic.