When it comes to environmental regulation, existing air and water quality monitoring continually fails to capture the realities of harmful impacts to communities located near industry. More often than not, those with closest proximity to environmental issues are not the ones making critical policy decisions that affect environmental justice communities. This panel will focus on the important role of citizen participation in environmental issues and how local knowledge plays a role in environmental law and policymaking. We will hear from a group of Louisianans who work to empower communities with resources to conduct their own monitoring and give them a greater voice in environmental planning.