Environmental Justice/Injustice and SCAQMD’s Dry-Cleaners Initiative

This paper presents an analysis of an Environment Justice (EJ) program adopted by the South
Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) as a part of its regulation to phase out a toxic
chemical used by dry cleaners. AQMD has provided financial incentives to switch early, and
establishments in EJ neighborhoods are given priority. Despite this pro-EJ policy, an analysis of
available data shows that dry cleaners in low-income, predominantly minority and EJ designated
areas are less likely to be an early adopter of green technologies, and this finding holds even after
accounting for firm and market characteristics.