05/26/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/26/2023 09:34
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income, with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies." According to the EPA, environmental justice can be achieved when all communities have the same level of protection from environmental and public health hazards and can take part in equitable decision-making processes.
The environmental justice movement emerged during the civil rights era of the 1960s, as communities of color sought to address environmental inequities and public health hazards. In the mid-1980s, following the protest of a hazardous waste landfill in Warren County, N.C., the General Accounting Office found that 3 in 4 hazardous waste landfills examined were located in primarily low-income communities of color.
Decades later, environmental hazards continue to have an outsize impact on disadvantaged communities. State legislatures and the federal government have been taking steps to identify impacted communities, measure long-term health impacts, evaluate the siting of future industrial projects, and ensure that all communities have equal access to a healthy environment.
Several states have established task forces, commissions and offices to address disproportionate human health and environmental impacts of their programs and policies.
States are using a variety of tools and mechanisms to increase public participation in the regulatory, permitting and compliance processes.
Incorporating environmental justice principlesinto the legislative and regulatory processesmay bea next stepfor states.
In the 1990s, the federal government began to address environmental justice through an executive order titled "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations." The order aimed to:
Additionally, the EPA's Office of Environmental Equity, established in 1992, was renamed the Office of Environmental Justice. In the years following, the federal government issued several reports and interim guidance, including but not limited to:
In January 2021, an executive order created the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council and the Justice40 Initiative. An updated list of federal programs covered by the initiative can be found here. A related order provides definitions for the key terms "equity" and "underserved communities" and requires federal agencies to assess their programs and policies for systemic barriers to equity and take steps to address inequities found. An April 2023 executive order directs the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies to focus on disproportionate policy impacts on low-income and other disadvantaged communities.
In addition to executive action, Congress is also incorporating environmental equity. Recent legislation provides for numerous funding mechanisms and directives:
At the state level, policymakers are considering ways to evaluate communities that may be disproportionately affected by pollution and other environmental hazards, with several states establishing related offices and commissions. These initiatives can also include adopting policies to reduce environmental health impacts, reform the way land is used and developed, and increase opportunities for communities to weigh in on environmental decision-making processes.
States are also taking steps to foster understanding and coordination on these issues, including by defining terms, collecting data, and developing and using screening tools (such as the EPA's EJSCREEN) to identify environmental and demographic indicators that can be used to achieve policy goals.
Environmental justice policies can offer opportunities for local governments and private stakeholders to innovate, with numerous federal funding mechanisms available to bolster on-the-ground initiatives. Recent state legislation, including Illinois HB 4700 (2022), has highlighted workforce development as an integral part of environmental equity policy.
Since at least 2007, states have established task forces, commissions and offices to focus on issues in overburdened communities-those with minority, low-income, tribal or Indigenous populations that potentially experience disproportionate environmental risks. Established through both legislative and executive action, these task forces and offices often advise the governor on environmental justice concerns, identifying communities that may be impacted by certain decisions and engaging in dialogue with impacted communities to ensure their concerns are being heard and considered. They may also be responsible for setting goals to reduce inequities, crafting regulatory guidance and recommending strategies for incorporating environmental justice policy principles into a state's decision-making.
Establishing Environmental Justice Bodies
State |
Entity |
Enacting legislation/executive order |
California |
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Colorado |
HB 1266 (2021) |
|
Illinois |
415 ILCS 155 (2011) |
|
Maryland |
Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities |
|
Massachusetts |
SB 9 (2021) |
|
Michigan |
||
New Jersey |
Executive Order 131 (2009) |
|
New York |
Environmental Justice Advisory Group |
SB 2385 (2019) |
Oregon |
HB 4077 (2022) |
|
Pennsylvania |
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South Carolina |
Act 171 (2007) |
|
Vermont |
SB 148 (2022) |
|
Virginia |
HB 1042 (2020) |
|
Washington |
SB 5141 (2021) |
When evaluating land use and development, states may address permitting broadly or for certain types of facilities specifically. Numerous states have considered policy options to regulate where certain facilities can be located and to strengthen the processes for determining how land can be used.
Examples of enacted bills include:
In recent years, some states have sought to incorporate principles of equity and justice data into agency decision-making. As a first step, states often develop frameworks to collect and evaluate data to identify communities facing environmental challenges. This has resulted in the development of a variety of tools, including California's CalEnviroScreen, Maryland's MD EJSCREEN and Washington's Environmental Health Disparities Map, used by decision-makers to visualize and quantify environmental burdens.
Fair treatment: No group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies.
Meaningful involvement:
Further, states have required certain agencies to prioritize the needs of at-risk communities in their policies and operations. For example, Virginia's HB 1164 (2020) ensures that the Department of Environmental Quality administers laws and policies in a way that meaningfully involves "all people regardless of race, color, national origin, faith, disability or income."
States have also sought to bolster community engagement requirements concerning environmental decision-making. Connecticut, for example, now requires (HB 7008; 2020) agencies to file public participation plans.
Examples of enacted bills include:
States are navigating how environmental justice considerations may be integrated into legislative and regulatory actions. Some are requiring the inclusion of members of environmental justice entities in policy and regulatory decision-making; others are requiring consideration of environmental justice in legislation on a broad range of topics, including waste disposal, environmental cleanup, emissions, transportation, energy, housing, workforce development and more.
Examples of enacted bills include: