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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Environmental Justice Strategy
I. "INTRODUCTION
President Clinton signed Executive Order No. 12898, Federal Actions tn
Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-lncni^
Populations, on February 11, 1994. 59 Fed. Reg. 7629 (Feb. 16 1994) The
Order instructs each Federal agency to "make achieving environmental justice part
of its mission." Id- § 1-101. The Order also sets forth procedural and substantive
requirements each agency must satisfy by specified dates. See id. §; 1-103(b)-(f).
The Executive Order directs the Department of Justice, as well as all other
agencies, to develop agency-wide environmental justice strategies as a core part of
this obligation, id. § 1-103{a)-{g). The Attorney General has determined that the
Office of the Associate Attorney General shall be responsible for ensuring that the
Department of Justice meets its obligations to develop and implement an
environmental justice strategy. The Order requires that the Department of
Justice's strategy address, "as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse
human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities" on
minority and low-income communities, id. § 1-101, by promoting the equal
enforcement of civil rights, health, and environmental statutes; by ensuring greater
public participation in decisions affecting human health and the environment- by
improving research and data collection involving human health and the
environment; and, by identifying differential patterns of consumption of natural
resources, id- § 1-103(a)(1)-(4).
This environmental justice strategy is submitted in fulfillment o1
Executive Order's directive.
the
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II.
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE'S STRATEGY AT A at
A. LAW ENFORCEMENT
The Department of Justice will:
1 - Develop an enforcement strategy to help ensure that all
communities and persons across this nation live in a safe and
healthful environment and that law enforcement responds as
fully as possible to the real risks to human health and the
environment that they face. This "effort will be carried out in
conjunction with client agencies and will involve the filing of
environmental, civil rights, and criminal cases by the
Environment and Natural Resources, the Civil Rights, and the
Civil Divisions, and the United States Attorneys' Offices.
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2. Promote the use of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by
continuing to review agency oversight of compliance and to
cooperate with the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of
Civil Rights in efforts to expedite investigations arid
enforcement of civil rights claims.
MEDIATION, ADVICE, COUNSEL, AND OUTREACH
The Department of Justice will:
B.
1.
2.
Mediate disputes related to environmental justice matters
through the Community Relations Service. Where appropriate,
the Department's litigating components and the United States'
Attorneys' Offices will develop mediated resolutions to
environmental disputes.
Advise client agencies of their obligations in light of the
Executive Order. i
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Counsel and assist state and local governments to coordinate
their actions with those of the Federal government to further
the goals of the Executive Order. ;
Work with communities so that enforcement actions and other
programs, activities, and policies respond as directly as possible
to actual environmental risks and concerns. '
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C. EDUCATION AND TRAINING i
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The Department will continue to provide Department-wide education
and training on environmental justice issues, and has:
1. Drafted Attorney General Guidance on environmental justice.
2. Begun to produce an instructional environmental justice video.
3. Provided Department-wide briefings. j
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Hl- SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PLAN
A. OPERATING STRUCTURE
The Department of Justice has established an Environmental Justice
Working Group comprised of attorneys and professional staff drawn
from throughout the Department and coordinated by a Director of
Environmental Justice in the Office of the Associate Attorney
General.1 The Director coordinates issues which arise in the ongoing
work of Justice components responsible for cases that raise
environmental justice issues. This coordination allows the Department
to ensure consistency in policy, maximize limited resources, and better
use expertise and experience. i
Responsibility for virtually all substantive work remains in the
Divisions, and Working Group members continue to answer to their
Divisions. The Working Group members meet periodically to discuss
environmental justice issues, including those which may involve more
than one component. |
In addition, the Working Group receives input from line attorneys
within the Department's components. For example, the Environment
and Natural Resources Division has organized a group of attorneys
who meet regularly to discuss environmental justice issues. Similar
1 The EJ Working Group consists of attorneys and other personnel from the
Offices of the Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General; the Civil
Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, and Civil Divisions; the Offices of the
United States Attorneys; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Federal Bureau of
Prisons; and the Community Relations Service.
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groups have been established in the Civil and Civil Rights Divisions
and through the Executive Office of United States Attorneys. These
component-based groups provide comments from line attorneys
experienced in the day-to-day litigation of environmental claims which
are transmitted to the Working Group through each component's
representatives. ]
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In addition to staff, the environmental justice coordination in the
Department includes a Senior Advisory Council consisting of
component heads or their designees who have staff members on the
Working Group.2 The purpose of the Council is to advise the Director
and to recommend Department policy and Department-wide initiatives
on environmental justice to the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney
General, and the Associate Attorney General. ,
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B. PROGRAMMATIC COMPONENTS |
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1. Guidance
The Department has issued Department of Justice Guidance
Concerning Environments/Justice for Department personnel,
which includes provisions for identifying, tracking, and
addressing environmental justice matters.
2. Investigations
In addition, the Department will work with the Environmental
Protection Agency and in conjunction with United States
Attorneys to develop a list of environmental justice enforcement
priorities and an enforcement strategy for addressing these
priorities. ,
3. Referral Guidance
The Department will draft referral guidelines to a;
agencies in referring environmental justice cases.
4- Assess Cases and Available Legal Resources
sist client
The components represented on the Senior Advisory Council are the
Environment and Natural Resources, Civil Rights, and Civil Divisions; the Federal
Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Prisons; the Executive Office of United
States Attorneys through the Environmental Subcommittee of the Attorney
General's Advisory Council; and the Community Relations Service. The Deputy
Attorney General and the Associate Attorney General may choose to be members
of the Senior Advisory Council.
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The Department has been performing a review of cases,
programs, and policies that may raise environmental justice
issues. In addition, the Department is assessing the law
applicable in cases that raise environmental justice concerns,
including environmental, criminal, and civil rights statutes and
constitutional provisions. This review will be ongoing.
5. Litigation Activities .!
The Department of Justice can assist in achieving
environmental justice as it brings and defends cases that raise
environmental justice matters. i
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The Department's litigating components and United States
Attorneys' Offices are currently conducting investigations with
other agencies that may result in cases raising environmental
justice issues.
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The Department will consider intervening in pending litigation or
filing amicus curiae briefs to serve the interests of client
agencies and the purposes of the Executive Order.
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Where environmental justice questions arise in cases that the
Department is defending, attorneys will consult their
environmental justice coordinators3 who will be responsible for
coordinating with other Divisions on appropriate action.
The Department will use the Community Relations Service to
act as a liaison between government, regulated industry,
community groups, and other affected interests, and to provide
mediation and alternative dispute resolution services, where
appropriate, to further the goals of the Executive Order.
6. Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") I
The FBI is committed to developing high-quality investigations
of environmental crimes without regard to the socio-economic
status of the victims or perpetrators. Because the Bureau's
resources are limited, the FBI will continue to develop
Environmental Crimes Task Forces which combine the
Divisions, Bureaus, and Offices have appointed environmental justice
coordinators who are responsible for coordinating environmental justice litigation
activities within their respective components. Assistant Attorneys General have
appointed additional coordinators within each section as deemed appropriate
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investigative resources of federal, state, and municipal
governments and target the most significant threats to our
nation's health and natural resources, which are:
a- Knowing Endangerment J
Any individual or business that knowingly handles
hazardous waste and pollutants in ways that put the
health of their workers and/or neighbors at unreasonable
risk is the FBI's highest priority. \
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b. Repeat Offenders ^ ,
, Subjects who have a pattern of flagrant violations
suggesting that they have made an economic decision
that it is cheaper to pay the civil fines associated with
violations of the law rather than make the Smprovements
necessary to conform to the law will be targeted for
criminal investigation. i
c. Federal Facilities/Public Lands
Investigations involving government agencies or
environmental crimes occurring on government facilities
or public lands are uniquely federal in nature and also will
be a priority. i
d. Organized Crime
Organized crime elements have exerted control over the
waste hauling and treatment industries in several areas of
the country. Any criminal activity involving organized
crime continues to be an FBI priority.
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e. Catastrophic Events
Avoidable environmental incidents that have a
devastating impact on an entire community also receive
FBI attention. ,
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7. Education ;
The Department will provide general training and education
about what environmental justice means, the contexts in which
environmental justice problems may arise, and the ways in
which recognition of potential environmental justice matters
may affect the work of Justice Department employees and
clients. ;
In particular, the Department will: |
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a. Continue to distribute the Department's Guidance and the
Executive Order to all relevant Department personnel;
b. Use an instructional video produced for Department line
attorneys and relevant units in the Bureau of Prisons and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The video and the
Department Guidance provide an overview of the scope
of environmental justice and detailed procedures for
identifying and reporting such issues;
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c. Continue to encourage employees in the Civil Rights
.Division, the Environmentand Natural Resources
Division, and Federal agencies that have responsibilities
for environmental matters, such as the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture, to
continue to consult with one another regarding
environmental justice;
d. Educate environmental attorneys about criminal, civil, and
civil rights laws and educate civil, criminal, and civil
rights attorneys about environmental laws to the extent
necessary for them to identify and effectively address
environmental justice problems; I
e. Continue to promote the use of an environimental justice
e-mail "hotline" which will enable line attorneys and other
Department staff to seek information and guidance on
environmental justice issues;
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f. Plan joint education and training actions, wtiere
appropriate, with state legal offices; j
g. Work with the Legal Education Institute and the
Environmental Protection Agency to develop a Continuing
Legal Education course on environmental justice; and
h. Incorporate environmental justice into training programs
for Honors Graduate attorneys.
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8. Data Assessment
The Department will establish a central repository for
assessment and docketing of cases raising environmental
justice matters. In addition, the Department will investigate the
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possibility of using publicly available computerized information
systems. i
9- Counsel and Advice . |
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a. Within the Federal Government j
Department of Justice attorneys will continue to counsel
agencies, in conjunction with the agencies' general
counsels' offices, on environmental justice concerns that
may arise in the development and implementation of
programs and policies.
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In particular, the Department will coordinate with other
agencies in evaluating agency enforcement of Title VI
within their own statutory and regulatory frameworks.
For example, the Department has detailed a senior Civil
Rights Division attorney experienced in Title VI law to the
EPA's Office of Civil Rights to work with EPA attorneys
on developing Title VI enforcement cases in the
environmental justice content.
b. Outside the Federal Government j
The Department will assist state and local governments
and federally recognized tribes in their efforts to achieve
environmental justice. The Community Relations Service,
in appropriate situations, will help facilitate a working
relationship between parties involved in environmental
justice issues, including regulated industry, tribal, state,
and local decisionmakers, and minority or low-income
communities.
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10. Conference on Environmental Justice j
The Department of Justice will co-sponsor an environmental
justice conference in late April or May, 1995, for federal
employees working on civil rights and environmental issues
relating to environmental justice. |
11. Promote Participation j
Each relevant component of the Department will consider ways
to promote participation by all segments of the community, in
decisionmaking processes that affect health and the
environment. Approaches for promoting participation include
developing an environmental justice internship fon law students
or college students, and publishing this Department strategy
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document in Spanish. The Department will ensure that such
efforts serve important and permissible governmental goals,
consistent with applicable legal standards. i
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12. Outreach
On May 19, 1994, Department representatives met with
approximately forty individuals with grassroots, business, legal,
economic, and scientific interests in environmental justice. The
group discussed the range of opportunities available to the
Department for achieving compliance with the President's
Executive Order. In addition, on^February 8, 1995,
Department representatives met'with representatives from the
Business Network for Environmental Justice to discuss the
members' views and questions on environmental ijustice.
The Department will continue to work with the EPA and the
White House to inform Congress about the details of the
Executive Order and the actions of the Department of Justice to
comply with it.
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The Department recognizes that communications between the
Federal government and communities must be simple and
direct. The Department will design its communication efforts
with the goal of maximizing community understanding of, and
participation in, environmental justice matters.
The Department will work with EPA to develop a pilot program
to promote communication between communities and federal
officials about lawsuits filed in those communities.
13. Federal Bureau of Prisons [
The Bureau is working to ensure that its activities; are
consistent with the President's mandate. For example, the
Bureau has revised its siting procedures to include consideration
of environmental justice in its environmental impact statements
under NEPA. i
14. The Community Relations Service '
The Community Relations Service has designated environmental
justice contacts in each of its Regions and has directed those
coordinators to work with EPA and other federal agencies on
environmental justice matters when appropriate, f
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15. Office of Legal Counsel i
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The Office of Legal Counsel will provide legal advice, as
requested, to ensure that the Department's environmental
justice actions are undertaken in a manner consistent with
constitutional and statutory provisions. The Office of Legal
Counsel also will provide drafting assistance to the Department
should the Department seek additional legislative authorization
to support its efforts to enhance environmental justice.
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16. Monitor Legislation
The Department will continue to monitor proposed legislation
for environmental justice implications. j
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