Environmental Justice for All
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
300F06006
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Ensuring environmental
protection for all.
That's what the U.S.
Environmental
Protection Agency
stands for, and
that's what
environmental
justice is all about.
OEJ MILESTONES
EPA strongly believes that all people should be
able to live in a clean and healthy environment.
It is the core mission of the Agency to protect
the public's health and safeguard the natural
environment in which we live, learn and work.
EPA 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 devel-
opment, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies.
EPA establishes the National Environmental
Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC), which provides
independent advice and recommendations to
EPA on environmental justice issues.
EPA forms the Environmental
Equity WorkGroup.
EPA forms the Office of Environmental
Equity, which later becomes the Office
of Environmental Justice (OEJ).
OEJ establishes an internship program
with the Environmental Careers
Organization (ECO) to provide job
training opportunities for students
from culturally diverse communi-
ties and tribes.
Fair treatment means that no group of people
(including a racial, ethnic, or a socioeconomic group)
should bear a disproportionate share of the negative
environmental consequences resulting from industrial,
municipal, and commercial operations or the execution
of federal, state, local, and tribal programs and policies.
Meaningful involvement means that
• Potentially affected community residents have an
appropriate opportunity to participate in decisions
about a proposed activity that will affect their environ-
ment and/or health;
• The public's contribution can influence the regulatory
agency's decision;
• The concerns of all participants involved will be con-
sidered in the decision-making process; and
• The decision-makers seek out and facilitate the
involvement of those potentially affected.
In sum, environmental justice is the goal to be achieved
for all communities and persons across this nation.
Environmental justice is achieved when everyone enjoys
the same degree of protection from environmental risks
and health hazards and equal access to the decision-
making process.
OEJ establishes the Environmental
Justice Small Grants Program to provide
financial assistance to communities.
OEJ issues the NEJAC's
Model Plan for Public
Participation.
President Clinton issues
Executive Order 12898, Federal
Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations
and Low-Income Populations.
EO 12898 establishes the
Interagency Working Group
(IWG) on Environmental Justice
which is made up of 12 federal
agencies and chaired by EPA.
OEJ convenes the 1st
National Interagency
Environmental Justice
Public Meeting.
EPA and the President's Council for
Environmental Quality (CEQ) convened the
1st listening session.
OEJ launches the
Environmental Justice
Mapper software,
enabling communities to
learn more about their
local environment.
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EPA administers and enforces environmental laws
to protect human health and the environment of all
people, including residents living in minority, low-
income or tribal communities. Securing environ-
mental justice for all communities is a necessary
part of the Agency's work to implement these laws.
Environmental laws provide many opportunities to
address environmental risks and hazards in affected
communities. The application of these existing
laws is an important part of the Agency's efforts to
prevent those communities from being subjected
to disproportionately high and adverse impacts.
EPA's environmental justice mandate encompasses
the breadth of the Agency's work, including setting
standards, permitting facilities, awarding grants,
issuing licenses or regulations, and reviewing
proposed actions of the federal agencies.
The Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) is the
entity within EPA with the primary responsibility for
coordinating the Agency's efforts to integrate
environmental justice consideration in all polices,
programs, and activities. OEJ heads a long-term
strategic initiative to incorporate environmental
justice considerations into each EPA office and
region's strategic planning and budgeting
processes. OEJ also works with all stakeholders to
constructively engage in and collaboratively
address environmental justice issues and concerns.
NEJAC holds its 1st broad public meeting
on environmental justice in the permitting
process. Subsequent public meetings
focus on specific policy issues.
IWG holds the 1 st American
Indian and Alaska Native
Environmental Justice
Roundtable.
IWG issues the 1st Environmental
Justice Action Agenda, including
15 revitalization projects.
Training Collaborative
holds the 1st
Environmental Justice
Fundamentals Workshop.
OEJ launches the EJ Geographic Assessment
Tool, an online resource for environmental,
health, social, and economic data used to con-
duct environmental justice assessments.
EPA issues the EJ Toolkit for Assessing
Potential Allegations of Environmental
Injustice to assist staff in conducting
environmental justice assessments.
OEJ continues to promote and
coordinate the integration of
environmental justice in EPA
policies, programs, and activities.
OEJ establishes the ECO Community Intern Program
which places students in community organizations
to learn about environmental justice issues at the
grassroots level.
EPA issues a landmark memorandum, "Statutory and
Regulatory Authorities Under Which Environmental Justice
Issues May Be Addressed in Permitting."
OEJ forms the National Environmental Justice Training
Collaborative to develop workshops and train instructors.
The EPA Administrator
issues a memorandum
on the Integration of
Environmental Justice
into Agency policies,
programs and activities.
OEJ conducts the 1st
Alternative Dispute
Resolution workshop for
community representatives.
The Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance establish-
es the EJ Smart Enforcement
Assessment Tool to identify areas
with potential environmental jus-
tice concerns.
EPA offices develop and begin
implementing their 1st compre-
hensive Environmental Justice
Action Plans.
OEJ launches the
EJ Collaborative
Problem-Solving
Cooperative
Agreement Program
to provide financial
assistance to
communities.
EPA reissues the NEJAC Charter
and forms the Gulf Coast
Hurricanes Workgroup.
OEJ conducts the 1st Environmental
Laws and Alternative Dispute
Resolution workshop for community
representatives.
The EPA Administrator reaffirms the
Agency's commitment to environmen-
tal justice and directs the staff to incor-
porate it in the strategic planning and
budgeting process using 8 national
environmental justice priorities that will
be reflected in the Agency's Fiscal Year
2006-2011 Strategic Plan.
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OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RESOU,
For general environmental justice inquiries, call the Environmental Justice Hotline at (800) 962-6215
To receive regular environmental justice updates via e-mail, sign up on the Environmental Justice list server at
www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/listserv.html
>»
For online publications and other information resources, visit the Office of Environmental Justice Web site at
www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice
->»
Information on EPA's Environmental Justice grant and cooperative agreement programs is also available online at:
www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/grants
ENVIRONMENTAL (USTICE
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