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44 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 511 (2020)
U.S. Disaster Displacement in the Era of Climate Change: Discrimination & Consultation under the Stafford Act

handle is hein.journals/helr44 and id is 515 raw text is: U.S. DISASTER DISPLACEMENT IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE: DISCRIMINATION & CONSULTATION UNDER THE STAFFORD ACT Hannah Perls* ABSTRACT Environmental disasters displace over one million people in the United States per year. Displaced persons are disproportionately from marginalized communities, including low-in- come communities and communities of color. Once displaced, members of these groups also tend to be displaced for longer periods of time, exposing them to human rights violations. Federal disaster programs are not equipped to prevent or address disaster displacement in the era of climate change. Most federal disaster programs derive their authority from the 1988 Stafford Act, which was designed to react to rare and random events through discretionary, short-term assistance. Long-term recovery funds increasingly come from unpredictable congres- sional appropriations that lack permanent statutory authority, leading to excessive delays and administrative burdens. This framework results in ad hoc responses that exclude vulnerable communities from critical planning processes and prolong displacement. This Note argues that federal disaster reforms must address the rights of internally dis- placed persons (IDPs) as enumerated under the international Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Part I proposes a definitional frameworkfor climate change-related migration in the United States, and reviews key drivers of disaster displacement. Parts II and III pro- vide an overview of the Guiding Principles and the federal disaster system, respectively. Parts V and VI then address two key rights under the Guiding Principles. Part V reviews IDPs' right to freedom from discrimination, concluding that the Stafford Act's broad discretionary function exception, combined with courts' narrow interpretation oftheAct's nondiscrimination provision, effectively blocks access to legal redress for disaster programs that disparately impact protected groups. Part VI evaluates IDPs' right to access protection and assistance that accounts for their specific needs, finding that federalfunding structures under both the Stafford Act and the Housing and Community Development Act severely inhibit meaningful consultation with groups vulnerable to disaster displacement. Both Parts V and VI conclude with suggested re- forms to facilitate the recognition and affirmation of these rights. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................. 512 . U.S. Disaster Displacement ................................. 520 A. Defining Disaster Displacement............................ 521 B. Drivers of Disaster Displacement in the United States ......... .523 I. IDPs' Rights and Federal Ohligations Under the Guiding Principles ........................................ 526 * J.D. Candidate, Harvard Law School, Class of 2020; B.A., Columbia University. The author would like to thank Kevin Chen, Peter Daniels, Tyler Giannini, Elias Rodriguez, A.R. Siders, and Hana Vizcarra for their thoughtful feedback Special thanks to Shaun Goho for his supervision, and the editorial staff of the Harvard Environmental Law Review for their edits and dedication in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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