&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Plan El 2014
Incorporating
Environmental Justice
Into Rulemaking
Plan EJ 2014 is EPA's roadmap for
integrating environmental justice into
its programs and policies.
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INCORPORATING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
INTO RULEMAKING
Implementation Plan
September 2011
Led by
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention,
Office of Policy, Office of Research and Development,
Office of Environmental Justice, and Region 9
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
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PLAN EJ 2014 AT A GLANCE
Plan EJ 2014 is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s
roadmap to integrating environmental justice into its programs and policies.
The year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order
12898 on environmental justice. Plan EJ 2014 seeks to:
Protect the environment and health in overburdened communities.
- Empower communities to take action to improve their health and
environment.
Establish partnerships with local, state, tribal, and federal
governments and organizations to achieve healthy and sustainable
communities.
As the EPA's overarching environmental justice strategy, Plan EJ 2014 has
three major sections: Cross-Agency Focus Areas, Tools Development
Areas, and Program Initiatives.
The Cross-Agency Focus Areas are:
Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking.
Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting.
Advancing Environmental Justice through Compliance and
Enforcement.
Supporting Community-Based Action Programs.
Fostering Administration-Wide Action on Environmental Justice.
The Tools Development Areas are:
Science.
Law.
Information.
Resources.
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1.0 INTRODUaiON 3
1.1 Goals 3
1.2 Organizational Structure 4
2.0 IMPLEMENTATION 5
2.1 Strategies 5
2.2 Activities 6
2.3 Community Engagement and Stakeholder Outreach 7
2.4 Adjustments 8
3.0 DELIVERABLES 9
4.0 MEASURES 10
5.0 REPORTING 10
APPENDIX: Acronyms 11
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Goals At-A-G lance
To more effectively
protect human health and
the environment for
overburdened populations
by developing and
implementing guidance on
incorporating
environmental justice into
EPA's rulemaking
process.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Dirty air, polluted water, and contaminated land have significant effects on
the health and economic possibilities of the people who live in
overburdened communities.1 Administrator Jackson has called on the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop policies that have a
measurable effect on the health and environment of overburdened
populations and communities. The Interim Guidance on Considering
Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action (Environmental
Justice in Rulemaking Guidance) and the associated development of
technical guidance for rulemaking activities, (Environmental Justice
Technical Guidance), are important tools for answering that call.
1.1 Goals
The goal of this implementation plan is to more effectively protect human
health and the environment for overburdened populations by developing
and implementing guidance for incorporating environmental justice into
EPA's rulemaking process. Specifically, this implementation plan will:
• Elevate the interim Environmental Justice in Rulemaking on the
procedural aspects of environmental justice in rulemaking to final
status.
• Establish and commence mechanisms to facilitate and monitor
implementation by National Program Managers (NPMs) and regional
offices of the Environmental Justice in Rulemaking Guidance to
maximize its effectiveness. NPMs lead the major EPA offices that are
responsible for developing regulations protecting air, water, land, and
ensuring chemical safety. EPA's regional offices also develop some
lower tier regulations and, therefore, also need to implement the
guidance.
• Develop technical guidance on how to conduct environmental justice
assessments of rulemaking activities within analytical and decision-
making frameworks used by EPA to support regulatory development
(e.g., exposure assessment, benefit-cost analysis).
Successful implementation of this plan will significantly advance the
Agency's commitment to the goals of environmental justice in EPA's
rulemaking work to protect human health and the environment.
Issuing the Environmental Justice in Rulemaking Guidance as an interim
final document in July 2010 represented a historic accomplishment,
conveying EPA's commitment to consider environmental justice concerns in
the rulemaking process for the first time in EPA's history. It represents one
of the Agency's most important and publically visible endeavors. The
Environmental Justice in Rulemaking Guidance provides specific, detailed
1 In Plan EJ 2014, EPA uses the term "overburdened" to describe the minority, low-income, tribal, and
indigenous populations or communities in the United States that potentially experience
disproportionate environmental harms and risks as a result of greater vulnerability to environmental
hazards. This increased vulnerability may be attributable to an accumulation of both negative and lack
of positive environmental, health, economic, or social conditions within these populations or
communities.
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instructions for steps that should be taken procedurally to fulfill this
commitment through EPA's rule writing process, formally known as the
Action Development Process (ADP). It provides information to rule writers
on when during the ADP to consider environmental justice, as well as the
types of questions to ask. It outlines multiple steps that every EPA program
office can take to incorporate the needs of overburdened populations and
communities into its decision-making, scientific analysis, and rule
development. Complementary to the Environmental Justice in Rulemaking
Guidance is the Environmental Justice Technical Guidance. This guidance
will provide technical direction to EPA analysts to aid them in incorporating
environmental justice into the development of risk assessment, economic
analysis, and other scientific input and policy choices during the
development of a rule.
I •'
Distinct organizational structures are being employed under each goal of
this implementation plan:
• Leadership for finalizing the Environmental Justice in Rulemaking
Guidance is being provided by the Office of Chemical Safety and
Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), which has reconvened the Agency-wide
Environmental Justice in Rulemaking Workgroup and its Process
Guidance Subgroup. The final guidance documents developed by the
workgroup, and associated issues requiring senior management
attention, are raised first with the Principals for this effort - the Deputy
Assistant Administrators (DAAs) or Deputy Regional Administrators
(DRAs) for OCSPP, Office of Policy (OP), Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance (OECA), Region 9; and the Associate Assistant
Administrator for Environmental Justice - and then elevated to the
Environmental Justice Committee (EJC) and the Executive Management
Council (EMC) prior to being presented to the Administrator for final
approval.
• An Executive Steering Committee (ESC) comprised of senior executives
from OCSPP, OP, OECA, the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), the
Office of Research and Development (ORD), the Office of Air and
Radiation (OAR), the Office of Water (OW), the Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response (OSWER), and Region 9; along with the
Associate Assistant Administrator for Environmental Justice, will
oversee the implementation, facilitation, and monitoring efforts.
Those efforts are expected to continue after the guidance documents
are finalized to promote continuous learning and improvement and to
ensure effective implementation.
1 The Environmental Justice Technical Guidance is being developed as a
Tier 1 action under the ADP by an Agency-wide workgroup chaired by
OP, OEJ, and ORD. As a Tier 1 action, the Administrator or her
designee is the decision maker at each stage of the ADP.2
EPA's regulatory development process utilizes a system of "tiering" to prioritize actions in terms of
their potential for large and multimedia effects and ensures early involvement of key Agency personnel.
Each regulatory act ion is assigned one of three tiers. Tier 1 denotes the Administrator's Priority
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Strategies to achieve the goals of this plan are specific to each goal:
Developing Environmental Justice Analysis for the Definition of
Solid Waste Rule
After EPA finalized the 2008 Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) rule, the
Agency committed to perform an expanded environmental justice
analysis in response to concerns raised by citizens and other
stakeholders about the rule's potential impact on communities. The
EPA developed an innovative methodology that incorporated sound
science and community engagement.
EPA began by soliciting input from the public through roundtables,
conference calls, and webinars to get their thoughts on how to best
conduct the analysis. The Agency identified potential hazards that
may pose risks to communities from the recycling of hazardous
secondary materials and the facilities that may take advantage of the
2008 DSW rule. The facility locations were then mapped against
demographics of the surrounding communities. EPA synthesized the
information and determined that certain population groups would be
disproportionately impacted by the increased risk of adverse impacts
under the 2008 DSW rule.
EPA incorporated these considerations in the revised proposed rule,
signed June 30, 2011, to mitigate these potential adverse impacts, as
allowed under applicable authorities. In addition, EPA has taken steps
in implementing the DSW rule that also help mitigate these impacts.
These steps include closely monitoring the facilities notifying under the
rule, working with the states and EPA Regions to ensure they have the
information they need to ensure compliance with the provisions of the
rule, and making available to the public information about the facilities
that have notified.
Strategy 1: Finalize the Interim Guidance
on Considering Environmental Justice
During the Development of an Action.
* Assess internal and external comments
provided on the interim Environmental
Justice in Rulemaking Guidance through
Agency websites.
• Evaluate documents produced by rule-
writing workgroups since the Interim
Guidance was released to assess the
extent to which the guidance is being
addressed and its effect on EPA's
rulemaking decisions.
• Interview members of rule-writing
workgroups, their supervisors, and their
senior managers to assess the clarity
and usefulness of the guidance and the
burdens associated with its
implementation; and obtain suggestions
for improvement.
• Revise the Environmental Justice in
Rulemaking Guidance for presentation
to and approval by the EMC, its EJC, and
the Administrator.
Strategy 2: Facilitate and monitor implementation of guidance on
incorporating environmental justice in rulemaking.
* Work with the National Program Managers (NPM) and regions, which
are primarily responsible for incorporating environmental justice in
their own rulemaking efforts.
• Provide training to rule-writing teams, their managers, and decision-
makers.
• Initiate a continuous learning effort to identify effective practices and
lessons learned from the NPMs' ongoing rulemaking efforts.
• Develop and commence implementing a monitoring scheme to assess
the extent to which the guidance is being applied, the resources being
Actions, which are the few top actions that demand ongoing involvement of the Administrator and
extensive involvement of Assistant Administrators and Regional Administrators across the Agency.
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devoted to its application, and the effect it is having on rulemaking
decisions.
Strategy 3: Develop technical guidance on how to conduct
environmental justice assessments of rulemaking activities.
* Develop draft technical guidance through an Agency-wide ADP
workgroup.
• Establish and conduct a peer consultation on the Draft Environmental
Justice Technical Guidance with a special panel of EPA's Science
Advisory Board (SAB).
• Execute an outreach strategy to obtain internal and external comments
on the Draft Environmental Justice Technical Guidance.
• Incorporate SAB, EPA, and external comments in developing the Final
Environmental Justice Technical Guidance for approval by the
Administrator.
2.2
The following activities are intended to carry out the strategies identified
for this implementation plan.
Strategy 1: Finalize the Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental
Justice During the Development of an Action.
* Activity 1.1: Announce April closure of public comment period via the
Environmental Justice listserv.
o Time Frame: Completed in April 2011.
• Activity 1.2: Review internal and external comments provided during
the implementation period when the guidance is in interim status.
o Time Frame: July 2011.
• Activity 1.3: Review documents produced by and interview members
of the EPA rule-writing workgroups.
o Time Frame: October 2011.
• Activity 1.4: Revise and release Final Environmental Justice in
Rulemaking Guidance document.
o Time Frame:
>^ Draft to OCSPP, OP, and OAR Principals by end of
October 2011.
>^ Draft to EJC by mid-November 2011.
>^ Draft to ESC by end of November 2011.
S Draft to Administrator by mid-December 2011.
S Release by end of December 2011.
Strategy2: Facilitate and monitor implementation of guidance on
incorporating environmental justice into rulemaking.
* Activity 2.1: Distribute model training presentations to Agency, NPM,
and region-specific regulation development and ADP trainers.
o Time Frame: June 2011.
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• Activity 2.2: Initiate a continuous learning effort to identify effective
practices and lessons learned from the Agency's ongoing rulemaking
efforts.
o Time Frame: September 2011.
• Activity 2.3: Develop and commence implementing a monitoring
scheme to assess the extent to which the guidance is being applied, the
resources being devoted to its application, and the effect it is having on
rulemaking decisions.
o Time Frame: December 2011.
Strategy 3: Develop technical guidance on how to conduct
environmental justice assessments of rulemaking activities.
* Activity 3.1: Establish a cross-Agency Environmental Justice Technical
Guidance Workgroup.
o Time Frame: Completed in February 2010.
• Activity 3.2: Tier the Environmental Justice Technical Guidance as a
Tier 1 Action in the ADP.
o Time Frame: Completed in November 2010.
• Activity 3.3: Develop draft technical guidance on incorporating
environmental justice in rulemaking.
o Time Frame: FY 2012.
• Activity 3.4: Conduct internal and external review of draft technical
guidance on incorporating environmental justice in rulemaking.
o Time Frame: FY 2012/2013.
• Activity 3.5: Develop and release final technical guidance on
incorporating environmental justice in rulemaking.
o Time Frame: FY 2013.
The following items constitute key community engagement and
stakeholder outreach activities for this implementation plan.
• Consultations at regularly scheduled National Environmental Justice
Advisory Council meetings and conference calls.
• Solicitation of internal and external comments on draft guidance
documents via established websites.
• Engagement of state, tribal, and local governments through consortia
and direct contact, to the extent possible.
• Coordination with outreach activities of other Plan EJ 2014 initiatives.
• Technical briefings and consultation with a special panel of the EPA
Science Advisory Board.
• Consultations at regularly scheduled Children's Health Protection
Advisory Committee (CHPAC) meetings.
• Consultations at regularly scheduled technical conferences and
meetings.
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2,4
Interim final and draft guidance documents will be revised as part of a
process of elevating them to final status and may be subsequently revised
based on experience and lessons learned during implementation.
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3.0 DELIVERABLES
1 ACTIVITIES
Develop Final
Environmental Justice
in Rulemaking
Guidance.
Facilitate and monitor
implementation of the
Environmental Justice
in Rulemaking
Guidance.
Develop Draft and Final
Environmental Justice
Technical Guidance.
DELIVERABLES MILESTONES
• Report on Summarizing
Internal and External
Comments, Rule-Writing
Documentation Assessment,
and Experiences of EPA
Rule-Writers in Implementing
Interim Final Guidance.
* Draft Final Guidance on
Considering Environmental
Justice During the
Development of an Action.
* Final Guidance on
Considering Environmental
Justice During the
Development of an Action.
* Distribute model training
presentations to Agency,
NPM, and regional regulation
development and ADP
trainers.
• Initiate a continuous learning
effort to identify effective
practices and lessons learned
from the Agency's ongoing
rulemaking efforts.
• Develop and commence
implementing a monitoring
scheme to assess the extent
to which the guidance is
being applied, the resources
being devoted to its
application, and the effect it is
having on rulemaking
decisions.
• Draft Final Technical
Guidance on Considering
Environmental Justice During
the Development of an
Action.
* October
2011
• November
2011
• December
2011
• June 2011
• October
2011
• December
2011
• FY2013
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The milestones established in Section 3.0 above are the performance
measures which will be used to track progress in implementing this plan.
These milestones may be augmented by more detailed interim milestones
as they are established. Implementation of the guidance documents to be
developed under this plan may support development of future outcome
and activity measures.
Reporting on progress in implementing this plan will take place on an
ongoing basis when its scheduled deliverables are completed. Annual
progress reports will be provided and updates to this implementation plan
will be made at that time. For information, please contact Mike Burns,
202-564-8273, Burns.Mike@epa.gov: or Kelly Maguire, 202-566-2273,
Maguire.Kelly@epa.gov.
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ADP Action Development Process
CHPAC Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee
DAA Deputy Assistant Administrator
DRA Deputy Regional Administrator
EJC Environmental Justice Committee
EMC Executive Management Council
EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ESC Executive Steering Committee
NPM National Program Manager
OAR Office of Air and Radiation
OCSPP Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention
OECA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
OEJ Office of Environmental Justice
OP Office of Policy
ORD Office of Research and Development
OSWER Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
OW Office of Water
SAB Science Advisory Board
Plan EJ 2014: Incorporating Environmental Justice Into Rulemaking
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For more information on Plan EJ 2014, visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency s Office of
Environmental Justice website at: http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/plan-ej7
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