Interview with Council’s New Legal Fellow, Joseph A. Ingrao, Esq.
February 2, 2022
- Where are you from and what’s your background?
I grew up in Jackson, New Jersey (home of Six Flags: Great Adventure!) I went to high school in Maryland before attending Lafayette College in Easton, PA, where I double-majored in Engineering Studies and Asian Studies with a minor in Anthropology and Sociology. After two years working at nonprofits and for legislators, I went to Stanford University to get my law degree and a Master’s of Science in Environment and Resources.
- Why did you choose to come to the Clean Air Council?
I sought out the Clean Air Council because it is in the sweet spot in terms of size for an environmental nonprofit. The Council is agile and focused in Pennsylvania, so people in the community can really get to know us and we can build trust better than some national organizations. But we are also large enough to have the resources to have a significant impact.
- How long have you been with the Council?
About 5 months!
- What expertise do you bring to the Council?
My academic background is all about translating science into its real-world impact, and I use that training everyday at the Council. As an environmental justice fellow, when I work with community members and community groups, I can explain both the law and the science of the matters before them, at the level they need to be fully informed and to exercise their rights. I also use this expertise to directly comment on government actions that could worsen environmental injustice in Pennsylvania – fighting for both short-term and long-term progress.
- What keeps you motivated and invested in environmental legal and advocacy that can take years to achieve change?
The intense need for justice to be done. Even setting aside the weakness of current environmental laws – and those need major improvement – our current approach is not protecting the most vulnerable among us. For decades, it has been clear that government decision-making has caused pollution to be concentrated onto communities of color, even though such disparate impacts are illegal under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. My intrinsic, American desire for justice, is all I need to keep me going.
- What is the work you do for the Clean AIr Council?
My position is unique because I work exclusively on Environmental Justice matters – helping poor communities and communities of color however I can. My work varies greatly from day to day, from helping advise a grassroots coalition about environmental science and law, to commenting on permits being proposed in communities of color, to helping litigate against power plants in low-income areas.
- What’s the biggest challenge to winning legal victories for the environment?
The imbalance of political and economic power, which stymies both political change and the enforcement of current law. Although everyone wants clean air, clean water, and a healthy community for themselves and their children, there is enough wealth and political momentum behind the exploitation of our air, water, and soil that achieving those goals is an uphill battle.
- What legal battles would you be thrilled to win? Why?
The battles over the Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment are most exciting to me right now. The wording of the Amendment makes clear that Pennsylvania needs to protect the air, water, soil, and other natural resources of the Commonwealth for all people, and courts have been increasingly recognizing the positive responsibilities that places on the government. I look forward to the day when this constitutional provision is fully achieved.
