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This paper develops and tests an environmental health ecological framework between the quality of infrastructure, utilities and resident’s practices to health problems reported in three Nueces County, Texas <em>colonias. Populated by predominantly low-income, minority families, these peri-urban settlements are characterized by substandard housing, lacking traditional sewage systems, potable drinking water and pluvial drainage. It was hypothesized that those without indoor toilets, pluvial drainage and regular garbage collection would be more likely to report health problems. The study found that keeping trash for over a week was statistically related to gastrointestinal illness and eye infections. Having indoor toilets in conjunction with substandard septic tanks was statistically related to gastrointestinal illness, respiratory problems and skin infections. The lack of pluvial drainage was statistically significantly, while not related to a particular disease. The argument is made that flooding problems may have contributed to the sanitation problems. Specifically, drainage problems affect the septic tanks and cause backflow to the indoor toilets. Although a small sample, the findings show that people who live in <em>colonias are at risk for disease because structural measures to improve sanitation are not available

The literature on environmental justice indicates that there is a strong presence of grass‐roots activity. This research uses the political process model to investigate whether the environmental justice groups are a social movement or a network of nongovernmental organizations. The results indicate that the majority of these groups do not track the theoretical tenets. There are two groups operating under the penumbra of the environmental justice movement: a social movement and a nongovernmental organization (NGO s) network. There is a modest degree of insurgent action, i.e., blocking the siting of landfills. The NGO's predominate and are the driving force behind this movement through the use of orthodox strategies, formal organizations, ample institutional capacity, lack of protest politics and a strong perception of injustice. These groups do not perceive success in their efforts. This research contributes to the scarcity of literature on the role of minority NGO's in domestic policy‐making.

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