When Select Steel Inc. proposed construction of a $175 million
steel mill that would create 200 jobs in the economically-
distressed community of Genesee County, Michigan, the majority
of local residents welcomed the proposal. But thanks to the
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) so-called environmental
justice policy, which purports to protect minorities from being
disproportionately affected by pollution, last year the company
was forced to locate to a more affluent area, depriving
economically-disadvantaged minorities the opportunity to get
high-paying manufacturing jobs.1 When Select Steel announced its
plan to establish a plant in Genesee County in 1998, a majority
of residents very much wanted its $16-per-hour jobs.2 Genesee
County is still reeling from the closure of General Motors
facilities and the per capita income of Genesee workers has
significantly declined. Only a small number of activists opposed
the plant. Said a township supervisor, "Only a few people didn't
want Select Steel to come and t