The Chapman Law Review is proud to publish James Crisafulli’s article: “Individually Minor But Collectively Significant”: The Right to Cumulative Impact Analyses and Substantive Protections in Wilmington, California. Below, you will find the article’s abstract.

Forthcoming: “Individually Minor But Collectively Significant”: The Right to Cumulative Impact Analyses and Substantive Protections in Wilmington, California

By James Crisafulli*

Abstract

James’s paper thoroughly evaluates the disproportionate air pollution impacts on the residents of Wilmington, California and argues that procedural and substantive mechanisms should be applied to relieve them of cumulative impact burdens from several neighboring sources of pollution. His article evaluates gaps in applicable federal and state environmental impact assessment mechanisms–and draws on cumulative impact protection mechanisms in other countries–to propose an innovative and compelling response to a pressing environmental justice issue in Southern California.

* James Crisafulli is a third-year law student at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, graduating in May 2024. He is from Los Angeles, California, and he has been interested in environmental law and policy since his undergraduate studies. He is the recipient of the Phi Beta Kappa Centennial Prize from Northwestern University and a Presidential Merit Scholarship at his law school. During law school, he has worked in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of State, along with several environmental firms and nonprofits. He hopes to continue to advocate for environmental justice across the U.S.