17 agencies report strategies and accomplishments

The White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently called attention to environmental justice (EJ) strategies and progress reports issued over the past year by the 17 federal agencies and offices in the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG).  Examples of EJ accomplishments by selected agencies are summarized in this article. 

The EJ IWG was formed in 1994 as specified by President Clinton in an Executive Order (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, E.O. 12898, February 11, 1994).  Following initial activity, the resulting group existed mainly in name for about 10 years before it was “reinvigorated” in 2010 by former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson and CEQ chair Nancy Stutley.  The EJ IWG kick-off event in December 2010 was the first-ever White House forum on EJ.  More than 100 community leaders shared their vision for healthier and more sustainable communities with federal officials, including cabinet secretaries.

As the lead environmental agency, the EPA has attempted to point the way by bringing EJ considerations into many of its programs.  In anticipation of the 20th anniversary of E.O. 12898, the EPA issued its Plan EJ 2014 in 2011, which the Agency describes as the “first cornerstone” in its 42-year history for “fully implementing its environmental justice mission of ensuring environmental protection for all Americans, regardless of race, color, national origin, income, or education.”  General focus areas contemplated in the plan included incorporating EJ into rulemaking, considering EJ in permitting, advancing EJ through compliance and enforcement, supporting community-based action programs on EJ, and fostering administrationwide actions on EJ. 

Lisa Jackson was an aggressive proponent of EJ, making it one of the top programmatic priorities throughout her term.  It is unlikely that the Obama administration will consign EJ to the back of the room, as has happened in the past.  But with Jackson gone and budgets for all agencies being trimmed, it is unclear if EJ programs will grow or tread water. 

Progress EJ 2014

In February 2013, the EPA published an 86-page progress report on Plan EJ 2014.  Specific accomplishments claimed by the Agency include:

• Assertion of EJ legal tools, described by the EPA General Council as many opportunities in existing environmental and civil rights statutes to “ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development and implementation of environmental requirements and programs.”
• EJSCREEN, a screening tool that provides nationally consistent data and methods for screening areas with potential EJ concerns that may warrant further consideration, analysis, or outreach.  EJSCREEN employs 12 environmental indicators plus race and income.  
• Guidance to incorporate EJ into rulemaking.  The Agency states that implementation of several guidance documents has led to a “dramatic increase” in the number of EJ analyses of EPA rules.  For example, says the Agency, more than 20 EJ analyses were conducted on average per year between 2010 and 2012 as compared to less than two per year on average from 1995 to 2009.
• Considering EJ in permitting.  The Agency’s regional offices are developing and implementing regional plans that describe how and when these offices will engage in enhanced outreach to overburdened communities for priority, EPA-issued permits.  In addition, the EPA compiled “promising practices” for permit applicants to meaningfully engage communities that are likely to be impacted by permitting activities.
• Compliance and enforcement.  EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) developed and implemented a “comprehensive, proactive and aggressive strategy” to integrate EJ into all aspects of the enforcement life cycle, including selecting work and priorities; targeting and developing cases; identifying proper remedies; and enhancing community engagement across the entire enforcement and compliance program.

Other agencies

The majority of the EJ IWG agencies that engage in or sponsor actions that impact the environment have integrated EJ into the environmental analyses they must conduct under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and also into their obligations under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded projects.  The following examples illustrate both how agencies fulfill and go beyond those baseline requirements. 

Department of Agriculture

Improving outreach and access to USDA information and resources.The Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) conducted an extensive outreach effort to introduce minority and socially disadvantaged farming communities to funding opportunities.  Outreach activities include webinars, conference appearances, and articles for the AMS industry newsletter and other publications.  Of the    $55 million awarded in FY2012, $4.9 million was allocated to 45 projects benefitting underserved communities and $2.6 million was awarded to 44 projects aiding beginning, socially disadvantaged, and limited-resource farmers.

Department of Housing and Urban Development 

 HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (OHHLHC) focuses on how unhealthy and unsafe housing affects the health of millions of people and disproportionately impacts children, the poor, minorities, people with medical conditions, persons with disabilities, and older adults.  The OHHLHC sets programs and policies to reduce health and safety hazards in housing, with a particular focus on protecting the health of children and other sensitive populations in low-income households. A comprehensive Healthy Homes approach takes into account the impact of a variety of hazards in the home that can affect health and often disproportionately impact EJ communities. Through the OHHLHC, HUD has sponsored research that has demonstrated that multifaceted interventions focusing on mold and moisture problems in existing homes and green construction and improved ventilation in new homes can improve asthma symptoms in children.   In addition to lead hazard control and remediation, these approaches can include integrated pest management and mitigation of moisture and mold and other asthma triggers.

Department of Interior

Illegal dump remediation and prevention.  Illegal dumping on public lands occurs most often in rural low-income areas, including Indian lands, where residents may be required to travel distances and pay a transfer station to dispose of trash.  Illegal dumping threatens human health and safety, the environment, and economic development. DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) provides remediation of sites and education to prevent this practice.  Local communities are made aware of plans and actions, and comments, concerns, or questions residents may have are addressed in meetings or other outreach activities.  The BLM also works with state and local agencies and nongovernmental organizations to host cleanup days and free days at transfer stations, provide increased signage, install cameras, distribute brochures, and carry out enforcement actions.

Department of Justice

Major cases with an EJ component carried out by DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) in the last several years include the following:

• United States v. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) was one of the largest environmental enforcement settlements in the nation’s history.  Under the terms of a consent decree resolving claims of violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the MSD agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems and treatment plants at an estimated cost of $4.7 billion over 23 years to eliminate overflows of untreated raw sewage, including basement backups, and to reduce pollution levels in urban rivers and streams.  The injunctive relief, historic in its scope and importance to the people of St. Louis, will also significantly advance the use of large-scale green infrastructure projects to control wet weather overflows by requiring the MSD to invest at least $100 million in an innovative green infrastructure program primarily in EJ communities in St. Louis.
• United States v. Town of Fort Gay.Fort Gay is a very small, low-income municipality in West Virginia.   The ENRD alleged an “imminent and substantial endangerment” to public health presented by the discharge of untreated sewage into a tributary upstream of the intake for drinking water supplied by Fort Gay Water Works.  In a consent order, the town agreed to halt the discharge of untreated sewage and make urgently needed repairs to its sewage pumping stations.  When Fort Gay subsequently violated the order, the ENRD negotiated a consent decree entered in January 2012 to resolve CWA and Safe Drinking Water Act violations at the town’s waste water and drinking water treatment plants.  The decree provides for $1.8 million in injunctive relief in the form of extensive capital improvements and other measures to ensure proper operation, maintenance, and reporting relative to the plants.

Department of Transportation

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Office of Civil Rights drafted Order 1400.11, "Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs at the Federal Aviation Administration."  This order will provide internal guidance for implementation and enforcement of Title V and EJ in minority populations.  Additionally, Order 1400.11 will identify the procedures for coordinating the review of airport projects for compliance with Title VI and Executive Order 12898.  This order is expected to be completed by the end of 2013. FAA's Office of Civil Rights formed a working partnership with the Office of Airports and developed an MOU that provides for the Office of Civil Rights, under a 3-year pilot program, to review the EJ section of NEPA environmental impact statements for major airport projects (e.g., new airports, new runways, and major runway extensions) to determine if minority communities are adversely affected. The Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Airports also developed a Title VI preaward checklist to assist airport sponsors in meeting minority population reporting requirements.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Green careers program.Once their military service ends, veterans face unique challenges in reentering the workforce.  Current economic conditions have a significant negative impact on veterans and a disproportionate impact on recently separated veterans compared to the average American.  In the interest of ensuring that the VA not only provides quality care for the nation’s veterans but also strives for a healthy and sustainable environment, the VA developed a green career program–Green to Green–to connect veterans to the green jobs market. The purpose of the program is to develop a pathway to assist men and women who have served our country to transition from uniformed service into training education programs and career and/or job opportunities in the green technology, energy, and recycling fields.  The goal of this program is to work collaboratively with organizations and other agencies to explore and identify existing and established programs in green technology, energy, and recycling fields, and to develop and implement a comprehensive process for providing this information to veterans.  The program is offered to all applicable veterans regardless of race, ethnicity, income, or other socio-economic factors, and strives to increase the workforce aimed at correcting environmental impacts.

Department of Commerce

Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) continued to implement a set of investment policies to help prioritize and focus EDA investment funding as part of the competitive grant process.  Two of these priorities were aimed specifically at mitigating the burdens of, or bringing benefits to, communities experiencing EJ issues and promoting equitable development. The Economically Distressed and Underserved Communities priority was intended to promote EDA-funded projects that strengthen diverse communities that have suffered disproportionate economic and job losses and/or are rebuilding to become more competitive in the global economy.  The Environmentally-Sustainable Development priority encouraged EDA-funded projects that promote economic competitiveness through improvements in environmental quality (e.g., brownfields redevelopment, developing green end-products, greening of processes, or development of green buildings or places).

Even with the above examples, much EJ activity by federal agencies remains aspirational or involves preliminary activities, such as forming EJ committees and training staff.  EJ goals are contained in strategy updates the agencies are required to develop, as specified in a memorandum of understanding the agencies finalized with the White House in August 2011.

Click here for the updated strategies, as well as agency accomplishments to date.

William C. Schillaci