vvEPA
  United States
  Environmental Protection
  Agency
Plan EJ 2014
            *

                          Plan EJ 2014 is EPA's roadmap for
                          integrating environmental justice into
                          its programs and policies.

-------
This page left intentionally blank

-------
    v>EPA
Man II8014
      September 2011

    Office of Environmental Justice
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
     Washington, D.C. 20460

-------
This page left intentionally blank

-------
     A message from.
        EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson
Dear Colleagues:

Expanding the conversation on environmentalism and working for environmental
justice are among my top priorities for our work at the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. All too often, low-income, minority and tribal Americans live in the shadows of
the worst pollution, facing disproportionate health impacts and greater obstacles to
economic growth in communities that cannot attract businesses and new jobs.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton issued an executive order directing all federal agencies to
participate in a governmentwide effort to address environmental justice  issues. To
strengthen our efforts in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of that directive and to
ensure that the EPA is setting a standard  for all other agencies, I am pleased to share
our comprehensive environmental justice strategy Plan EJ 2014.

Plan EJ 2014 builds on the solid foundation we have  established at the EPA to expand
the conversation on environmentalism. Since my first days as Administrator, I have
traveled the country to meet with diverse communities and listen to their concerns.
And I am committed to making environmental justice an essential part of our decision
making.

Plan EJ 2014 offers a road map that will enable us to better integrate environmental
justice and civil rights into our programs, policies and daily work. The plan focuses on
agencywide areas critical to advancing environmental justice, including rulemaking,
permitting, compliance and enforcement, community-based programs and our work
with other federal agencies. It also establishes specific milestones to help us meet the
needs of overburdened neighborhoods through our  decision making, scientific analysis
and rulemaking.

Every American deserves clean air, water and land in the places where they live, work,
play and learn. Through our implementation of Plan  EJ 2014, the EPA will be leading by
example in expanding the conversation on environmentalism and working for
environmental justice - now and into the future.

I am proud to be a part of this effort and  ask you to join me as we strengthen our
mission to protect the health of all Americans.

Sincerely,
Lisa P. Jackson
Lisa P. Jackson
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

-------
This page left intentionally blank

-------
&EPA
                                 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY	i
                                   Cross-Agency Focus Areas	i
                                   Tools Development Areas	iv
                                   Program Initiatives	vi
                                   Civil Rights	vi
                                   Conclusion	vi

                                 1.0    INTRODUCTION	1
                                   1.1 Achieving Environmental Justice Priorities	2
                                   1.2 Definition of Environmental Justice	3

                                 2.0    PLAN EJ 2014	4
                                   2.1 Plan EJ 2014's Organizational Structure	5
                                   2.2 Implementation Plans	6
                                   2.3 Community Engagement and Stakeholder Outreach	6
                                   2.4 Reporting	7

                                 3.0    CROSS-AGENCY FOCUS AREAS	8
                                   3.1 Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking	8
                                   3.2 Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting	10
                                   3.3 Advancing Environmental Justice through Compliance and Enforcement	12
                                   3.4 Supporting Community-Based Action Programs	14
                                   3.5 Fostering Administration-Wide Action on Environmental Justice	18

                                 4.0    TOOLS DEVELOPMENT AREAS	21
                                   4.1 Science	21
                                   4.2 Law	23
                                   4.3 Information	24
                                   4.4 Resources	25

                                 5.0    PROGRAM INITIATIVES	28

                                 6.0    CIVIL RIGHTS	28

                                 APPENDIX	29
                                   1. Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking	33
                                   2. Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting	41
                                   3. Advancing Environmental Justice through Compliance and Enforcement	56
                                   4. Supporting Community-Based Action Programs	78
                                   5. Fostering Administration-Wide Action on Environmental Justice	91
                                   6. Science Tools Development	107
                                   7. Legal Tools Development	146
                                   8. Information Tools Development	150
                                   9. Resources Tools Development	159

                                 ACRONYMS	  181

-------
This page left intentionally blank

-------
 &EPA
                              EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

                              In January 2010, Administrator Lisa P. Jackson made Expanding the
                              Conversation on Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice
                              an Agency priority. This priority was incorporated into the U.S.
                              Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Strategic Plan for 2011-2015. To
                              implement this priority, EPA developed Plan EJ 2014 as the Agency's
                              roadmapfor integrating environmental justice into its programs, policies,
                              and activities. This priority recognizes that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
                              and EPA's civil rights program is a critical component in advancing
                              environmental justice.

                              Plan EJ 2014, which is meant to mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of
                              Executive Order 12898  on environmental justice, is EPA's overarching
                              strategy for advancing environmental justice.  It 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.

                              In July 2010, EPA introduced Plan EJ 2014 as a concept for public comment
                              and initiated the development of implementation plans. This product is the
                              culmination of nearly a year's effort by EPA programs and regions, as well
                              as engagement with stakeholders, to develop nine implementation plans
                              with the goals, strategies, deliverables, and milestones outlined herein.
                              Plan EJ 2014 has three major sections: Cross-Agency Focus Areas, Tools
                              Development Areas, and Program Initiatives. The following summaries
                              outline the implementation plans for Plan EJ 2014's five cross-Agency Focus
                              Areas and four Tools Development Areas.

                              Cross-Agency Focus Areas

                              Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking
                              Goal
                              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.

                              Strategies
                              1.  Finalize the Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice
                                 During the Development of an Action.
                              2.  Facilitate and monitor implementation of guidance on incorporating
                                 environmental justice into rulemaking.
                              3.  Develop technical guidance on how to conduct environmental justice
                                 assessments of rulemaking activities.
Plan EJ 2014: Executive Summary

-------
 &EPA
                             Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting
                             Goal
                             To enable overburdened communities to have full and meaningful access
                             to the permitting process and to develop permits that address
                             environmental justice issues to the greatest extent practicable under
                             existing environmental laws.
                             Strategies
                             1.  Develop tools that will enhance the ability of overburdened
                                 communities to participate fully and meaningfully in the permitting
                                 process.
                             2.  Concurrent with Strategy 1, develop tools to assist permitting
                                 authorities to meaningfully address environmental justice in permitting
                                 decisions.
                             3.  Implement these tools at EPA and work with others to do the same.

                             Advancing Environmental  Justice through Compliance and
                             Enforcement
                             Goal
                             To fully integrate consideration of environmental justice concerns into the
                             planning and implementation of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance
                             Assurance's (OECA) program strategies, case targeting strategies, and
                             development of remedies in enforcement actions to benefit overburdened
                             communities.

                             Strategies
                             1.  Advance environmental justice goals through selection and
                                 implementation of National Enforcement Initiatives.
                             2.  Advance environmental justice goals through targeting and
                                 development of compliance and enforcement actions.
                             3.  Enhance use of enforcement and compliance tools to advance
                                 environmental  justice goals in regional geographic initiatives to address
                                 the needs of overburdened communities.
                             4.  Seek appropriate remedies in enforcement actions to benefit
                                 overburdened communities and address environmental justice
                                 concerns.
                             5.  Enhance communication with affected communities and the public
                                 regarding environmental justice concerns and the distribution and
                                 benefits of enforcement actions, as appropriate.

                             Supporting Community-Based Action Programs
                             Goal
                             To strengthen community-based programs to engage overburdened
                             communities and build partnerships that promote healthy, sustainable, and
                             green communities.

                             Strategies
                             1.  Advance environmental justice principles by building strong state and
                                 tribal partnerships through the National Environmental Performance
Plan EJ 2014: Executive Summary

-------
 &EPA
                                 Partnership System (NEPPS) and the National Program Manager (NPM)
                                 guidance.
                             2.  Identify scalable and replicable elements of successful Agency
                                 community-based programs and align multiple EPA programs to more
                                 fully address the needs of overburdened communities.
                             3.  Promote an integrated One EPA presence to better engage
                                 communities in the Agency's work to protect human health and the
                                 environment.
                             4.  Foster community-based programs modeled on the Community Action
                                 for a Renewed Environment (CARE) principles.
                             5.  Explore how EPA funding, policies, and programs can inform or help
                                 decision makers to maximize benefits and minimize adverse impacts
                                 when considering current land uses in decision making, planning, siting,
                                 and permitting.
                             6.  Promote equitable development opportunities for all communities.

                             Fostering Administration-Wide Action on Environmental Justice
                             Goal
                             To facilitate the active involvement of all federal agencies in implementing
                             Executive Order 12898 by minimizing and mitigating disproportionate,
                             negative impacts while fostering environmental, public health, and
                             economic benefits for overburdened communities.

                             Strategies
                             1.  Assist other federal agencies in integrating environmental justice in
                                 their programs, policies, and activities.
                             2.  Work with other federal agencies to strengthen use of interagency
                                 legal tools, i.e., National Environmental Policy Act and Title VI of the
                                 Civil Rights Act of 1964.
                             3.  Foster healthy and sustainable communities, with an emphasis on
                                 equitable development and place-based initiatives.
                             4.  Strengthen community access to federal agencies.
Plan EJ 2014: Executive Summary

-------
 vvEPA
                              	in	

                              Science
                              Goal
                              To substantially support and conduct research that employs participatory
                              principles and integrates social and physical sciences aimed at
                              understanding and illuminating solutions to environmental and health
                              inequalities among overburdened populations and communities in the
                              United States. All Agency decisions will make use of the information, data,
                              and analytic tools produced.

                              Strategies
                              1.   Apply integrated transdisciplinary and community-based participatory
                                  research approaches with a focus on addressing multi-media,
                                  cumulative impacts and equity in environmental health and
                                  environmental conditions.
                              2.   Incorporate perspectives from community-based organizations and
                                  community leaders into EPA research agendas and engage in
                                  collaborative partnerships with them on science and research to
                                  address environmental justice.
                              3.   Leverage partnerships with other federal agencies on issues of
                                  research, policy, and action to address  health disparities.
                              4.   Build and strengthen the technical capacity of Agency scientists on
                                  conducting research and  related science activities in partnership with
                                  impacted communities and translating  research results to inform
                                  change.
                              5.   Build and strengthen technical capacity of community-based
                                  organizations and community environmental justice and health leaders
                                  to address environmental health  disparities and environmental
                                  sustainability issues.

                              Law
                              Goal
                              To provide legal assistance to EPA policy makers and other Agency decision
                              makers to advance their environmental justice objectives.

                              Strategy
                              Provide legal support to each Plan EJ  2014 cross-Agency Focus Area
                              workgroup.
Plan EJ 2014: Executive Summary

-------
 &EPA
                              Information
                              Goal
                              To develop a more integrated, comprehensive, efficient, and nationally
                              consistent approach for collecting, maintaining, and using geospatial
                              information relevant to potentially overburdened communities.

                              Strategies
                              1.  Develop EPA's GeoPlatform.
                              2.  Develop a nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool.
                              3.  Incorporate appropriate elements of the environmental justice
                                 screening tool into the GeoPlatform.

                              Resources
                              Grants and Technical Assistance Goal
                              To develop an efficient and effective system for delivering financial and
                              technical assistance to communities to empower them to improve their
                              health and environment.

                              Strategies
                              1.  Increase transparency and efficiency in providing community-based
                                 grant opportunities.
                              2.  Improve delivery of technical assistance to communities.
                              3.  Strengthen grants training for communities.
                              4.  Improve community awareness of grant competition process.
                              5.  Revise grant policies that are unduly restrictive.
                              6.  Encourage legal and program offices to dialog on community-based
                                 grant opportunities.
                              7.  Improve timeliness of Brownfields Grant Awards.

                              Workforce Diversity Goal
                              To achieve an inclusive work environment by developing an efficient
                              system for the outreach and recruitment of potential employees.

                              Strategies
                              1.  Increase the diverse pool of qualified applicants.
                              2.  Operate under an integrated One EPA approach for recruitment and
                                 outreach.
Plan EJ 2014: Executive Summary

-------
 &EPA
                               Program Initiatives
                               Program Initiatives will focus on specific EPA programs.  Many existing EPA
                               programs actively pursue environmental justice goals or produce benefits
                               for overburdened communities. Examples of such initiatives include:
                               Community Engagement Initiative (Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
                               Response), Urban Waters (Office of Water), National Enforcement
                               Initiatives (Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance), Air Toxics
                               Rules (Office of Air and Radiation), and the U.S. Mexico Border Program
                               (Office of International and Tribal Affairs). Over the next year, EPA will
                               designate at least one initiative per appropriate program for inclusion in
                               Plan EJ 2014. In this way, many existing EPA initiatives can be tailored to
                               better integrate environmental justice and produce greater benefits for
                               overburdened communities.

                               Civil Rights
                               One effort already under way is implementing Administrator Jackson's
                               priority to improve EPA's civil rights program. Complying with EPA's
                               statutory civil rights obligations is a critical part of our efforts to advance
                               environmental justice. Administrator Jackson has made improving EPA's
                               civil rights program a  priority. As part of this effort, EPA is pursuing long
                               overdue, vigorous, robust, and effective implementation of Title VI of the
                               Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other nondiscrimination statutes. EPA is
                               committed to protecting people from discrimination based on race, color,
                               or national origin in programs or activities that receive EPA's financial
                               assistance.

                               Conclusion
                               Through Plan EJ 2014, EPA intends to develop a suite of tools to integrate
                               environmental justice and civil rights into its programs, policies, and
                               activities. It seeks to build stronger relationships with communities
                               overburdened by environmental and health hazards and build partnerships
                               that improve conditions in such communities. In 2014, EPA will make an
                               assessment of its progress in achieving the goals of Plan EJ 2014.  Based on
                               this assessment,  EPA will produce a report on the accomplishments,
                               lessons learned, challenges, and next steps for continuing the Agency's
                               efforts to make environmental justice an integral part of every decision.
Plan EJ 2014: Executive Summary
                                                                                               vi

-------
&EPA
                                1.0    INTRODUCTION

                                For far too long, many minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous people
                                in the United States have experienced higher levels of environmental
                                pollution and other social and economic burdens. These overburdened
                                communities1 have generally viewed environmentalism and environmental
                                protection as a distant calling. These burdens have led to poorer health
                                outcomes, as well as fewer financial or advocacy opportunities to pursue
                                many productive activities, including "greening" their communities.

                                In January 2010, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator
                                Lisa P. Jackson made Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism and
                                Working for Environmental Justice one of EPA's priorities. The
                                Administrator has directed the Agency to address the needs of
                                overburdened communities by decreasing environmental burdens,
                                increasing environmental benefits, and working alongside them to build
                                healthy, sustainable, and green communities. This priority recognizes that
                                Title VI  of the Civil Rights Act and EPA's civil rights program is a critical
                                component in advancing environmental justice. The Administrator's
                                priority heralds "a new era of outreach and protection for communities
                                historically underrepresented in EPA decision making" and calls for
                                "include[ing] environmental justice principles in all of our decisions."2

                                February 2014 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Clinton
                                Administration's Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address
                                Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
                                (EO 12898). EO 12898 calls on each federal agency to "make achieving
                                environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as
                                appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or
                                environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities..."3  In
                                recognition of this anniversary,  EPA has developed Plan EJ 2014, a
                                comprehensive strategy to guide the Agency in developing stronger
                                relationships with communities and increasing efforts to improve the
                                environmental conditions and public health in overburdened communities.
                                In July 2010, EPA introduced Plan EJ 2014 as a concept for public comment
                                and initiated the development of implementation plans. This product is the
                                culmination of nearly a year's effort by EPA programs and regions, as well
                                as engagement with stakeholders, to develop nine implementation plans
                                with the goals, strategies, deliverables, and milestones outlined herein.
                               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.
                               2 Jackson, Lisa P., "Seven Priorities for EPA's Future." January 12, 2010. Available at:
                               http://blog.epa.gov/administrator/2010/01/12/seven-priorities-for-epas-future/.
                               3 Clinton, William J., Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in
                               Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations," February 11, 1994, Federal Register 59, No. 32:
                               7629.
        Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                              1.1 Achieving Environmental Justice Priorities
                              Achieving environmental justice is an integral part of EPA's mission to
                              protect human health and the environment. EPA works to ensure that all
                              Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the
                              environment where they live, learn, and work, by enforcing federal laws
                              protecting human health and the environment fairly and effectively and
                              using the best available science. EPA also works to ensure that all parts of
                              society have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively
                              participate in  managing human health and environmental  risks.  Lastly, EPA
                              works to ensure that environmental protection contributes to making our
                              communities and ecosystems diverse, sustainable, and economically
                              productive. EPA has identified three overarching goals for its work on
                              environmental justice:
                              •   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.

                              The Administrator's priority on environmental justice encourages EPA to
                              identify better ways to address the issues facing many minority, low-
                              income, tribal, and indigenous people regarding environmental and health
                              concerns. To  ensure environmental justice is incorporated into all
                              activities, EPA has included specific language in its Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-
                              2015 Strategic Plan Cross-Cutting Fundamental Strategy: Working for
                              Environmental Justice and Children's Health: "Environmental justice and
                              children's health protection will be achieved when all Americans,
                              regardless of age, race, economic status, or ethnicity, have access to clean
                              water, clean air, and healthy communities."4 In addition, EPA recognizes
                              that complying with its statutory obligations under Title VI of the Civil
                              Rights Act of 1964 and other nondiscrimination laws is a critical part of
                              integrating environmental justice in all Agency programs, policies, and
                              activities.

                              The Agency will  use a variety of approaches to meet this commitment,
                              including regulation, enforcement, research, outreach, community-based
                              programs, and partnerships to protect children and disproportionately
                              impacted, overburdened populations from environmental and human
                              health hazards.  EPA anticipates that leadership in advancing
                              environmental justice and children's health protection will inspire and
                              engage a broad spectrum of partners in the public and private sector to do
                              the same. The activities outlined in Plan EJ 2014 support EPA's
                              environmental justice commitments in this Cross-Cutting Fundamental
                              Strategy.
                              4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, FY2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan: Achieving Our Vision,
                              September 30, 2010. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                                !.-• i ^finition of
                                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 development, implementation, and
                                enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.5

                                Fair Treatment means that no group of people should bear a
                                disproportionate burden of environmental harms and risks, including those
                                resulting from the negative environmental consequences of industrial,
                                governmental, and commercial operations or programs and policies.
                                Meaningful Involvement means that: (1) potentially affected community
                                members have an appropriate opportunity to participate in decisions about
                                a proposed activity that will affect their environment and/or health; (2) the
                                public's contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision; (3) the
                                concerns of all participants involved will be considered in the decision-
                                making process; and (4) the decision makers seek out and facilitate the
                                involvement of those potentially affected. In the Agency's implementation
                                of environmental justice, EPA has expanded the concept of fair treatment
                                to include not only the consideration of how burdens are distributed across
                                all populations, but also how benefits  are distributed. For example, the
                                Agency's Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the
                                Development of an Action encourages the evaluation of the distribution of
                                burdens by paying special attention to populations that have historically
                                borne a disproportionate share of environmental  harms and risk. At the
                                same time, it encourages Agency staff to look at the distribution of the
                                positive environmental and health consequences from our activities.

                                EPA also recognizes that it has statutory obligations to comply with Title VI
                                of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other nondiscrimination laws. Title VI
                                prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in all
                                programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. The Supreme
                                Court has ruled that Title VI authorizes federal agencies, including EPA, to
                                adopt implementing regulations that prohibit discriminatory effects as well
                                as intentional discrimination. EPA has established such regulations. Title VI
                                allows persons to file administrative complaints with federal departments
                                and agencies alleging discrimination by financial assistance recipients.  The
                                Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has the responsibility within EPA to process and
                                review Title VI administrative complaints.6 In the  Presidential
                                Memorandum accompanying EO 12898, President Clinton pointed to civil
                                rights statutes as an important tool for achieving the goals of the
                                environmental justice executive order.7
                                5 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During
                                the Development of an Action. Available at:
                                http://www.epa.gov/compliance/ei/resources/policv/considering-ei-in-rulemaking-guide-07-2010.pdf.
                                6 For a description of EPA's Program to Implement Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, see:
                                http://www.epa.gov/civilrights/t6home.htm.
                                Clinton, William J., Presidential Memorandum Accompanying Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions
                                to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations." Available at:
                                http://www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/resources/policv/clinton memo 12898.pdf.
        Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                             2.0    PLAN EJ 2014

                             Plan EJ 2014 is a roadmap to help EPA integrate environmental justice into
                             its programs, policies, and activities. The Plan is organized into three
                             sections: Cross-Agency Focus Areas, Tools Development Areas, and
                             Program Initiatives.

                             Cross-Agency Focus Areas address cross-cutting issues or functions that
                             require work by all programs or agencies and serve to advance
                             environmental justice across EPA and the federal government. They require
                             a unified Agency approach toward policy and guidance development.
                             Many issues also require coordination among multiple federal agencies.
                             Community engagement and empowerment, with continuous input from
                             communities and all stakeholders, will help shape the planning and
                             implementation of Plan EJ 2014 initiatives.

                             1. Cross-Agency  Focus Areas
                             EPA has identified five cross-Agency Focus Areas:
                             •  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.

                             2. Tools Development Areas
                             Tools Development will focus on developing the methods, mechanisms,
                             and systems that support environmental justice analysis, technical
                             assistance, and community work. Plan EJ 2014 has identified four areas for
                             tools development:
                             •  Science.
                             •  Law.
                             •  Information.
                             •  Resources.

                             3. Program Initiatives
                             Program Initiatives will focus on specific EPA programs.  EPA's programs are
                             designed primarily to carry out the nation's environmental protection
                             statutes, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource
                             Conservation and  Recovery Act. Certain EPA programs are organized by
                             media, such as air, water, and soil. Others are organized to address cross-
                             Agency functions,  such as enforcement, research, and information.  Under
                             Plan EJ 2014, each EPA National Program Manager (NPM) will identify
                             programs that benefit communities with environmental justice concerns.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                             2.1 Plan EJ 2014's Organizational Structure
                             EPA's programs and regions have assumed principal responsibility for
                             leading at least one cross-Agency Focus or Tools Development Area in Plan
                             EJ 2014.  They have dedicated senior management and established a staff
                             level workgroup to carry out this responsibility. This approach ensures that
                             all program offices and regions bring their programmatic resources and
                             expertise to advancing environmental justice goals. It also develops
                             expertise in environmental justice throughout all Agency programs and
                             regions.  The table below delineates each element and its respective lead
                             offices and regions.
PLAN EJ 2014 ELEMENT
Incorporating Environmental
Justice in Rulemaking
Considering Environmental
Justice in Permitting
Advancing Environmental
Justice through Compliance
and Enforcement
Supporting Community-
Based Programs
Fostering Administration-
Wide Action on
Environmental Justice
Science Tools Development
Legal Tools Development
Information Tools
Development
Resources Tools
Development
LEAD PROGRAM OFFICES AND
REGIONS
Office of Chemical Safety and
Pollution Prevention; Office of Policy;
Office of Research and Development;
Office of Environmental Justice;
Region 9
Office of Air and Radiation; Office of
General Counsel; Region 1
Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance; Region 5
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response; Regions 2, 3, 4
Office of Water; Region 6
Office of Research and Development;
Region 7
Office of General Counsel; Region 5
Office of Policy; Office of
Environmental Information; Regions
3,8,9, 10
Office of Administration and Resource
Management
                             This organizational structure constitutes an important step for achieving
                             the Agency's environmental justice program vision that all Program Offices
                             and  Regions will integrate and address issues of environmental justice in
                             EPA's programs and policies as part of their day-to-day business. The
                             Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) serves as the focal point for
                             facilitating that integration through building capacity, promoting
                             accountability, incorporating the community's voice, and promoting
                             Agency action on critical environmental justice issues.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                             2.2 Implementation Plans
                             Each cross-Agency Focus or Tools Development Area in Plan EJ 2014 has an
                             implementation plan, which is built around the following elements: goals,
                             strategies, activities, deliverables, and milestones. The implementation
                             plans will be used to track results and perform ongoing monitoring and
                             reporting of accomplishments. These elements are defined as follows:
                             •   Goals: The projected state of affairs or condition that the
                                 implementation plan intends to achieve.
                             •   Strategies: Systematic action designed to achieve the stated goal.
                             •   Activities: Specific actions to implement the strategies identified.
                             •   Deliverables: Results of the  activities identified, which could include
                                 processes, products, outputs, or changes in conditions (including
                                 environmental outcomes).
                             •   Milestones: Target dates for completion of the deliverables identified.

                             In addition to supporting EPA's current strategic plan, Plan EJ 2014 will
                             align with two other important EPA and federal government initiatives:
                             1.  EPA's Community-Based Coordination Project is designed to improve
                                 the effectiveness of EPA's place-based community programs by
                                 improving management of information about EPA's programs,
                                 community access to EPA resources, targeting EPA's resources to
                                 communities most in need, and establishing a basis for coordinating
                                 this work with other federal agencies.
                             2.  The Federal  Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ
                                 IWG) was established by EO 12898 in 1994 and  reconvened in
                                 September 2010. The EJ IWG serves as a clearing house for guidance to
                                 and lessons learned by federal agencies on integrating environmental
                                 justice into their programs. The EJ IWG will also coordinate the
                                 development and implementation of interagency collaborative efforts.

                             2.3 Community Engagement and Stakeholder Outreach
                             Plan EJ 2014 also seeks to advance the Administrator's commitment to
                             expanding the conversation on environmentalism to groups historically
                             underrepresented in the environmental decision-making process. Our
                             goals for stakeholder engagement are as follows:
                             •   To work with champions to foster greater understanding of Plan EJ
                                 2014's vision, priorities, and desired outcomes among all stakeholders,
                                 inside and outside the Agency.
                             •   To obtain a broad range of stakeholder views in the development and
                                 implementation of Plan EJ 2014.
                             •   To communicate Plan EJ 2014's vision, activities, results, and
                                 subsequent revisions to stakeholders, partners, and other audiences in
                                 a consistent and dynamic way.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                             •  To facilitate the development of partnerships with and among EPA's
                                stakeholders to achieve Plan EJ 2014's goals and translate them into
                                lasting results.
                             Public input played a significant role in developing the elements of Plan EJ
                             2014. EPA convened multiple community forums and listening sessions in
                             the process of developing Plan EJ 2014. It requested that the National
                             Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) provide recommendations
                             on Plan EJ 2014. EPA, along with its federal partners, plans to continue
                             conducting community listening sessions and stakeholder dialogues
                             throughout the country. Each implementation plan workgroup is
                             responsible for developing and carrying out a community engagement and
                             stakeholder outreach plan.  In addition, OCR plans to issue a Limited English
                             Proficiency (LEP) Order by November 2011 to ensure that all EPA programs
                             and activities meet federal LEP requirements.

                             2.4 Reporting
                             EPA has made a commitment to provide progress reports and update the
                             implementation plans. To coincide with its Strategic Plan, EPA will issue
                             annual reports on  Plan EJ 2014 at the end of the fiscal year.  Every October,
                             OEJ will coordinate posting of reports on Plan EJ 2014. These documents
                             will be available on EPA's website:
                             www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/plan-ei/index.html.
                             For information on Plan EJ 2014 and how to get involved, please contact
                             Charles Lee, Deputy Associate Assistant Administrator for Environmental
                             Justice, 202-564-2440. Lee.Charles@epa.gov.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                            3.0   CROSS-AGENCY FOCUS AREAS

                            This section provides summaries of Plan EJ 2014's five cross-Agency Focus
                            Areas and their implementation plans. These areas involve issues related
                            to rulemaking, permitting, enforcement, community-based action, and
                            Administration-wide action.

                            3.1 Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking
                            Plan EJ 2014 calls upon EPA to develop and implement guidance to
                            incorporate environmental justice into the fabric of its rulemaking process.
                            EPA's authority to create and enforce regulations that put our nation's
                            environmental laws into effect is one of the Agency's most important and
                            powerful tools for protecting our environment and the health of our
                            people. EPA's regulations cover a range of environmental and public health
                            issues, from setting standards for clean water to controlling air pollution
                            from industry and other sources. EPA's regulatory authority combined with
                            the mandates of EO 12898 charge EPA with responsibility to ensure that, as
                            we develop Agency actions, we consider environmental justice issues
                            during the Agency's rulemaking process.

                            EPA achieved a significant milestone in incorporating environmental justice
                            into its rulemaking process by issuing the Interim Guidance on
                            Incorporating Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action
                            (Environmental Justice in Rulemaking Guidance) in July 2010. This guidance
                            calls upon Agency rule writers and decision makers to consider
                            environmental justice throughout all phases of a rule's development -
                            known as the Action Development Process (ADP) - from the point of its
                            inception through all the stages leading to promulgation and
                            implementation. EPA is also developing technical guidance to assist rule
                            writers and  decision makers in determining how to analyze and incorporate
                            environmental justice in the Agency's rulemaking processes.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                                Implementation Plan Summary
                                Goal
                                To more effectively protect human health and the environment for
                                overburdened populations by developing and implementing guidance to
                                incorporate environmental justice into EPA's rulemaking process.
                                Strategies & Activities
  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.

*   Activity 1.1: Announce April closure of public
    comment period via Environmental Justice Listserv.
•   Activity 1.2: Review internal and external
    comments  provided during the Interim Final
    Guidance's implementation period.
•   Activity 1.3: Review documents produced by and
    interview members of EPA rule writing
    workgroups.
•   Activity 1.4: Revise and release Environmental
    Justice in Rulemaking Guidance document.
Strategy 2: Facilitate and monitor implementation of
guidance on incorporating environmental justice into
rulemaking.
*   Activity 2.1: Distribute model training
    presentations to Agency and NPM and Region-
    specific regulation development and ADP trainers.
•   Activity 2.2: Initiate a continuous learning effort to
    identify effective practices and lessons learned
    from the Agency's ongoing rulemaking efforts.
•   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.
                                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.
                                •   Activity 3.2:  Tier the Environmental Justice Technical Guidance as a
                                    Tier 1 Action in the Action Development Process.
                                •   Activity 3.3:  Develop draft technical guidance on incorporating
                                    environmental justice in rulemaking.
                                •   Activity 3.4:  Conduct internal and external review of draft technical
                                    guidance on incorporating environmental justice in rulemaking.
                                •   Activity 3.5:  Develop and release final technical guidance on
                                    incorporating environmental justice in rulemaking.
        Plan EJ 2014: Overview

-------
&EPA
                              3.2 Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting
                              Many federal environmental statutes rely heavily on permits to deliver the
                              environmental protection results that are the goal of our federal
                              environmental laws. These permits play a key role in providing effective
                              protection of public health and the environment in communities. Building
                              upon the Agency's efforts to incorporate environmental justice concerns in
                              rules, Plan EJ 2014 calls upon EPA to consider environmental justice
                              concerns during the permitting process. EPA will develop and implement
                              tools to: (1) enhance the ability of overburdened communities to
                              participate fully and meaningfully in the permitting process, and (2) assist
                              permitting authorities to meaningfully address environmental justice issues
                              in permitting decisions to the greatest extent practicable.

                              To achieve our goals, the Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative will
                              "identify and develop tools to support the consideration of environmental
                              justice during implementation of permitting programs" to reduce
                              "exposures for those at the greatest risk/' as stated in the FY 2011-2015
                              EPA Strategic Plan, Cross-Cutting Fundamental Strategy: Working for
                              Environmental Justice and  Children's Health.8 Initially, the Agency will
                              focus on EPA-issued permits that provide the best current opportunities for
                              taking environmental justice concerns into consideration. In this way, EPA
                              can make short-term progress and gain valuable lessons for subsequent
                              efforts.  In the long term, EPA will focus on permits issued pursuant to
                              federal environmental laws (i.e., federal, state, or tribal) that enable the
                              Agency to address the complex issue of cumulative impacts from exposure
                              to multiple sources and existing conditions.
                              8 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, FY2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan: Achieving Our Vision,
                              September 30, 2010. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                               10

-------
v°/EPA
                                 Implementation Plan Summary
                                 Goal
                                 To enable overburdened
                                 communities to have full and
                                 meaningful access to the permitting
                                 process and to develop permits that
                                 address environmental justice issues
                                 to the greatest extent practicable
                                 under existing environmental laws.

                                 Strategies
                                 Strategy 1: Develop tools that will
                                 enhance  the ability of
                                 overburdened communities to
                                 participate fully and meaningfully
                                 in the permitting process.

                                 Strategy 2: Concurrent with
                                 Strategy  1, develop tools and to
                                 assist permitting authorities to
                                 meaningfully address
                                 environmental justice in permitting
                                 decisions.

                                 Strategy 3: Implement these tools
                                 at EPA and work with others to do
                                 the same.

                                 Activities
                                 For each  strategy, EPA will
                                 undertake the following activities:
Conducting Public Participation to Develop
           Permitting Tools
The Environmental Justice and Permitting
Initiative Workgroup (Workgroup) is exploring
ways to enable overburdened communities to
have full and meaningful access to the
permitting process and to ensure that the
Agency develops permits that address
environmental justice issues to the greatest
extent practicable. As part of this effort, the
Workgroup is conducting extensive public
outreach to identify best practices and needed
tools, such as guidance, checklists, reports,
case studies, mapping tools, and trainings. In
June 2011, the Workgroup conducted listening
sessions for a host of stakeholder groups,
including state and local governments,
business and industry, environmental groups,
tribes, and community groups. One listening
session was conducted  entirely in Spanish.

The Workgroup repeatedly heard about the
need for early and meaningful public
engagement. Its members were impressed
and inspired by the information they received
about Connecticut, Illinois, and Pennsylvania's
Enhanced/Environmental Justice Public
Participation Policies. The Workgroup is
drafting guidance to enhance the public
participation process for EPA-issued
permits and strongly encourages facilities to
host pre-application meetings with local
communities. The Workgroup's hope is that
this guidance will be used across the EPA, as
well as by other federal  agencies and states in
                                                                       their respective permit processes.
                                Activity 1: Conduct initial internal
                                research to begin to create a preliminary list of potential tools and finalize
                                the implementation plan (March-June 2011, Completed).
                                •   Activity 1.1:  Conduct an initial literature review - including a review of
                                    previous NEJAC papers, publications and other recommendations - to
                                    identify an initial list of existing and  needed tools.
                                •   Activity 1.2:  Convene a cross-Agency workgroup.
                                •   Activity 1.3:  Review and evaluate the permitting process for a
                                    minimum of three federal permits with environmental justice
                                    considerations to use as case studies to identify existing and needed
                                    tools.  The workgroup reviewed the permitting process for three
                                    federal permits and will continue to review other  permits to solicit
                                    lessons learned and guide our next steps.
                                •   Activity 1.4:  Coordinate overlapping strategies with other Plan EJ 2014
                                    elements and consider integrating and leveraging activities between
                                    them.
                                •   Activity 1.5:  Issue the final implementation  plan.
        Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                                      11

-------
&EPA
                              Activity 2: Solicit initial existing and recommended tools from internal and
                              external stakeholders.

                              Activity 3: Create an initial list of priority tools and corresponding
                              deliverables for Year 1.

                              Activity 4: Develop, test, and finalize priority tools for EPA-issued permits.
                              •   Activity 4.1: Develop priority tools that need to be developed, amend
                                 existing tools, and identify those ready for potential immediate use at
                                 EPA.
                              •   Activity 4.2: Identify opportunities to test the draft tools through on-
                                 going permit activities.
                              •   Activity 4.3: Solicit comments both internally and externally on the
                                 draft tools.
                              •   Activity 4.4: Incorporate comments and finalize tools.

                              Activity 5: Determine the best format(s) or vehicle(s) to convey and
                              implement the final tools (guidance, policy, rulemaking, etc.).

                              Activity 6: Create a more detailed timeline for FY 2012-2014 deliverables
                              for the workgroup.

                              3.3 Advancing  Environmental Justice through Compliance
                                 and Enforcement
                              EPA is committed to taking action to further ensure that our most
                              overburdened communities are given particular  consideration as we
                              implement the Agency's enforcement and compliance program. Through
                              Plan EJ 2014, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)
                              intends to focus and accelerate our efforts to identify, assess, and address
                              environmental justice concerns in these communities when developing and
                              implementing OECA's program strategies, civil and  criminal enforcement
                              activities, and compliance activities. Our goal for the next three years is to
                              fully integrate consideration of environmental justice concerns into the
                              planning and implementation of OECA's program strategies, case targeting
                              strategies, and development of remedies in enforcement actions to benefit
                              these communities. We also plan to accelerate our ongoing efforts to
                              communicate more effectively with these communities about our
                              enforcement actions and program activities. Through these efforts, we
                              hope to further advance the Agency's environmental justice goals of fair
                              treatment and meaningful involvement of communities.

                              Plan EJ 2014 calls upon EPA to accelerate its ongoing efforts to give full
                              consideration to environmental justice issues when developing and
                              implementing its enforcement program strategies.  For example, OECA
                              selected  National Enforcement Initiatives for FY  2011-2013 that include
                              taking action against sewer overflows, Concentrated Animal Feeding
                              Operations (CAFO) that discharge manure to surface or ground waters,  and
                              facilities that emit excessive amounts of air toxics.  These types of facilities
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                             12

-------
&EPA
                               and pollution problems often have a disproportionate impact on minority,
                               low-income, tribal, or indigenous communities. OECA and the regions,
                               working with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), are also pressing for
                               remedies in enforcement cases that benefit communities overburdened by
                               illegal pollution. OECA will also make additional efforts to provide
                               information to overburdened communities about enforcement actions that
                               affect those communities, and to provide meaningful opportunities for
                               community input on the remedies sought in those enforcement actions.

                               Implementation Plan Summary

                                                    Goal
              Enforcing the Clean Water Act              _  , ..  . .    .       .,         ,    .        . .
                                                    To fully integrate consideration of environmental
  An EPA enforcement settlement in December 2010 requires      justjce concerns into the  ,anni    and
  that the Cleveland-area Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
  take steps to stop the flow of untreated sewage into local         implementation of OECA s program strategies, case
  waterways and Lake Erie. Among other requirements, the       targeting strategies, and development of remedies
  District is required to take several specific steps to address       in enforcement actions to benefit overburdened
  concerns in overburdened communities. For example, the       communities over the next three years.
  District must reduce pollutant discharges much more quickly in
  these areas.                                         Strategies & Activities
  In addition, several vacant lands will be transformed into green    Strategy 1: Advance environmental justice goals
  space and recreational areas to help capture storm water        through selection and implementation  of National
  discharges, perhaps leading to increased property values and     Enforcement Initiatives
  employment opportunities.  Also, the District will operate a           ...   „ „  ^ ,   .'   r *,  -    , r-  r
  household hazardous waste collection center each month as a    '   Activity 1.1:  Selection of National Enforcement
  supplemental environmental project, providing local citizens with       Initiatives for FY 2011-13.
  a place to properly dispose of used motor oil, paints, batteries,    •   Activity 1.2:  Implementation of National
  and other items that could otherwise end up in storm water           Enforcement Initiatives for FY 2011-13.
  discharges.                                          .   Activity 1.3:  Selection of National Enforcement
                                                        Initiatives for FY 2014-16.
                               Strategy 2:  Advance environmental justice goals through targeting and
                               development of compliance and enforcement actions.
                               *   Activity 2.1: Issue internal guidance  requiring analysis and
                                   consideration of environmental justice in EPA's compliance and
                                   enforcement program.
                               •   Activity 2.2: Review OECA's Enforcement Response Policies to
                                   determine whether any revisions are needed to ensure that
                                   environmental justice concerns are addressed in case development and
                                   resolution.
                               •   Activity 2.3: Reevaluate use of the Environmental Justice Strategic
                                   Enforcement Assessment Tool (EJSEAT), as appropriate, in response to
                                   recommendations of the NEJAC and  conclusions of the EPA
                                   Environmental Justice Screening Committee.
                               •   Activity 2.4: Seek opportunities to advance environmental justice goals
                                   in implementing the Clean Water Act Action Plan.
                               •   Activity 2.5: Seek opportunities to advance environmental justice goals
                                   in conducting the National Enforcement Strategy for Resource
                                   Recovery and Conservation Act (RCRA) Corrective Action.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview                                                                         13

-------
&EPA
                             •   Activity 2.6: Improve compliance at federal facilities where violations
                                 may impact overburdened communities.
                             •   Activity 2.7: Develop tools to track facilities with environmental justice
                                 concerns and report on enforcement actions that address
                                 environmental justice concerns.
                             Strategy 3: Enhance use of enforcement and compliance tools to advance
                             environmental justice goals in regional geographic initiatives to address
                             the needs of overburdened communities.
                             *   Activity 3.1: Regions will include use of enforcement tools as part of
                                 integrated problem-solving strategies that are focused on particular
                                 geographic areas.
                             •   Activity 3.2: Regions will include use of compliance assistance tools as
                                 part of integrated problem-solving strategies focused on particular
                                 geographic areas.
                             Strategy 4: Seek appropriate remedies in enforcement actions to benefit
                             overburdened communities and address environmental justice concerns.
                             *   Activity 4.1: Increase efforts to address environmental justice concerns
                                 through use of injunctive relief, including mitigation, and Supplemental
                                 Environmental Projects in civil enforcement actions, as appropriate.
                             •   Activity 4.2: Increase efforts to benefit affected communities through
                                 use of community service and the Crime Victims' Rights Act in criminal
                                 actions.
                             •   Activity 4.3: Look for opportunities to work with other federal
                                 agencies, state and local governments, and the business community to
                                 complement and leverage community benefits  resulting from
                                 enforcement activities.
                             Strategy 5: Enhance communication with affected communities and the
                             public regarding environmental justice concerns and the distribution and
                             benefits of enforcement actions, as appropriate.
                             *   Activity 5.1: Provide affected communities with information about
                                 enforcement actions and meaningful opportunities for input on
                                 potential environmental justice concerns and remedies to be
                                 implemented.
                             •   Activity 5.2: Improve website information and other public information
                                 materials to explain EPA's site cleanup enforcement processes.
                             •   Activity 5.3: Enhance communication of the environmental justice
                                 benefits of EPA's enforcement actions.

                             3.4 Supporting Community-Based Action Programs
                             The Agency has learned that communities must be the driver for local
                             solutions. However, far too many communities lack the capacity to truly
                             affect environmental conditions. As a result, many low-income, minority,
                             tribal, and indigenous communities continue to live in the shadows of the
                             worst pollution and face some of the harshest impacts. Consequently, EPA
                             has implemented numerous programs to support community
                             empowerment and provide benefits that range from basic educational and
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                            14

-------
&EPA
                            leadership development to comprehensive approaches. These include
                            financial assistance programs such as Environmental Justice, Community
                            Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE), Brownfields Area-Wide
                            Planning, Lead, and Tribal grants, as well as community-based programs
                            such as EPA's Local Climate and Energy, Childhood Asthma, Sustainable
                            Communities and Smart Growth, Urban Waters, Superfund, and
                            Brownfields programs.

                            EPA's ten regions play a leading role in implementing these programs.
                            Plan EJ 2014 builds upon an Agency effort to improve the effectiveness of
                            EPA's community-based programs through better information access,
                            coordination, and leveraging. EPA will build upon and leverage Agency
                            efforts to promote greater coordination in the use of programs and tools
                            that support community empowerment. Through these efforts, EPA will
                            make the Agency's resources more accessible to underserved communities,
                            while achieving greater internal efficiency through feedback and better
                            understanding of how to implement community-based programs. This
                            approach will result in environmental, health, and economic improvements
                            in such communities.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                        15

-------
&EPA
                               Implementation Plan Summary
                               Goal
                               To strengthen community-based programs to engage overburdened
                               communities and build partnerships that promote healthy, sustainable, and
                               green communities.
                               Strategies & Activities
     Promoting Area-Wide Strategies for Brownfields
      Redevelopment and Community Revitalization

 EPA is piloting an area-wide planning approach to brownfields in
 23 communities nationwide, recognizing that revitalization of the
 area surrounding a brownfield is just as critical to the successful
 reuse of the property as site assessment, cleanup, and
 redevelopment. Each community will receive up to $175K in
 grants and technical assistance. The pilot program will help
 further community-based partnership efforts within underserved
 or economically disadvantaged neighborhoods by confronting
 local environmental and public health challenges related to
 brownfields, while creating a planning framework to advance
 economic development and job creation.

 As one example, the Ironbound Community Corporation in
 Newark, New Jersey, is building upon existing revitalization and
 redevelopment efforts to develop an area-wide plan to create
 sustainable recreational and mixed-use development in an area
 with 100 brownfields. This community is home to over 50,000
 residents and contains the remnants of a once vibrant economy,
 anchored by a large brewery that closed in the 1970s, leaving
 behind contaminated sites and deteriorating infrastructure. The
 area is economically distressed with the poverty rate as high as
 55 percent.
Strategy 1: Advance environmental justice
principles by building strong state and tribal
partnerships through the National Environmental
Performance Partnership System (NEPPS) and
National Program Manager (NPM) guidance.

*   Activity 1:  Create a workgroup to provide
    recommendations that mutually support
    community involvement, resource/data  sharing,
    monitoring/tracking, and training within
    programs implemented through performance
    partnership agreements, tribal agreements, and
    work plans guided by NEPPS and NPM
    documents.
•   Activity 2:  Develop language for environmental
    justice principles including Title VI guidance (as
    appropriate with all Agency grants) for inclusion
    in the FY 2013 NEPPS and FY 2012 NPM
    guidance through collaboration and discussions
    with Office of Congressional and
    Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIR), Office of Civil
                                                        Rights (OCR), Regional Offices and States.
                               Strategy 2: Identify scalable and replicable elements of successful Agency
                               community-based programs and align multiple EPA programs to more
                               fully address the needs of overburdened communities.
                               *   Activity 3: Review Agency and key outside community-based
                                   programs, and existing evaluations of select Agency programs, to
                                   identify scalable and replicable program elements which encourage
                                   place-based solutions to environmental justice issues, strengthen and
                                   promote partnerships, and support healthy and sustainable
                                   communities.
                               •   Activity 4: Make recommendations on how  EPA can align its
                                   community-based work, particularly  in EPA's regions to more fully
                                   address the needs of overburdened communities.
        Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                                   16

-------
&EPA
                             Strategy 3: Promote an integrated One EPA presence to better engage
                             communities in the Agency's work to protect human health and the
                             environment.
                             *   Activity 5: Target three approaches to promote an integrated One EPA
                                presence where EPA will find the best solution by working in a
                                consistent and unified way.
                             Strategy 4: Foster community-based programs modeled on the
                             Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) principles.
                             *   Activity 6: Develop a community-based partners (CBP) program to
                                create opportunities in undeserved and overburdened neighborhoods
                                for collaborating  with private industry, foundations, and other
                                institutions to implement the CARE model.
                             •   Activity 7: Develop a CBP program that caters to grassroots or
                                emerging community groups with little to no organizational and/or
                                technical capacity.
                             •   Activity 8: Identify technical assistance resources, program staff, and
                                regional staff available to aid overburdened communities with issues
                                related to their areas of expertise.
                             Strategy 5: Explore how EPA funding, policies and programs can inform
                             or help local decision makers to maximize benefits and minimize adverse
                             impacts from land use decision making, planning and siting.
                             *   Activity 9: Establish a workgroup and seek stakeholder feedback to
                                explore ways the Agency's work intersects with land use decision
                                making, planning, and siting.

                             Strategy 6: Promote equitable development opportunities for all
                             communities.
                             *   Activity 10: Promote equitable development opportunities.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                          17

-------
&EPA
                             3.5 Fostering Administration-Wide Action on Environmental
                             Justice
                             Everyone in America deserves to live, learn, and work in a healthy and
                             sustainable community. EPA seeks to facilitate the active involvement of
                             all federal agencies in ensuring healthy, sustainable and green
                             communities, as well as equitable development, for all people. To better
                             achieve this goal, EPA is leading the Administration's effort to fully
                             implement EO 12898. As each agency reinvigorates its effort to make
                             environmental justice part of its mission, EPA will focus on helping each
                             agency participate in a coordinated  approach that acknowledges the
                             disproportionately high  and adverse human health and environmental
                             impacts on overburdened communities, while providing access to the
                             environmental, public health,  and economic benefits that Agency programs
                             provide. A coordinated  and holistic approach is essential to ensuring that
                             we address the full scope of adverse human health and environmental
                             effects in overburdened communities, legacy pollution problems rooted in
                             historical discrimination, and cumulative impacts; and ensure that all
                             communities participate in, and benefit from, the transition to a clean
                             energy economy.

                             EO 12898 also called for the establishment of an Interagency Working
                             Group on Environmental Justice (EJ  IWG), which is chaired by the EPA
                             Administrator. EPA worked the White House Council on Environmental
                             Quality (CEQ) to reconvene the IWG in September 2010.  In addition, EPA
                             has a number of federal partnerships established and initiatives underway
                             that support a holistic approach to addressing the environmental, social,
                             and economic burdens that impact communities.  For example, EPA, the
                             U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S.
                             Department of Transportation joined together to form the Partnership for
                             Sustainable Communities, an unprecedented agreement to coordinate
                             federal housing, transportation, and environmental investments; protect
                             public health and the environment; promote equitable development; and
                             help address the challenges of climate change. All federal agencies are
                             responsible for considering environmental justice issues in National
                             Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental impact assessments and
                             enforcing Title VI of the  Civil Rights Act.
                                                             r      i a M  a
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                            18

-------
v°/EPA
                                Implementation Plan Summary
                                Goal
                                To facilitate the active involvement of all federal agencies in implementing
                                EO 12898 by minimizing and mitigating disproportionate negative impacts
                                while fostering environmental, public health, and economic benefits for
                                overburdened communities.
                                Strategies & Activities
                                Strategy 1: Assist other federal
                                agencies to integrate
                                environmental justice in their
                                missions, programs, policies, and
                                activities.

                                *   Activity 1.1: Chair and convene
                                    EJ IWG Principal, Deputy, and
                                    Senior Staff meetings.
                                •   Activity 1.2: Chair, assist, and
                                    oversee each agency's effort to
                                    update  or develop its
                                    environmental justice strategy.
                                •   Activity 1.3: Lead the effort to
                                    organize regional events.
                                •   Activity 1.4: Develop and
                                    provide tools that help
                                    environmental justice and other
                                    stakeholders identify federal
                                    information and resources.
                                •   Activity 1.5: Convene a group of
                                    senior attorneys from across the
                                    federal government to promote
                                    the integration of environmental
                                    justice into their agencies'
                                    actions.
 HUD-DOT-EPA Interagency Partnership for
        Sustainable Communities

The Partnership for Sustainable Communities
is supporting an Environmental Justice
Showcase Communities project in Jacksonville,
Florida. This EPA program convenes federal
agencies, state and local government entities,
non-governmental organizations, and other
stakeholders to help underserved communities
shape their neighborhoods' futures with
comprehensive, locally appropriate solutions.

The agencies and stakeholders will support the
local partners as they establish a community
health center on a cleaned-up brownfield site
close to parks, community gardens, and other
amenities. The area has several Superfund and
brownfield sites and high rates of heart
disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma, and infant
mortality. The health center will work in
partnership with historically black colleges and
universities to provide training for health care
jobs and offer educational programs on healthy
living. The lessons learned through this and
other Environmental Justice Showcase
Communities pilots will help the Partnership
better use its resources to help underserved
communities build more sustainable
neighborhoods with better access to
opportunities; improved services and amenities;
and healthier places to live, work, and play.
                                Strategy 2:  Work with other federal agencies to strengthen use of
                                interagency legal tools, i.e., National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
                                and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

                                National Environmental Policy Act

                                •   Activity 2.1: Articulate a consistent message about the need to
                                    incorporate environmental justice into NEPA implementation.
                                •   Activity 2.2: Enable federal NEPA practitioners to enhance
                                    consideration and execution of environmental justice requirements in
                                    NEPA implementation.
        Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                                      19

-------
&EPA
                             Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
                             •   Activity 2.3: Consult with DOJ to strengthen the use of Title VI of the
                                Civil Rights Act of 1964 by reevaluating the approach for analyzing Title
                                VI complaints.
                             •   Activity 2.4: Collaborate with DOJ and within EPA, to develop
                                compliance strategies and actions to address non-compliance.
                             Strategy 3: Foster healthy and sustainable communities, with an
                             emphasis on equitable development and place-based initiatives.
                             *   Activity 3.1: Recommend ways to enhance federal interagency
                                coordination in support of healthy and sustainable communities as well
                                as equitable development, in areas such as:
                                   o  Green Jobs and Clean Energy.
                                   o  Healthy and  Sustainable Communities.
                                   o  Climate Change and Adaptation.
                                   o  Goods Movement.
                             Strategy 4: Strengthen community access to federal agencies.
                             *   Activity 4.1: Conduct community needs inventory pilot.
                             •   Activity 4.2: Identify targeted training for communities.
                             •   Activity 4.3: Review  results of Federal Partners Meeting.
                             •   Activity 4.4: Coordinate with Agency community-based coordination
                                efforts.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                          20

-------
v°/EPA
                               This section provides summaries of Plan EJ 2014's Tools Development
                               Areas and their implementation plans.  These areas involve issues related
                               to science, law, information, and resources.
                               4-1
         Building Scientific Capacity Among Tribal
              Environmental Professionals
    EPA has a long history of supporting capacity building
    among tribal environmental professionals, primarily through
    its partnership with the Institute for Tribal Environmental
    Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona University. The
    Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) has supported this
    project for over  15 years. Consistent with our trust
    responsibility to tribes, OAR works with Tribes to increase
    their capability to address their environmental concerns.
    OAR supports the training and educational efforts of ITEP
    in the areas of air quality and climate change impacts and
    adaptation planning, as well as the work of the Tribal Air
    Monitoring Support  (TAMS) Center, which builds and
    strengthens the technical capacity of tribal staff.  The
    TAMS Center cross-trains tribal  air professionals on air
    monitoring,  indoor air quality, radon and asthma.  EPA is
    building on  this  model to develop an Environmental Justice
    Community Learning Center.
Under Plan EJ 2014, EPA has committed to building a
strong scientific foundation for supporting
environmental justice and conducting
disproportionate impact analysis, particularly
methods to appropriately characterize and assess
cumulative impacts.  These  efforts will help to ensure
that EPA brings the best science to decision making
around environmental justice issues. The science and
research activities described in Plan EJ 2014 build
upon  discussions and recommendations from  EPA's
Science of Disproportionate Impacts Analysis
Symposium (March 17-19, 2010) and an
Environmental Justice Regulatory Analysis Technical
Workshop (June 9-10, 2010).  The March 2010
Symposium was the principal  event for the Agency to
identify science needs for environmental justice and
stimulate innovative  research to meet those needs.
                                Implementation Plan Summary
                                Goal
                                To substantially support and conduct research that employs participatory
                                principles and integrates social and physical sciences aimed at
                                understanding and illuminating solutions to environmental and health
                                inequalities among overburdened populations and communities in the
                                United States.

                                Strategies & Activities
                                Strategy 1: Apply integrated transdisciplinary and community-based
                                participatory research approaches with a focus on addressing multi-
                                media, cumulative impacts, and equity in environmental health and
                                environmental conditions.
                                *   Activity 1.1: Establish an  Integrated Transdisciplinary Office of
                                   Research and Development (ORD) Research Program on Environment
                                   and Community Health, including the Sustainable and Healthy
                                   Communities Research Program.
                                •   Activity 1.2: Develop technical guidance, analytic methods, tools and
                                   data to  advance the integration of environmental justice in EPA
                                   decision making.
        Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                                   21

-------
&EPA
                              Strategy 2: Incorporate perspectives from community-based
                              organizations and community leaders into EPA research agendas and
                              engage in collaborative partnerships on science and research to address
                              environmental justice.
                              *   Activity 2.1:  Establish a Community Engagement Initiative.
                              •   Activity 2.2:  Re-engage with the NEJAC.
                              •   Activity 2.3:  Support Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR).

                              Strategy 3: Leverage partnerships with other federal agencies on issues
                              of research, policy and action to address environmental and health
                              disparities.
                              *   Activity 3.1:  Join the Federal Collaboration on Health Disparities.
                              •   Activity 3.2:  Engage with President's Task Force on Environmental
                                 Health Risks  and Safety Risks to Children.

                              Strategy 4: Build and strengthen the technical capacity of Agency
                              scientists on conducting research and related science activities in
                              partnership with impacted communities and translating research results
                              to inform change.
                              •   Activity 4.1:  Provide training to EPA scientists on CBPR.
                              •   Activity 4.2:  Build social science capacity within ORD.
                              •   Activity 4.3:  Develop Environmental Justice Risk
                                 Management Training for the  Office of Pesticide Programs
                                 (OPP).

                              Strategy 5:  Build and strengthen technical capacity of community-based
                              organizations and community environmental justice and health leaders to
                              address environmental health disparities and environmental
                              sustainability issues.
                              *   Activity 5.1:  Build community capacity to address asthma disparities.
                              •   Activity 5.2:  Build tribal community capacity to monitor air quality.
                              •   Activity 5.3:  Increase citizen participation in science and decisions.
                              •   Activity 5.4:  Establish Centers of Excellence on Environment and
                                 Health Disparities.
                              •   Activity 5.5:  Build diverse environmental workforce and enhance the
                                 capacities of Minority Academic Institutions (MAI) to engage in
                                 scientific  research and workforce training.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                              22

-------
&EPA
                               The Office of General Counsel (OGC) is working with the programs and
                               regions to identify opportunities to utilize EPA's statutory authorities to
                               advance environmental justice. Our vision is that the Agency will use law
                               as a tool to advance environmental justice. OGC's advice will help EPA to
                               implement forward-leaning environmental justice policies with acceptable
                               legal risk and to identify new opportunities to promote their environmental
                               justice policy objectives.

                               Implementation Plan Summary
        Using the National Environmental Policy Act to
               Address Environmental Justice
 The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is an important tool
 that can be used to advance the goals of environmental justice. A
 1994 Executive Order requires that all federal agencies identify and
 address disproportionately high and adverse human health or
 environmental  impacts on minority, low-income and tribal
 populations. In April 2011, the Assistant Administrator of the EPA's
 Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance reemphasized
 those requirements in a memo urging EPA offices across the country
 to enhance efforts to consider environmental justice in fulfilling their
 NEPA responsibilities.
 EPA is required to review all Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)
 drafted by federal agencies and to make those reviews public, as
 mandated under Section 309 of the Clean Air Act. This review
 responsibility puts the EPA in a unique position to monitor how well
 Federal agencies comply with the Executive Order. Furthermore,  the
 Presidential memo that transmitted the Executive Order states that
 the EPA, "shall ensure that the involved  agency has fully analyzed
 environmental  effects on minority communities and low-income
 communities, including human health, social, and economic effects."
Goal
To provide legal assistance to EPA policy makers
and other Agency decision makers to advance
their environmental justice objectives and
achieve the Agency's vision of using the law as a
tool to advance environmental justice.

Strategy
OGC will accomplish its goal of providing legal
assistance to EPA policy makers and other
Agency decision makers to advance their
environmental justice objectives by providing
legal support to each cross-Agency Focus Area
workgroup.  OGC's activities will promote a
sound legal framework for the tools and
programs developed by the five focus area
workgroups.  OGC will conduct this activity
contemporaneously with the work of the five
cross-Agency Focus Areas.
                                Activities
                                •   Activity 1: Counseling attorneys will serve as workgroup members for
                                   each cross-Agency Focus Area; these attorneys are drawn from OGC
                                   and the Offices of Regional Counsel (ORC).
                                •   Activity 2: Regional Counsels and OGC Associate General Counsels will
                                   convene regularly to identify legal issues and develop advice in support
                                   of the five focus areas.
                                •   Activity 3: The EPA's General Counsel will  provide active oversight,
                                   direction, and decision making on all  aspects of this initiative, in
                                   consultation with EPA's Senior Leadership.
                                •   Activity 4: OGC will convene a group of senior attorneys from across
                                   the federal government to promote the integration of environmental
                                   justice into their agencies' actions.
        Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                                   23

-------
    Tools to Identify Overburdened Populations
         During the BP Oil Spill Response
The dynamic nature of the BP oil spill has been a
challenge for a range of communities along the Gulf -
from hotel operators to fishermen to local community
leaders. During cleanup activities, EPA and other
agencies used a variety of Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) tools to collect information, including
EJView and GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse. EPA
developed EJView, a public mapping tool, to get a
snapshot of environmental, health, and other social
factors that were affecting local communities.
GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse, an online tool developed
by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
EPA,  the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Department of
Interior, was used to gather close to real time information
about the response effort. These tools were used to
identify locations of overburdened communities in
comparison to areas of waste disposal, pinpoint locations
where oil had reached the shore, and identify locations of
community centers where people could get assistance.
4,3
EPA's programs and regions have developed a variety of internal screening
tools and other Geographic Information System (GIS) applications to
enhance environmental justice analysis and decision making to better meet
our responsibilities to protect public health under EO 12898. These
applications have played an important role as the Agency worked to
integrate environmental justice into its programs, policies and activities.

Under Plan EJ 2014, EPA is focused in an Agency-wide effort to develop a
nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool.  In addition, EPA
is developing a suite of tools, data and services known as EPA's
GeoPlatform that will help coordinate and consolidate mapping activities,
applications, and data  across the Agency.  The GeoPlatform will support a
wide variety of uses across the Agency, including components of the
                       nationally  consistent environmental justice
                       screening tool, and other data and applications that
                       may be of  interest to environmental justice
                       stakeholders.
                       Implementation Plan Summary
                       Goal
                       To develop a more integrated, comprehensive,
                       efficient, and nationally consistent approach for
                       collecting, maintaining, and using geospatial
                       information relevant to overburdened
                       communities.  EPA will accomplish this by: (1)
                       developing a common Agency-wide mapping
                       platform -the GeoPlatform, (2) creating a
                       nationally consistent environmental justice
                       screening tool, and (3) incorporating appropriate
                       elements of the screening tool into the
                       GeoPlatform.
                          Strategies & Activities
                          Strategy 1: Develop EPA's GeoPlatform.
                          *   Activity 1:  Develop prototype of the EPA Environmental Analyst for
                             review.
                          •   Activity 2:  Develop production release of the EPA Environmental
                             Analyst.
                          •   Activity 3:  Develop production release of the EPA GeoPlatform
                             (including initial data services) for use by Environmental Analyst and
                             other GeoPlatform components.
 Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                               24

-------
&EPA
                             Strategy 2: Develop a nationally consistent environmental justice
                             screening tool.
                             *   Activity 1: Hold regular staff workgroup and project steering
                                 committee meetings.
                             •   Activity 2: Develop a set of options to present to Senior Agency
                                 Officials.
                             •   Activity 3: Create a working prototype of screening tool.
                             •   Activity 4: Update the NEJAC on progress.
                             •   Activity 5: Obtain peer review and public comment on a prototype
                                 tool.
                             •   Activity 6: Revise the tool based on comments.
                             Strategy 3: Incorporate appropriate elements of the screening tool into
                             the GeoPlatform.
                             *   Activity 1: Review screening tool data, methods, and requirements to
                                 determine which portions may be appropriate to include in the
                                 GeoPlatform.
                             •   Activity 2: Incorporate appropriate elements of the prototype
                                 screening tool into the GeoPlatform.
                             •   Activity 3: Revise GeoPlatform elements of the tool to be consistent
                                 with changes made to the prototype tool in response to peer review
                                 and public comments on screening tool.

                             4.4 Resources
                             Under Plan EJ 2014, the Office of Administration and Resource
                             Management (OARM) focuses on two components: (1) grants and technical
                             assistance to support community-based programs, and (2) workforce
                             diversity. With respect to grants and technical assistance, OARM seeks to
                             develop an efficient and effective system for delivering financial and
                             technical assistance to communities to empower them to improve their
                             health and environment. OARM's efforts advance the Administrator's
                             priority of Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism and Working
                             for Environmental Justice by establishing a new paradigm for the delivery
                             of EPA assistance to minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous peoples
                             to promote equitable development and create healthy and sustainable
                             neighborhoods. It also responds to the cross-Agency Focus Area under
                             Plan EJ 2014 of Supporting Community-Based Action Programs.  With
                             respect to workforce diversity, OARM seeks  to achieve an inclusive work
                             environment by developing an efficient system for the outreach and
                             recruitment of potential employees.  When  EPA recruits and
                             retains an inclusive workforce — one that looks like the America it
                             serves — and individual differences are respected, appreciated,  and
                             valued, diversity becomes an organizational  strength that contributes to
                             achieving results.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                             25

-------
&EPA
                               Implementation Plan Summary
                               Grants and Technical Assistance Goal
                               To develop an efficient and effective system for delivering financial and
                               technical assistance to communities to empower them to improve their
                               health and environment.

                               Strategies & Activities
                               Strategy 1: Increase transparency and efficiency in providing
                               community-based grant opportunities.
  Community Action for a Renewed Environment
               Grant Program
The Community Action for a Renewed Environment
(CARE) program is a competitive grant program that
provides on-the-ground support and funding to help
revitalize and improve the health of communities in
sustainable ways. Through CARE, various local
organizations, including non-profits, businesses, schools
and governments, create partnerships that create and
implement consensus-based local solutions to reduce
releases of pollutants and minimize people's exposure
to them. Through CARE, community leaders develop
expertise in sustaining partnerships and addressing
environmental issues, providing a strong basis for
continued future action as other environmental threats
emerge in the community. Since 2005, CARE has
provided over $14.5 million in financial assistance to 80
communities in 39 states and territories. CARE offers
two levels of financial assistance, up to $100,000 for
Level I and up to $300,000 for Level II grants.
                                             *   Activity 1.1: Draft recommendations for improving
                                                community group access to EPA grant programs to be
                                                presented to Executive Management Committee (EMC).
                                             .   Activitv 1.2: Solicit informal feedback from communities
                                                .     CARE p       workshops)
                                                v  '6v          6             K ''
                                             .   Activity 1.3: Conduct outreach to Regions and NPMs via
                                                conference calls and sharing of drafts.
                                             Strategy 2: Improve delivery of technical assistance to
                                             communities.
Develop Technical Assistance Center

Draft preliminary options to be presented
                                                Activitv 2.1
                                                approach.
                                                Activity 2.2
                                                to tne EMC
                                                Activjtv23: obtajn senjor management guidance on
                                                - ' -                    b      b
                                                initial concepts before obtaining informal feedback from
                                                communities.
                                                Activitv 2.4: Conduct outreach to Regions and NPMs via
                                                conference calls and sharing of drafts.
                               Strategy 3: Strengthen grants training for communities.
                               *   Activitv 3.1: Create umbrella, basic on-line grants training for
                                   communities, environmental justice-specific on-line training, and
                                   program-specific training (e.g., CARE, Urban Waters).
                               •   Activitv 3.2: Develop training modules.
                               •   Activitv 3.3: Obtain informal community feedback as modules
                                   developed.
                               •   Activitv 3.4: Conduct outreach to the EPA grants management
                                   community by providing opportunities for review of draft training
                                   scripts.
                                Strategy 4: Improve community awareness of grant competition
                               process.
                               *   Activitv 4.1: Develop and implement appropriate grant competition
                                   tools (e.g., listservs, webinars).
                               •   Activitv 4.2: Obtain informal community input through
                                   Regional/Headquarter websites.
                               •   Activitv 4.3: Work with  region and NPMs to develop and implement
                                   tools.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                                  26

-------
                        Strategy 5: Revise grant policies that are unduly restrictive.
                        *   Activity 5.1: Revise Delegation 1-86 and indirect cost rate policies for
                           environmental justice grants.
                        •   Activity 5.2: Establish simplified Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) policy.
                        •   Activity 5.3: Obtain informal community feedback once draft ICR policy
                           developed.
                        •   Activity 5.4: Conduct outreach to regions and NPMs by providing
                           opportunity to comment on draft policy issuance.
                        •   Activity 5.5: Explore simplification of other policies.
                        Strategy 6: Encourage Office of General Counsel/Office of Regional
                        Counsel/Program Office dialogue on community-based grant
                        opportunities.
                        *   Activity 6.1: Conduct periodic OGC/ORC/Office of Environmental
                           Justice (OEJ) meetings and OGC guidance on scope of community-
                           based grant authorities.
                        •   Activity 6.2: Obtain OGC legal guidance on scope of grant authorities.
                        •   Activity 6.3: Coordinate discussions with larger OGC effort on existing
                           legal authorities.
                        Strategy 7:  Improve timeliness ofBrownfields Grant Awards.
                        *   Activity 7.1: Draft recommendations for consistent Brownfields award
                           times.

                        Workforce Diversity Goal
                        To achieve an inclusive work environment by developing an efficient
                        system for the outreach and recruitment of potential employees.

                        Strategies
                        Strategy 1: Increase the diverse pool of qualified applicants.

                        Strategy 2: Operate under a One EPA approach for recruitment and
                        outreach.

                        Activities
                        •   Activity 1: Design an  efficient Agency-wide outreach strategy.
                        •   Activity 2: Develop effective marketing materials and strategy.
                        •   Activity 3: Develop a National Conference Toolkit.
                        •   Activity 4: Develop a National Outreach Calendar.
Plan EJ 2014: Overview                                                                         27

-------
&EPA
                             5.0   PROGRAM INITIATIVES

                             As indicated earlier, there are many programs at EPA that actively pursue
                             environmental justice goals or produce benefits for overburdened
                             communities. Examples of such initiatives include: Community
                             Engagement Initiative (Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response),
                             Urban Waters (Office of Water), National Enforcement Initiatives (OECA),
                             Air Toxics Rules (OAR), and the  U.S. Mexico Border Program (Office of
                             International and Tribal Affairs). Over the next year, EPA will designate at
                             least one initiative per appropriate program for inclusion in Plan EJ 2014.
                             In this way, many existing EPA initiatives can be tailored to better integrate
                             environmental justice into their programs and produce greater benefits for
                             overburdened communities. The identified initiatives may include those
                             developed to implement the Administrator's other priorities.

                             6.0   CIVIL RIGHTS
                             One effort already under way is implementing Administrator Jackson's
                             priority to improve EPA's civil rights program. Complying with EPA's
                             statutory civil rights obligations is a critical part of our efforts to advance
                             environmental justice. Administrator Jackson has made improving EPA's
                             civil rights program a priority. As part of this effort, EPA is pursuing long
                             overdue, vigorous, robust, and  effective implementation of Title VI of the
                             Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other nondiscrimination statutes. EPA is
                             committed to protecting people from discrimination based  on race, color,
                             or national origin in programs or activities that receive EPA's financial
                             assistance. In June 2011, the Administrator convened a workgroup of
                             senior management to assess OCR and EPA's overarching civil right
                             program. The workgroup is charged with making recommendations to
                             advance civil rights. The workgroup will look at revamping the civil rights
                             office, pursuing effective and timely responses to complaints, and
                             developing proactive compliance guidance and strategies. As the
                             recommendations are adopted, the agency will develop implementation
                             plans, take public comment and finalize the plans as part of EPA's annual
                             work  plans under Plan EJ  2014.

                             7.0   CONCLUSION

                             Plan EJ 2014 is EPA's roadmap for integrating environmental justice and
                             civil rights into its programs, policies, and activities.  Through Plan EJ  2014,
                             EPA intends to develop a  suite of tools to advance such integration. It
                             seeks to build stronger relationships with communities overburdened by
                             environmental and health hazards and build partnerships that improve
                             conditions in such communities. In 2014, EPA will make an  assessment of
                             its progress in achieving the goals of Plan EJ 2014. Based on this
                             assessment, EPA will produce a report on the accomplishments, lessons
                             learned, challenges, and next steps for continuing the Agency's efforts to
                             make environmental justice an  integral part of every decision.
       Plan EJ 2014: Overview
                                                                                             28

-------
&EPA
             APPENDIX
             Plan EJ 2014 Implementation Plans
   Plan EJ 2014: Acronyms
29

-------
This page left blank intentionally

-------
&EPA
                        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
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
33

-------
&EPA
 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. 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
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
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                               34

-------
&EPA
                              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.

                              1.2
                              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.9 This
                                  workgroup  is a subcommittee of the Environmental Justice in
                                  Rulemaking Workgroup.
                               9 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 action is assigned one of three tiers. Tier 1 denotes the Administrator's Priority
                               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.

    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                           35

-------
v°/EPA
                             ,:"



                             Strategies to achieve the goals of this plan are specific to each goal:

                             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
                                 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).
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         36

-------
&EPA
                             •  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 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.

                             Strategy 2: 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.
                             •  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.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        37

-------
&EPA
                             Strategy 3: Develop technical guidance on how to conduct
                             environmental justice assessments ofrulemaking 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.

                                 •           i  '  i            and
                             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.
                             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.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        38

-------
&EPA
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

  Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
39

-------
v°/EPA
                            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.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                      40

-------
&EPA
                      September 2011

                      Led by
                      Office of Air and Radiation, Office of General Counsel,
                      and Region 1

                      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                      Washington, D.C. 20460
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                           41

-------
 &EPA
 Goals At-A-G lance

To enable overburdened
communities to have full
and meaningful access to
the permitting process
and to develop permits
that address
environmental justice
issues to the greatest
extent practicable under
existing environmental
laws.
1.0    INTRODUCTION

The intent of Plan EJ 2014: Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting
(Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative) is to ensure that
environmental justice concerns are given as full consideration as possible in
the decision to issue a permit and the terms of the permits issued under
existing federal environmental laws.  It contemplates a focus on both U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-issued permits, as well as permits
issued pursuant to existing federal environmental laws (i.e., federal, state,
local, or tribal). The Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative seeks to
identify the best current opportunities for taking environmental justice
concerns into consideration and to enable EPA to address the complex
issue of cumulative impacts from exposure to multiple sources and existing
conditions that are critical to the effective consideration of environmental
justice in permitting.

The proposed activities outlined in this implementation plan rely heavily on
the advice and recommendations presented by the National Environmental
Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) from both their most recent response to
EPA's permitting charge and numerous relevant prior NEJAC reports. EPA
recognizes that there has been a considerable amount of work -
particularly on the NEJAC's part - advocating for earlier and more effective
public participation in the permitting process, but that these practices have
not been widely adopted. We also recognize that although environmental
justice can be incorporated into the permitting process in a variety of ways,
there are significant challenges - particularly related to cumulative/multi-
media impacts.  We therefore seek to truly create a culture within EPA -
and among other federal, state,  local, and tribal permitting agencies - in
which engaging on issues of environmental justice more readily translates
into greater protections for overburdened communities.

EPA's implementation plan  merely describes our process for the
Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative, with a focus on activities for
2011 and early 2012. Our proposed deliverables for this time period are a
cohesive suite of tools for EPA-issued permits (for example, EPA guidance
on enhanced early public participation) along with a public database of
many other tools to serve as a resource for EPA, other federal agencies,
states, local government, tribal governments, facilities, non-profit
organizations, and communities. This larger database of tools will also
serve as a starting point for our 2012-2014 activities. We are defining
"tools" broadly to include not only guidance, but also best practices,
templates, reports, checklists, case studies, mapping and screening tools,
protocols, trainings, sample language, and other resources.

Appendix A of this document contains our initial draft list  of potential tools,
but the list is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive.  Over the next few years,
we may decide not to develop some of these potential tools; similarly, we
may decide to add new potential tools to the list as we continue to gather
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                                42

-------
&EPA
                               ideas and suggestions. Throughout the process, however, we will be
                               listening to the ideas and experiences of all interested stakeholders, in
                               order to leverage the successes and seize on the good work that is already
                               occurring on this topic.
                               The overarching goals of this Plan are to enable overburdened
                               communities to have full and meaningful access to the permitting process
                               and to develop permits that address environmental justice issues to the
                               greatest extent practicable.

                               To achieve our goals, the Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative will
                               "[i]dentify and develop tools to support the consideration of environmental
                               justice during implementation  of permitting programs" to reduce
                               "exposures for those at the greatest risk," as stated in the Fiscal Year (FY)
                               2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan,  Cross-Cutting Fundamental Strategy:
                               Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health (Strategic Plan).10

                               Our goals help to fulfill:
                               •   Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental
                                   Justice In Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations," which
                                   tasks each federal agency with "achieving environmental justice as part
                                   of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate,
                                   disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
                                   effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations
                                   and low-income population."11
                               •   The Administrator's priority of Expanding the Conversation on
                                   Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice, which
                                   heralds "a new era of outreach and protection for communities
                                   historically underrepresented in EPA decision making" and calls for
                                   "including] environmental justice principles in all of our decisions."12
                               •   EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment.

                               1
                               The success of this Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative will depend
                               on participation from many offices within EPA, both at Headquarters and
                               the regions, as well as numerous external stakeholders (see Section 2.3,
                               Community Engagement and Stakeholder Outreach).
                               10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan: Achieving Our Vision,
                               September 30, 2010. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html.
                               11 Clinton, William J., Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in
                               Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations," February 11, 1994, Federal Register 59, No. 32:
                               7629.
                               12 Jackson, Lisa P., "Seven Priorities for EPA's Future." January 12, 2010. Available at:
                               http://blog.epa.gov/administrator/2010/01/12/seven-priorities-for-epas-future/.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                             43

-------
&EPA
                             The Office of Air and Radiation has been designated the Headquarters lead.
                             The Office of General Counsel has agreed to act as co-lead. Region 1 is the
                             Lead Region. Staff and managers from these three offices, with guidance
                             from the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance/Office of
                             Environmental Justice, have formed a Steering Committee to manage the
                             Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative.

                             The Steering Committee is chaired by the Principal Deputy Assistant
                             Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation; the Associate General Counsel,
                             Cross-Cutting Issues Law Office, Office of General Counsel; and the Deputy
                             Regional Administrator, Region 1.

                             The Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative has a small group composed
                             of key senior EPA Headquarters and regional leaders (Senior Leaders) to
                             provide high level recommendations as well as a cross-Agency workgroup
                             of EPA Headquarters and regional staff to do the work. The workgroup
                             contains staff from every EPA region, as well as staff from the Office of Air
                             and Radiation, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, the
                             Office of Environmental Information, the Office of General Counsel, the
                             Office of International and Tribal Affairs, the Office of Research and
                             Development, the Office of Solid Waste and Remediation, and the Office of
                             Water.

                             Staff support for the Environmental Justice Permitting Initiative is provided
                             the Office of Policy Analysis and Review, Office of Air and  Radiation.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         44

-------
v°/EPA
                              2.0

                              The strategies and activities outlined below describe the charge to the
                              Environmental Justice Permitting Workgroup over the next several years.
                              In the meantime, we strongly encourage offices and individuals at EPA and
                              external to the Agency to continue their ongoing practice of furthering
                              integration of environmental justice into the permitting process (e.g.,
                              regional review of state permits). Indeed, we encourage offices and
                              individuals to share new issues, potential tools, and recommendations with
                              the workgroup and communicate lessons learned.

                              "-IS
                              Strategies to achieve the goals of this implementation plan are specific to
                              each goal:

                              Strategy 1: Develop tools that will enhance the ability of overburdened
                              communities to participate fully and meaningfully in the permitting
                              process.
                              These tools will focus on ensuring that overburdened communities are fully
                              informed about the potential impacts of permitted activities and
                              understand the information they receive. In addition, we will explore ways
                              of promoting regular dialogue between overburdened communities and
                              the regulated facilities at all stages of the permitting process, including
                              early involvement, and after a permit has been issued.

                              Strategy 2: Concurrently with Strategy 1, develop tools to assist
                              permitting authorities to meaningfully address environmental justice in
                              permitting decisions.
                              These tools will focus on how environmental justice can be incorporated
                              into the permitting process, including the range of potential permitting
                              measures that can be used to avoid or reduce potential environmental
                              justice effects.

                              Strategy 3: Implement these tools at EPA and work with others to do the
                              same.
                              We will first focus on implementing tools related to EPA-issued permits.
                              Thereafter, we will engage in supporting and encouraging other federal
                              agencies, as well as state, local, and tribal permitting authorities, to
                              develop environmental justice strategies for their environmental
                              permitting decisions.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          45

-------
&EPA
                              2.2
                              All of the activities below support our goal to develop and implement tools
                              to better enable overburdened communities to have full and meaningful
                              access to the permitting process and for permits to address environmental
                              justice issues to the greatest extent practicable.  These tools include
                              guidance, best practices, templates, reports, checklists, case studies,
                              mapping and screening tools, protocols, trainings, and sample language.

                              Activity 1: Conduct initial internal research to begin to create a
                              preliminary list of potential tools and finalize the implementation plan
                              (March-June 2011, Completed).
                               *   Activity 1.1:  Conduct  an initial literature review - including a review of
                                   previous NEJAC papers, publications, and other recommendations -to
                                   identify an initial list of existing and needed tools (Completed, see
                                   Appendix A).
                               •   Activity 1.2:  Convene a cross-Agency workgroup. The workgroup met
                                   for the first time on March 7, 2011, and will carry out the proposed
                                   activities in this implementation plan (Completed).
                               •   Activity 1.3:  Review and evaluate the permitting process for a
                                   minimum of three federal permits with environmental justice
                                   considerations, for use as case studies to identify existing and needed
                                   tools13 (Completed). The workgroup reviewed the permitting process
                                   for three federal permits and will continue to  review other permits to
                                   solicit lessons learned and guide our next steps.
                               •   Activity 1.4:  Coordinate overlapping strategies with other Plan EJ
                                   2014 elements and consider integrating and leveraging activities
                                   between them (Ongoing).
                               •   Activity 1.5:  Issue the final implementation plan (Completed).


                              Activity 2: Solicit initial existing and recommended tools from internal
                              and external stakeholders (March-June 2011).
                              Individual EPA programs and regions, as well as other federal agencies,
                              states, local agencies, and tribal governments, have already developed and
                              implemented numerous tools that consider environmental justice issues
                              during the permitting process.  These entities as well as community and
                              advocacy groups,  industry and trade organizations, and experts have first-
                              hand experience and knowledge about the relevant issues and ideas for
                              what tools are needed. Outreach to these experts provides the workgroup
                              an important opportunity to gather the tools and begin to identify the most
                              effective and replicable ones.

                              In addition to reviewing all of the comments submitted during the formal
                              public comment period (which ended Friday, April 29, 2011), the
                              workgroup solicited additional comments via an external e-mail and an
                              13 The Strategic Plan charges the Environmental Justice and Permitting Initiative to "Convene a cross-
                              Agency workgroup on the consideration of environmental justice in federal EPA permits and review, at
                              a minimum, three federal permits with environmental justice considerations (by September 2011)."
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                           46

-------
&EPA
                              internal EPA memo focused on collecting ideas for tools and informative
                              case studies. From these responses, we followed up with individuals and
                              organizations to get more detailed information and comments. We also
                              conducted targeted outreach to national umbrella groups via meetings,
                              conference calls, and direct emails; and hosted a series of public listening
                              sessions in June 2011. Finally, we set up a NEJAC Permitting Workgroup
                              that has already met three times to provide guidance throughout our
                              process; and we will continue to gather information from all stakeholders
                              and involve them in our work.

                              Activity 3: Create an initial list of priority tools and corresponding
                              deliverablesfor Year 1 (June 2011).

                              Activity 4: Develop, test, and finalize priority tools for EPA-issued permits
                              (June 2011-April 2012).
                              *   Activity 4.1: Develop priority tools, amend existing tools, and identify
                                  those ready for potential immediate use at EPA (June-October 2011).
                              •   Activity 4.2: Identify opportunities to test the draft tools through
                                  ongoing permit activities (June-October 2011).
                              •   Activity 4.3: Solicit comments both internally and externally on the
                                  draft tools (October 2011-February 2012).
                              •   Activity 4.4: Incorporate comments and finalize tools (April 2012).
                              Activity 5: Determine the bestformat(s) or vehicle(s) to convey and
                              implement the final tools (guidance, policy, rulemaking, etc.) (December
                              2 01 I/early 2012).

                              Activity 6: Create a more detailed timeline for 2012-2014 deliverables
                              for the workgroup (early 2012).
                              Per Activity 5, we intend to finalize the first suite of tools by early 2012.
                              We will then focus on  implementing these tools for EPA-issued permits via
                              trainings and other efforts to test,  revise, and institutionalize their use at
                              EPA (while also looking for additional opportunities to develop more tools).
                              In 2012-2014, our anticipated activities may include:
                              •   Implement first suite of tools via trainings at EPA.
                              •   Implement "train-the-trainers" seminars to help train community
                                  organizations and other interested entities on newly developed tools.
                              •   Continually review the effectiveness of the tools and trainings, update
                                  and revise existing tools, develop additional tools, and update and
                                  revise trainings.
                              •   Engage in supporting and encouraging other federal agencies as well as
                                  state, local, and tribal permitting authorities to achieve environmental
                                  justice goals for their permit decisions.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          47

-------
&EPA
                              The workgroup, with assistance from the Small Business Ombudsman and
                              the Office of Environmental Justice, has developed a plan for early and
                              continued stakeholder involvement. Our efforts will include public
                              comment periods, requests for information, meetings, conference calls,
                              and direct and targeted outreach to internal and external experts and
                              stakeholders to seek their early and continued input.  Activity 2, above,
                              describes the workgroup's efforts to date, including public listening
                              sessions conducted in June 2011 and the formation of a NEJAC Permitting
                              Workgroup to provide guidance throughout our process.

                              Because of the states' unique and important role in permitting, EPA has
                              emphasized, and will continue to emphasize, early and ongoing outreach to
                              state environmental departments to collect their success stories and
                              lessons learned. EPA will work with them to identify potential
                              opportunities to test draft tools (see Activity 4.2)  and specifically seek out
                              their comments and suggestions (see Activity 4.3).

                              EPA also welcomes comments and participation from all stakeholders and
                              has already reached out to these stakeholder groups as well as others:
                              •   Association of State and           •   Interagency Working Group on
                                 Territorial Solid Waste               Environmental Justice.
                                 Management Officials                ....    .     ...     ,  ,
                                                                 •   National Association of Clean Air
                                  ASTSWMO .                        .     .   ,MA/~AM
                                 v          '                        Agencies (NACAA).
                              •   Association of State & Interstate       .,  ..    . .    . ..   ,   _.
                                                                 •   National Association for Clean
                                 Water Pollution  Control              ... .    .     .  /.,.,,.,,.»
                                                                    Water Agencies (NACWA).
                                 Administrators (ASIWPCA).
                                                                 •   National Tribal Operations
                              •   Business organizations and trade      _     .^   ,*,-r~^
                                           b                        Committee (NTOC).
                                 associations.
                                                                 •   North American Hazardous
                              •   Clean Air Act Advisory Committee      *,*.-,*,
                                                                    Matena s Management
                                 (CAAAH
                                 ^      ;"                           Association (NAHMMA).
                              •   Community advocacy groups.          .,  ^    J..., ^ .,
                                           y        y &   K        .   Northeast Waste Management
                              •   Environmental Council of the          Officials'Association (NEWMOA).
                                 States (ECOS).                       _iU   ,   ,   .      .     , ^  ^
                                                                 •   Other federal agencies and state,
                              •   Ground Water Protection Council      local, and tribal permitting
                                 (GWPC).                            agencies.
                              We will also reach out to these key stakeholder groups in the near future:
                              •   Asian American Native American Pacific Islanders Servicing Institutions
                                 (AANAPISIs).
                              •   Hispanic Servicing Institutions (HSIs).
                              •   Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
                              •   Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          48

-------
&EPA
               3.0  DELIVERABLES
ACTIVITIES
Activity 1.1: Conduct an initial
literature review - including a
review of previous NEJAC
papers, publications, and other
recommendations - to identify
an initial list of existing and
needed tools.
Activity 1.2: Convene a cross-
Agency workgroup.
Activity 1.3: Review and
evaluate the permitting process
fora minimum, of three federal
permits with environmental
justice considerations, for use
as case studies to identify
existing and needed tools.
Activity 1.4: Coordinate
overlapping strategies with
other Plan EJ 2014 cross-
Agency elements and consider
integrating and leveraging
activities between them.
Activity 1.5: Issue the final
implementation plan.
Activity 2: Solicit existing and
recommended tools from
internal and external
stakeholders.
Activity 3: Create an initial list
of priority needed tools and
corresponding deliverables for
Year 1 .
Activity 4.1 : Develop priority
tools, amend existing
resources, and identify those
ready for potential immediate
use at EPA.
Activity 4.2: Identify
opportunities to test the draft
tools through ongoing permit
activities, and solicit comments
and recommendations.
DELIVERABLES MILESTONES
• See Appendix A.
• The workgroup met for
the first time on March 7,
2011, and will continue
to meet throughout the
duration of this project.
• Identification of a
minimum of three federal
permits with
environmental justice
considerations.
• List of existing and
needed tools from the
case studies.
• Regular meetings with
other cross-Agency
workgroups.
• Final implementation
plan.
• List of existing and
needed tools from
internal and external
stakeholders.
• Initial list of tools and
corresponding
deliverables for Year 1 .
• Initial suite of draft tools.
• Comments and
recommendations based
on our initial testing of
the draft tools.
• Completed
• Completed
• Completed
• Completed
• Ongoing
• Completed
• June 2011
• June 2011
• October
2011
• October
2011
  Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
49

-------
&EPA
                                       ACTIVITIES
                              Activity 4.3: Solicit additional
                              comments both internally and
                              externally.
     DELIVERABLES        MILESTONES
   Additional comments.
February
2012
                              Activity 4.4: Incorporate
                              comments and finalize tools.
   Revised tools.
April 2012
                              Activity 5:  Determine the best
                              format(s) or vehicle(s) to
                              convey and implement the
                              recommendations and tools
                              (finalization, policy, rulemaking,
                              etc.).	
   Decision on how best to
   convey and implement
   the tools.
Early 2012
                              Activity 6: Create a more
                              detailed timeline for 2012-2014
                              deliverables for the workgroup.
More detailed timeline that
may include:
•  Implement first suite of
   tools via trainings at
   EPA.
•  Implement "train-the-
   trainers" seminars to
   help train community
   organizations and other
   interested entities on
   newly developed tools.
•  Continually review the
   effectiveness of the tools
   and trainings, update
   and revised existing
   tools, develop additional
   tools, and update and
   revise trainings.
•  Engage in supporting
   and encouraging other
   federal agencies as well
   as state, local and tribal
   permitting authorities to
   achieve environmental
   justice goals for their
   permit decisions.
2012
                             4.0   REPORTING
                             We will report annually on progress in implementing the strategies
                             outlined in this implementation plan and will update, as necessary, the
                             activities and deliverables outlined here. For information, please contact
                             Michelle Roos,  202-573-2549, Roos.Michelle@epa.gov
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                 50

-------
&EPA
                                ri
                              This implementation plan outlines a process by which the workgroup will
                              research, solicit ideas for, prioritize, and then develop a suite of tools to
                              better enable overburdened communities to have full and meaningful
                              access to the permitting process and for permits to address environmental
                              justice issues to the greatest extent practicable. For the first year, our
                              activities will focus on developing a cohesive suite of tools most applicable
                              to EPA-issued permits, and also collecting a larger set of tools for a public
                              database.

                              Our initial research, request for comments, meetings, conference calls, and
                              one-on-one conversations have revealed this list of potential tools for EPA-
                              issued permits, but the list is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive. Over the
                              next few years of the Environmental Justice  and Permitting Initiative, we
                              may decide not to develop some of these potential tools; similarly, we may
                              decide to add new potential tools to the list  as we continue to gather ideas
                              and suggestions. Below is merely a draft list in the early stages of our
                              multi-year  process. Please note that some of the proposed tools might be
                              applicable  only to specific permit types (e.g., Prevention of Significant
                              Deterioration [PSD], National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
                              System [NPDES], Resource Recovery and Conservation Act [RCRA], etc.):

                              Public Involvement/Communication
                              •   Environmental Justice and Permitting Enhanced Public Participation
                                  Guidance (potentially with a strong recommendation for pre-
                                  application public meetings).
                              •   Environmental Justice and Permitting Public Participation Fact Sheet
                                  and Website in support of the above-mentioned guidance.
                              •   Environmental Justice and Permitting Public Participation Outreach
                                 Template and Checklist in support of the above-mentioned guidance.
                              •   Updated and condensed guidance, best  practices, and checklists for
                                  effective means of conducting public outreach and notification,
                                  potentially including:
                                     o   Public notifications outside of newspapers (multi-media press
                                         releases and advertisements, use of internet and SMS, but not
                                         exclusive reliance on such technologies).
                                     o   Documents written in plain language.
                                     o   Translations of documents in appropriate languages.
                                     o   Direct and targeted outreach to  community organizations and
                                         institutions.
                                     o   Making documents physically accessible and free to
                                         communities.
                                     o   Proving per diem or other financial resources for community
                                         members to attend meetings.
                                     o   Scheduling meetings during non-working hours.
                                     o   Providing third party attorneys and scientists as resources for
                                         communities.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          51

-------
&EPA
                                     o  Periodic engagement and notification throughout the
                                        permitting process, including when there are changes to the
                                        scope of the permit application or when environmental studies
                                        are taking place.
                                     o  Model processes to improve information flow between the
                                        facility, community, and permitting authority.
                              •   Web-based, searchable, updated contact lists, by EPA region, of
                                 community organizations and tribal government and indigenous
                                 organizations to facilitate outreach.
                              •   Guidance on developing long-term communication protocols with
                                 specific overburdened communities that reflect the communities'
                                 preferences for how to receive information and provide feedback into
                                 permitting decisions.
                              •   Decision tools to assist all parties in understanding the nature of
                                 disproportionate impacts and mitigating effects of permitting
                                 measures.
                              •   The development of an Environmental Justice Permit Social Network
                                 site (a one-stop shop/central point of communication run by a permit
                                 writer to gather all relevant background materials and better
                                 communicate with stakeholders - via postings and Really Simple
                                 Syndication [RSS] feeds).
                              •   Permit process descriptions of when, where,  and how the public can
                                 get involved.
                              •   Guidance on translation issues.
                              •   Guidance for facilities on creating a real dialogue with communities
                                 early on in the process (potentially including  identifying ways to talk
                                 outside of permit actions, avoiding an adversarial relationship, and
                                 suggestions for community benefit projects).
                              •   Guidance on how to communicate cumulative impacts and/or risk
                                 assessments to the community.
                              •   Guidance for EPA on providing quarterly or other regular updates to
                                 communities and organizations on environmental justice issues,
                                 responses and actions taken, and trends.

                              Permit Process
                              •   Permit Checklist (possibly in different languages  and in plain language).
                              •   Permit Process Flowchart (possibly including  staff contact information
                                 per region and media office).
                              •   Guidance including case studies on if/when, where and how to conduct
                                 an environmental justice analysis or assessment and how to integrate
                                 these into permit conditions, mitigation actions, and/or clean-up
                                 activities outside of permitting.
                              •   Guidance on how environmental justice analyses/assessments can be
                                 integrated into other existing assessment requirements for permitting.
                              •   Guidance on using existing and proposed EPA screening tools (including
                                 EJScreen, EJView, Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening
                                 Tool [C-FERST], Census Tract Ranking Tool for Environmental Justice
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          52

-------
&EPA
                                  [CenRANK], Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Tool [EJSEAT],
                                  etc.) in the permitting process.
                              •   Guidance, methodology and/or tools to conduct cumulative impacts
                                  analysis.
                              •   Guidance/protocols on integrated permitting approaches, including the
                                  coordination of permitting actions, public comments periods, public
                                  notices, meetings, and hearings per facility and/or community between
                                  numerous permitting actions and/or across media.
                              •   Guidance/tools to conduct exposure-based (health effects) modeling
                                  and assessments, and how to integrate those results into permits.
                              •   Best practices, guidance, and trainings on using a variety of existing
                                  tools in new ways to better address environmental justice concerns
                                  (best available control technology [BACT]; offsets; monitoring,
                                  recordkeeping, and reporting; startups, shutdowns, and malfunctions
                                  [SSMs]; lower potential to emit; AP-42 emissions factors,14 and Clean
                                  Air Act Title V operating permit approvals).
                              •   Guidance based on lessons learned from watershed analysis processes
                                  (total burden analysis, cross-media effects, etc.).


                              Permit Conditions - How to Integrate Environmental  Justice
                              into Actual Permit Conditions
                              •   Best practices, guidance, and trainings on developing permits to
                                  include issues important to local communities
                              •   Resources to facilitate and/or fund the placement of more fenceline
                                  and community-based monitors in overburdened communities.
                              •   Best practices, guidance, trainings, and protocols on developing permit
                                  conditions to better address and protect indigenous peoples' cultural
                                  and subsistence resources.
                              •   Guidance on how to conduct traditional knowledge information
                                  gathering and how to integrate that into permit conditions.
                              •   Protocols for factoring environmental justice into permit conditions,
                                  regardless of the level of public participation.
                              •   Best practices, guidance, and trainings on minimizing issuance of
                                  emergency permits.


                              Interagency and Government-to-Government Guidance and
                              Protocols
                              •   Guidance, protocols, and trainings for utilizing the role of the
                                  Interagency Working  Group for Environmental Justice to work across
                                  federal agencies on permits on tribal lands.
                              •   Guidance on how to integrate government-to-government consultation
                                  and environmental justice executive orders and expectations into
                                  permitting  processes.
                               An emissions factor is the formula EPA uses to calculate the emissions from key source categories.
                              AP-42 is the document EPA compiles the factors into. It is used by industry and states to develop
                              emissions inventories and project emissions from sources, usually in the permitting process to set
                              emissions limits.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          53

-------
&EPA
                              •   Guidance on developing partnerships with states that support more
                                 direct collaboration with communities in the permitting process.
                              •   Guidance on assisting other federal agencies to integrate
                                 environmental justice into their environmental permitting decisions.
                              •   Guidance on how to conduct joint processing agreements across
                                 permitting authorities (including joint comment periods and hearings
                                 to be held, and final permits to be issued on a cooperative basis).


                              Education/Training
                              •   Expansion of EPA environmental justice trainings, including:
                                     o   Environmental Justice Fundamentals.
                                     o   Environmental justice and permitting (for all media).
                                     o   Online trainings.
                              •   Community-based trainings, resources, and websites, including:
                                     o   Permitting processes (for all media).
                                     o   Preparing public comments.
                                     o   Environmental justice assessment or screening tools.
                                     o   Leadership development.
                                     o   Job skills relevant to local industry and facility needs.
                                     o   Advanced legal training on major statues.
                              •   A network of EPA experts accessible to the public, hotline of experts,
                                 and/or on-line question-and-answer (Q&A) portal on issues of
                                 importance to environmental justice and permitting.
                              •   Technical assistance resources.
                              •   A collective learning forum and regular national conference call(s) for
                                 EPA staff and managers responding to specific permit challenges.


                              "Outside" of Traditional Permitting
                              •   Guidance and trainings on using resources and programs outside of
                                 permitting including:
                                     o   Helping communities develop  and adopt community-specific,
                                        comprehensive environmental justice plans.
                                     o   Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE).
                                     o   Encouraging the creation of Supplemental Environmental
                                        Project (SEP)-like mitigation projects (diesel retrofits, off-site
                                        street sweeping, tree planting, landscaping, public playgrounds
                                        and green spaces, etc.).
                                     o   Good Neighbor/Environmental Benefit Agreements.
                                     o   Performance Partnership Agreements.
                                     o   Memoranda of Agreement/Understanding involving EPA,
                                        communities, facilities; and state, local, or tribal governments.
                                     o   Increasing and maintaining active listening, engagement, and
                                        follow-up with communities outside of permitting actions.
                                     o   Creating plain language summaries of proposed or existing
                                        permit-related regulations that have a greater impact on
                                        overburdened communities, and/or a plain language guide for
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         54

-------
&EPA
                                     rulemaking with the purpose of educating citizens on how to
                                     influence the rulemaking process in a meaningful way.


                            Cross-Cutting/Other
                            •   Environmental justice and permitting e-Library (i.e., an
                               online/searchable database of tools organized by key features to serve
                               as a resource to permit writers and the public looking for tools and
                               ideas that have been used successfully and could be replicated).
                            •   Guidance, trainings, and other resources on making better use of other
                               EPA roles, such as oversight, in which EPA affects how other permitting
                               authorities implement federal permitting requirements.
                            •   General and comprehensive guidance on  how to incorporate
                               environmental justice into all aspects of permitting.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                     55

-------
&EPA
                      September 2011

                      Led by
                      Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
                      and Region 5

                      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                      Washington, D.C. 20460
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                          56

-------
&EPA
 Goals At-A-G lance

To fully integrate
consideration of
environmental justice
concerns into the planning
and implementation of
OECA's program
strategies, case targeting
strategies, and
development of remedies
in enforcement actions to
benefit overburdened
communities.
1.0    INTRODUCTION

This implementation plan sets forth goals, strategies, and activities to
advance environmental justice through compliance and enforcement,
under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Plan EJ 2014. It
was developed by the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
(OECA) and EPA Region 5, as Lead Region for OECA for Fiscal Year (FY)
2011-13, in consultation with all EPA regions, the Office of Environmental
Justice, and the Office of General Counsel.

1.1 Goals
OECA and the EPA regions, in collaboration with other EPA offices and the
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), are committed to taking action to further
ensure that our most overburdened communities are given particular
consideration as we implement the Agency's enforcement and compliance
program. Through this implementation plan, we intend to focus and
accelerate our efforts to identify, assess, and address environmental justice
concerns in these communities when developing and implementing OECA's
program strategies, civil and criminal enforcement activities, and
compliance activities.

Our goal for the next three years is to fully integrate consideration of
environmental justice concerns into the planning and implementation of
OECA's program strategies, case targeting strategies, and development of
remedies in enforcement actions to benefit these communities. We also
plan to accelerate our ongoing efforts to communicate more effectively
with these communities about our enforcement actions and program
activities. Through these efforts, we hope to further advance the Agency's
environmental justice goals of fair treatment and meaningful involvement,
and to help address environmental justice concerns  in overburdened
communities.

1.2 Organizational Structure
OECA and Region 5 (as OECA Lead Region) share responsibility for
developing this implementation plan. This work is co-chaired by OECA's
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator and Region 5's Deputy Regional
Administrator. The co-chairs called upon OECA's standing Environmental
Justice Council, consisting of the Directors and/or Deputy Directors of all
OECA offices, the Lead Region Enforcement and Environmental Justice
Manager, and supporting staff to develop this plan.  The Associate General
Counsel, Cross-Cutting Issues Law Office, Office of General Counsel,
participates regularly in the OECA Environmental Justice Council meetings
and has been of invaluable assistance in developing this plan.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                               57

-------
&EPA
                          OECA and regional managers conducted an open discussion of this plan at
                          the January 26, 2011, Senior Enforcement Managers meeting in New
                          Orleans, Louisiana. Following that discussion, the draft plan was revised to
                          incorporate agreed-upon modifications and additions. OECA and all EPA
                          regions will use this implementation plan as a dynamic document, making
                          improvements as we learn through experience in implementation.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                  58

-------
v°/EPA
                             	

                             •-   .".'
                             OECA has f\ve major strategies for Advancing Environmental Justice
                             through Compliance and Enforcement:
                             *   Advance environmental justice goals through selection and
                                 implementation of National Enforcement Initiatives.
                             •   Advance environmental justice goals through targeting and
                                 development of compliance and enforcement actions.
                             •   Enhance use of enforcement and compliance tools to advance
                                 environmental justice goals in regional geographic initiatives to address
                                 the needs of overburdened communities.
                             •   Seek appropriate remedies in enforcement actions to benefit
                                 overburdened communities and address environmental justice
                                 concerns.
                             •   Enhance communication with affected communities and the public
                                 regarding environmental justice concerns and the distribution and
                                 benefits of enforcement actions, as appropriate.

                             2,2
                             Strategy 1: Advance environmental justice goals through selection and
                             implementation of National Enforcement Initiatives.
                             Background. Every three years, OECA selects a limited number of high
                             priority national environmental and compliance problems to address
                             through concentrated, nationwide enforcement efforts. In selecting these
                             areas of focus, OECA looks for important environmental and public health
                             problems that are caused,  at least in part, by widespread failure of
                             regulated sectors to comply with federal environmental laws, where it
                             believes that a concentrated federal enforcement effort can make a
                             difference in correcting violations and reducing pollution.  OECA and the
                             regions solicited input from state agencies to identify potential areas of
                             focus, and sought public comment on the final list of proposed candidates.
                             The selected areas of focus are called "National Enforcement Initiatives."

                             OECA has been, and continues to be, committed to taking environmental
                             justice factors into consideration when it selects and implements these
                             National  Enforcement Initiatives.  One of OECA's primary program goals is
                             to aggressively go after pollution problems that make a difference to
                             communities, and we place a high priority on benefits to overburdened
                             communities in selecting our National Enforcement Initiatives.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         59

-------
&EPA
                              •   Activity 1.1: Selection of National Enforcement Initiatives for FY 2011-
                                  13. In 2010, OECA selected the following six National Enforcement
                                  Initiatives for implementation in FY 2011-2013 after input from the
                                  public, states, and tribes:
                                     o   Keeping raw sewage and contaminated stormwater out of our
                                         nation's waters.
                                     o   Preventing animal waste from Concentrated Animal Feeding
                                         Operations (CAFO) from contaminating surface and ground
                                         waters.
                                     o   Cutting toxic air pollution that affects communities' health.
                                     o   Reducing widespread air pollution from the largest sources,
                                         especially the coal-fired utility, cement, glass, and acid sectors.
                                     o   Reducing pollution from mineral processing operations.
                                     o   Assuring energy extraction sector compliance with
                                         environmental laws.

                              In selecting these areas of focus, OECA gave significant weight to problems
                              that affect overburdened communities.  For example, raw sewage
                              discharges from municipal sewer systems often affect poor and minority
                              communities by contaminating urban waters or causing sewage backups
                              into their homes. CAFOs are often located near poor rural communities,
                              and animal waste that gets into ground water can contaminate nearby
                              residents' drinking water supplies. Toxic air pollution can affect the health
                              of poor and minority communities that often are located closest to
                              industrial facilities with toxic air emissions. Widespread air pollution from
                              coal-fired power plants and other industries can travel long distances and
                              contributes to respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, that afflict poor and
                              minority populations and children.  Large mineral processing facilities,
                              which can cause significant contamination of ground and surface waters
                              with hazardous waste, are often located near poor and minority
                              communities. Energy extraction activities, which often occur on or near
                              tribal lands in the west, can cause air or  water pollution problems that
                              affect tribal communities.

                              •   Activity 1.2: Implementation of National Enforcement Initiatives for FY
                                  2011-13. OECA will look for opportunities to address environmental
                                  justice concerns as it implements the Agency's National Enforcement
                                  Initiatives for FY 2011-13. A "Strategy Implementation Team,"
                                  consisting of OECA Headquarters and regional representatives, is
                                  responsible for developing implementation strategies and performance
                                  measures for each of the National Enforcement Initiatives.  Each
                                  initiative's strategy will consider how environmental justice concerns
                                  can be addressed  in carrying out its activities, e.g., by giving priority in
                                  case selection to overburdened communities affected by the pollution
                                  problems we seek to address in each of the initiatives. In developing
                                  remedies in our enforcement cases for the  initiatives, we will  seek
                                  judicial and administrative remedies that will reduce or eliminate
                                  pollution that may have a disproportionate effect on minority, low-
                                  income, tribal and indigenous populations (see further discussion
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          60

-------
&EPA
                                  under Strategy 4 below). As of the date of the publication of this plan,
                                  OECA has finalized the National Enforcement Initiative strategies and
                                  measures.

                              •   Activity 1.3: Selection of National Enforcement Initiatives for FY 2014-
                                  16. In 2013, OECA will call for nominations for the FY 2014-2016
                                  National Enforcement Initiatives, with emphasis on those with
                                  potential opportunities for addressing environmental justice concerns,
                                  and will then select the new initiatives.  As we have done previously,
                                  OECA will solicit state input and public comment on the proposed FY
                                  2014-2016 initiatives before they are selected.

                              Strategy 2: Advance environmental justice goals through targeting and
                              development of compliance and enforcement actions.
                              EPA will continue to place a high priority on addressing environmental
                              justice concerns as it develops the specific targeting and case selection
                              strategies for both National Enforcement Initiative cases and  the many
                              other enforcement cases that EPA brings in  FY 2011-13.  As discussed
                              above, the Strategic Implementation Teams (SITs) for each National
                              Enforcement Initiative will identify opportunities to protect and benefit
                              overburdened communities when selecting and developing specific cases.
                              For example, when selecting  specific CAFO facilities for enforcement
                              action, priority may be given  to facilities that are affecting or  threatening
                              the drinking water supplies of poor rural communities.

                              EPA will also give specific consideration and priority to environmental
                              justice concerns and overburdened communities when selecting
                              enforcement actions to address other important compliance  problems,
                              regardless of whether they are part of a  National  Enforcement Initiative.
                              For example, in selecting enforcement actions to address violations of
                              drinking water standards, we will give high priority to addressing violations
                              at water supply systems that serve poor and tribal communities, as well as
                              children, one of the most vulnerable populations.

                              •   Activity 2.1: Issue internal guidance requiring analysis and
                                  consideration of environmental justice in EPA's compliance and
                                  enforcement program. EPA's enforcement program is already giving
                                  significant consideration  to environmental justice concerns in selecting
                                  enforcement areas of focus and targets.  For example, as  described
                                  above, environmental justice considerations played a significant role in
                                  our selection of national  compliance problems to address through
                                  National Enforcement Initiatives. To ensure that EPA enforcement staff
                                  and managers consistently and effectively consider environmental
                                  justice concerns in all their work under EPA's  national compliance and
                                  enforcement program, OECA will issue national guidance in 2011 to
                                  reinforce, guide, and accelerate these efforts.
                                  The Agency's national guidance will direct EPA's compliance and
                                  enforcement staff and managers to consider and give significant weight
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          61

-------
&EPA
                                 to environmental justice concerns when they select compliance
                                 problems to focus on, select specific civil or criminal enforcement case
                                 targets, and develop and conduct civil litigation or criminal
                                 prosecution. Given limited resources, EPA managers must make many
                                 strategic choices as they decide which problems to focus on and how to
                                 address them.  Protection of the public health is OECA's highest
                                 priority, and protection of the health of overburdened communities is
                                 especially important.  While OECA cannot address every problem with
                                 our limited resources, we can ensure that we consider and give
                                 significant weight to the protection  of overburdened communities as
                                 we make strategic choices.

                                 For example, in carrying out our National Enforcement Initiative to
                                 address pollution of underground or surface water caused by CAFOs,
                                 EPA must make strategic choices about which watershed areas to focus
                                 on and which particular CAFOs to inspect.  A number of factors are
                                 considered in that decision-making  process, e.g., the relative severity
                                 of the environmental and public health problems, the degree to which
                                 facilities are known or suspected to have violations that are
                                 contributing to the  problem, and the degree to which enforcement
                                 action is likely to be an effective and appropriate tool to correct that
                                 problem. Environmental justice concerns should be considered and
                                 given significant weight in making this decision. For example, if there is
                                 a poor or minority overburdened community whose drinking water
                                 supply is contaminated or at risk of  contamination from a nearby CAFO,
                                 that factor weighs in favor of selecting that CAFO  as one of our
                                 enforcement case targets.

                                 To ensure that all EPA enforcement personnel consider and address
                                 environmental justice concerns early in the enforcement process, the
                                 Agency, in consultation with DOJ, is revising its internal Model
                                 Litigation Report guidance to call for increased analysis and discussion
                                 of environmental justice considerations in civil case referrals that EPA
                                 sends to DOJ.  In addition,  EPA will issue guidance calling for analysis
                                 and discussion of environmental justice considerations in the requests
                                 for prosecutorial assistance that the Agency provides to DOJ. These
                                 guidances will be issued in 2011.

                                 In order to implement the direction to consider environmental justice
                                 concerns in selecting and conducting enforcement cases, case teams
                                 will need guidance on how to identify areas of potential environmental
                                 justice concern. EPA has developed a number of screening tools to
                                 assist in identifying  areas of potential environmental justice concern.
                                 These include the online mapping tool "EJ View" (formerly known as
                                 the Environmental Justice Geographic Assessment Tool, or EJGAT),
                                 which uses demographic, environmental, health, and facility-level
                                 information to assist in identifying areas with potential environmental
                                 justice concerns. OECA has also developed a screening tool called the
                                 Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment Tool
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          62

-------
&EPA
                                 (EJSEAT), which uses these same categories of data to assist in
                                 identifying areas of potential environmental justice concern that may
                                 be appropriate for enforcement action to address the effects of
                                 noncompliance on overburdened communities. A number of EPA's
                                 regions have also developed their own analytic tools and methods for
                                 this purpose.

                                 With all of these screening tools,  it is important to remember that they
                                 can only provide a starting point for analysis and decision making as to
                                 whether a community has environmental justice concerns or whether
                                 any enforcement action is appropriate. "Ground truthing" is needed
                                 before drawing any conclusions regarding any particular community or
                                 environmental compliance problem, and, as described above, a
                                 number of other important factors must be taken into consideration
                                 when deciding whether and where to take enforcement actions.

                                 In addition to OECA's efforts to develop screening tools for use in the
                                 enforcement and compliance program, the Agency's Information Tools
                                 Development Workgroup is undertaking a larger effort to develop
                                 guidance on identifying areas of potential environmental justice
                                 concern as a separate effort under EPA's Plan EJ 2014. It will be
                                 important to ensure that OECA's guidance to enforcement case teams
                                 is consistent with the approach(es) developed by the Agency-wide
                                 Environmental Justice Screening Committee. Therefore, upon
                                 completion of the Screening Committee's work, OECA will review its
                                 guidance to ensure that it is consistent with the final Agency decisions
                                 based on the Environmental Justice Screening Committee's work.

                                 Activity 2.2:  Review OECA's Enforcement Response Policies to
                                 determine whether any revisions are needed to ensure that
                                 environmental justice concerns are addressed in case development and
                                 resolution. OECA will review its Enforcement Response Policies for the
                                 various statutory and regulatory programs to assess whether any
                                 revisions are needed to ensure environmental justice concerns are
                                 addressed. A plan for the review will be developed by June 30, 2011.
                                 Activity 2.3:  Reevaluate use of EJSEAT, as appropriate, in response to
                                 recommendations of the NEJAC and conclusions of the EPA
                                 Environmental Justice Screening Committee. EPA's National
                                 Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) thoroughly reviewed
                                 OECA's screening tool, EJSEAT, and provided technical and policy
                                 recommendations to  improve this tool in May 2010. OECA responded
                                 to and discussed the NEJAC's recommendations at the NEJAC meeting
                                 in July 2010, and is implementing some of its technical
                                 recommendations.  Many of the NEJAC's recommendations raised
                                 policy issues that have broad application and implications for all of the
                                 Agency's environmental justice work.  To ensure Agency-wide
                                 consistency, OECA will await the outcome of the Environmental Justice
                                 Screening Committee's work before making final decisions on the
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        63

-------
&EPA
                                 NEJAC's policy recommendations. However, as OECA and the regions
                                 continue to use EJSEAT pending the outcome of the Environmental
                                 Justice Screening Committee's work, the OECA Environmental Justice
                                 Council will assess whether additional changes to EJSEAT
                                 recommended by the NEJAC's review of the tool should be made on an
                                 interim basis.
                              •  Activity 2.4:  Seek opportunities to advance environmental justice goals
                                 in implementing the Clean Water Act Action  Plan. OECA and the Office
                                 of Water (OW) have developed a Clean Water Act Action Plan to
                                 revamp the Agency's permitting, compliance and enforcement
                                 programs so that we more effectively focus our limited resources on
                                 addressing the most important environmental and public health
                                 problems facing the nation. Many of these problems
                                 disproportionately affect poor and minority communities.  For
                                 example, urban waters pollution is most likely to affect the health and
                                 welfare of poor communities located along urban waterways. As
                                 OECA, OW, and the regions develop and implement new strategies and
                                 plans under the Clean Water Act Action Plan, we will identify specific
                                 opportunities to address environmental justice concerns.

                              Many of the opportunities to address environmental justice concerns in
                              implementation  of the Clean Water Act Action Plan will come through the
                              development of targeting strategies and  specific  case selection. The Clean
                              Water Act Action Plan also offers other opportunities to address
                              environmental justice concerns, such as our increased attention with state
                              agencies, to the relationship between effective permitting and
                              enforcement in assuring compliance with the Clean Water Act. Often, the
                              concerns that are raised to EPA by overburdened communities relate to the
                              effectiveness of the permit regulating a particular facility, which is an
                              essential underpinning for effective compliance and enforcement.
                               •   Activity 2.5: Seek opportunities to advance environmental justice
                                  goals in conducting the National Enforcement Strategy for RCRA
                                  Corrective Action. OECA's Corrective Action program has set an
                                  aspirational goal of achieving remedy construction at 95 percent of
                                  3,747 RCRA facilities by the year 2020. The  National Enforcement
                                  Strategy for Corrective Action (NESCA) provides direction to the
                                  regions, and guidance to states, for  assessing, targeting, and
                                  prioritizing the EPA-lead Corrective Action facilities to help meet the
                                  2020 Corrective Action goal.  EPA regions are encouraged to focus
                                  attention on identifying and addressing disproportionate effects that
                                  RCRA facilities needing corrective action may have on adjacent or
                                  nearby overburdened populations.
                              NESCA identifies a variety of mapping tools that regions, states, and
                              communities can use to view and  identify environmental justice concerns.
                              Each EPA regional office is developing a RCRA Corrective Action 2020
                              strategy. As part of these strategies, the regions should identify what tools
                              they plan to use to address environmental justice concerns in their
                              prioritization.  To assist regions with addressing environmental justice
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          64

-------
&EPA
                              concerns, OECA provided each region with a list of all potential facilities.
                              OECA used EJSEATto screen and prioritize each facility on these lists of
                              facilities. The regions will assess their 2020 Corrective Action Universe to
                              ensure consideration of environmental justice and provide updated RCRA
                              Corrective Action 2020 strategies in the Spring of 2011.
                              •  Activity 2.6: Improve compliance at federal facilities where violations
                                 may affect overburdened communities. Where federal facilities are
                                 located adjacent to or nearby overburdened communities, illegal
                                 pollution or hazardous waste contamination can have a
                                 disproportionate effect on those communities.  As part of Plan EJ 2014,
                                 OECA, together with Federal Facility Program Managers in each EPA
                                 region, will accelerate efforts to identify communities with these types
                                 of problems and take enforcement action to ensure that federal
                                 facilities comply with the law and address pollution problems that
                                 affect the communities. In FY 2011 OECA will use EJSEAT and other
                                 tools and information to identify overburdened  communities located
                                 near federal facilities that have significant violations of federal
                                 environmental laws. These facilities will be given priority in regional
                                 targeting efforts for compliance and enforcement.
                              •  Activity 2.7: Develop tools to identify and track  facilities located in
                                 areas with potential environmental justice concerns, and report on
                                 enforcement  actions that address environmental justice concerns. To
                                 ensure the success of Activities 2.1-2.6, it will be important to ensure
                                 that environmental justice screening information is available to case
                                 teams, and to track the enforcement and compliance activities that we
                                 implement under this Plan. Therefore, in 2011,  OECA will  develop and
                                 implement technical programming for the Integrated Compliance
                                 Information System (ICIS) database, an internal tracking system, to
                                 allow for automated reporting on OECA regional and Headquarters
                                 review of EPA civil enforcement cases for potential environmental
                                 justice concern. OECA is in the process of developing this capacity and
                                 will determine in 2011 whether the reporting mechanism in ICIS is
                                 adequate for  its needs.

                              To support OECA's program efforts to improve tracking and reporting of
                              environmental justice aspects of EPA criminal enforcement case work,
                              OECA will in 2011 analyze its current docket of investigations for potential
                              environmental justice concerns, and will revise its internal Criminal Case
                              Reporting System (CCRS) to capture information concerning potential
                              environmental justice concerns in criminal enforcement  investigations and
                              prosecutions. OECA will consider environmental justice data, along with
                              other criminal case tiering information.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          65

-------
&EPA
                              Strategy 3:  Enhance use of enforcement and compliance tools to advance
                              environmental justice goals in regional geographic initiatives to address
                              the needs of overburdened communities.
                              EPA regions have developed and continue to develop integrated strategies
                              to focus on particular geographic areas in their regions with overburdened
                              communities that are disproportionately affected by environmental
                              problems. Beginning in 2008, for example, each region identified a
                              "Showcase Community" to focus efforts to address environmental justice
                              concerns.  The regions used integrated strategies for this purpose that
                              considered the full range of EPA's tools, and a number of these projects
                              include use of enforcement and compliance assurance tools. Under this
                              strategy, the regions will ensure that they use their enforcement and
                              compliance assistance tools effectively to identify and address
                              environmental and public health problems in areas of environmental
                              justice concern that are caused or made worse by violations of federal
                              environmental laws. For example, EPA Regions 3, 4, and 5 are leading a
                              geographic enforcement initiative focused on Huntington Port, which was
                              selected in part because screening analysis results indicated a high
                              potential for environmental justice concerns.  This initiative incorporates
                              enforcement and compliance  assistance to reduce pollution and increase
                              compliance.  It also includes workshops to build the community's capacity
                              to help ensure long-term protection of the environment and public health.
                              •  Activity 3.1:  Regions will include use of enforcement tools as part of
                                 integrated problem-solving strategies that are focused on particular
                                 geographic areas. OECA and the regions, together with state and other
                                 agencies as appropriate, will evaluate facility compliance in
                                 overburdened communities selected for strategic focus.  These
                                 evaluations should be targeted using the best available data and
                                 methods in light of the overall objectives of EPA's enforcement and
                                 compliance assurance work. In this way, community-focused initiatives
                                 can complement the national enforcement initiatives and other sector-
                                 based  and program-specific enforcement activities, meeting OECA's
                                 goal of strategically using  limited enforcement resources to address the
                                 most significant issues first.

                              OECA and the regions will tailor compliance evaluation and enforcement
                              actions as  part of integrated strategies to maximize EPA's ability to gain
                              environmental and public health benefits in overburdened communities.
                              For example, this could include use of multi-media inspections or process
                              inspections to comprehensively address potential impacts from violations
                              at a given facility.
                              •  Activity 3.2:  Regions will include use of compliance assistance tools as
                                 part of integrated problem-solving strategies focused on particular
                                 geographic areas. OECA and the regions will consider and use
                                 compliance assistance activities to effectively reach  large numbers of
                                 small sources with environmental violations that have significant local
                                 impacts on overburdened communities.  Compliance assistance tools,
                                 such as counseling, online resource centers, fact sheets, guides,
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          66

-------
&EPA
                                 training, and monitoring, are particularly appropriate, at least as initial
                                 compliance efforts, when widespread violations are found among small
                                 businesses, which often have limited resources and less ability than
                                 major industrial facilities to understand and comply with the
                                 requirements of federal environmental regulations. The EPA and states
                                 have often been successful in improving small businesses' compliance
                                 with environmental regulations through focused outreach and
                                 education efforts.

                              Strategy 4: Seek appropriate remedies in enforcement actions to benefit
                              overburdened communities and address environmental justice concerns.
                              *  Activity 4.1:  Increase efforts to address environmental justice concerns
                                 through use of injunctive relief, including mitigation, and Supplemental
                                 Environmental Projects in civil enforcement actions, as appropriate.
                                 OECA, the EPA regions, and DOJ are jointly heightening their focus in
                                 civil enforcement cases on potential options to obtain meaningful
                                 environmental and public health benefits to specific overburdened
                                 communities affected by violations of federal environmental laws.
                                 These efforts go beyond traditional injunctive relief to stop illegal
                                 pollution, to mitigate the environmental and public health harm caused
                                 by illegal pollution and, where appropriate and agreed to by
                                 defendants, to include Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)
                                 that provide benefits to communities.  For example, in a case involving
                                 illegal discharges of pollutants from a facility that damaged a tribal
                                 fishing area, the relief ordered (in addition to stopping the illegal
                                 discharges) included restocking the fishing ground. EPA has also been
                                 successful in obtaining SEPs from defendants to retrofit diesel school
                                 buses, to reduce the air pollution that children are exposed to. We will
                                 continue and accelerate these types of efforts to reduce pollution
                                 burdens that have a disproportionate impact on minority, low-income,
                                 tribal and indigenous populations.
                              •  Activity 4.2:  Increase efforts to benefit affected communities through
                                 use of community service and the Crime Victims' Rights Act in criminal
                                 actions. OECA will work with DOJ to (1) explore innovative uses of
                                 criminal sentencing options, e.g., community service or environmental
                                 compliance plans, and (2) take into account information obtained
                                 pursuant to the Crime Victims Rights Act when developing
                                 environmental crimes case resolutions (e.g., restitution).
                              •  Activity 4.3:  Look for opportunities to work with other federal
                                 agencies, state and local governments, and the business community to
                                 complement and leverage community  benefits resulting from
                                 enforcement activities. In addition to the benefits that can be obtained
                                 for overburdened communities through judicial  and administrative
                                 enforcement actions, there may be other, parallel opportunities to
                                 obtain additional benefits for the community through cooperation with
                                 other federal agencies, state or local governments, or the business
                                 community.  For example, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         67

-------
&EPA
                                 Development (HUD) may be able to provide housing assistance or
                                 other community benefits in a "brownfields" area where EPA has taken
                                 enforcement action to clean up environmental contamination.

                             State or local governments may have projects or grant funding that can be
                             used to improve the community's infrastructure or environment in an area
                             that is also the focus of EPA compliance or enforcement action. In
                             situations where air emissions from individual or multiple industrial
                             facilities continue to adversely affect community health despite their
                             compliance with emission limitations, some businesses may be willing to
                             take voluntary action to further reduce the emissions that adversely affect
                             the community. Examples of such voluntary actions include: a health clinic
                             established and operated together with local, state, and community
                             members; a household hazardous waste collection drive; a local company
                             voluntarily agreeing to post compliance monitoring information directly on
                             a public website, to allow community members to check on compliance;
                             and "good neighbor agreements" between local companies and
                             communities to address facility effects not regulated by a permit or other
                             law.

                             EPA will identify specific opportunities, in cases or regional geographic
                             initiatives, to work with other federal agencies, state and local
                             governments, and the business community to complement and leverage
                             benefits resulting from enforcement activities. EPA will document and
                             share recommendations and best practices for taking action on these
                             opportunities.

                             Strategy 5: Enhance communication with affected communities and the
                             public regarding environmental justice concerns and the distribution and
                             benefits of enforcement actions, as appropriate.
                             OECA and the EPA regions with DOJ will increase their efforts to
                             communicate with affected communities and the public about
                             enforcement strategies and actions that may affect overburdened
                             communities. EPA recognizes that communities have a legitimate need to
                             be informed and to understand the federal government's enforcement
                             activities to protect their environment and public health, and to have their
                             voices heard when solutions are being considered to redress
                             environmental and health problems caused by violations of federal
                             environmental laws that affect their community. As OECA implements
                             these strategies for Plan EJ 2014, we commit to increase outreach to
                             communities and to provide more information about environmental and
                             public health problems caused by failure to comply with federal
                             environmental laws, efforts to address those problems, and available
                             judicial and administrative solutions to those problems that can address
                             the communities' concerns and needs.

                             At the same time, it is important for communities to understand the
                             legitimate and essential need to protect the confidentiality of enforcement
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        68

-------
&EPA
                              activity when a case is under development and in settlement negotiations.
                              This is essential to assure that effective enforcement, and its ultimate
                              benefits for the community, will not be undermined and adversely affected
                              by premature disclosure of confidential enforcement information. While
                              this consideration will necessarily limit the amount and kind of information
                              that EPA is able to share with the community at various stages of
                              enforcement activity, we are committed to sharing as much information as
                              possible, to enable communities to be informed and to have their voices
                              heard in the determination of appropriate resolutions for violations of
                              federal environmental laws that affect them.

                              While increased communication efforts are important, it is no less
                              important to receive input from communities on potential violations. OECA
                              will continue to invite tips and complaints, including through such means as
                              EPA's on-line reporting badge and the EPA fugitives web page.
                              •   Activity 5.1: Provide affected communities with information about
                                 enforcement actions and meaningful opportunities for input on
                                 potential environmental justice concerns and remedies to be
                                 implemented.  As OECA and the regions  develop and implement our
                                 enforcement actions, we will seek to identify communities with
                                 environmental justice concerns that could benefit from enhanced
                                 communication and consultation  regarding enforcement activities, and
                                 provide the communities with additional information (consistent with
                                 the confidentiality requirements needed to protect the integrity of
                                 enforcement actions). As appropriate, OECA and the regions will also
                                 provide opportunities for communities to provide input on
                                 environmental justice concerns and remedies to be sought in
                                 enforcement actions that affect their communities. This information
                                 will be provided through EPA's website, local information repositories,
                                 and other appropriate means.
                              •   Activity 5.2: Improve website information and other public information
                                 materials to explain EPA's site cleanup enforcement processes. OECA
                                 and the regions recognize that the Agency's enforcement processes
                                 concerning hazardous waste site cleanup that affect communities with
                                 potential environmental justice concerns, are often complicated and
                                 can be difficult for the public to understand and to follow. To increase
                                 communities' ability to understand our enforcement processes, we will
                                 coordinate across EPA offices to maximize website information on
                                 cleanup enforcement at specific sites, develop and make available fact
                                 sheets to better explain EPA's cleanup enforcement process, and
                                 prepare for internal EPA use a compendium of "best practices" that will
                                 encourage and facilitate EPA  employees' efforts to make cleanup
                                 enforcement information more available to the public.
                              •   Activity 5.3: Enhance communication of the environmental justice
                                 benefits of EPA's enforcement actions. EPA's enforcement actions
                                 frequently provide significant benefits to overburdened communities,
                                 including reduction of air or water pollution, cleanup of toxic and
                                 hazardous waste, and additional community benefits such as diesel bus
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          69

-------
&EPA
                              retrofits and other benefits made available through SEPs. However,
                              the community is best able to appreciate these benefits when they
                              have good information about these actions. Therefore, OECA and the
                              regions will accelerate efforts to communicate, through press releases,
                              EPA's website, and other means, the benefits of our enforcement
                              actions for overburdened communities. To ensure nationwide
                              consistency in this effort, we will issue internal guidance for this
                              purpose in 2011.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                    70

-------
&EPA
                             3.0    DELIVERABLES

                             Strategy 1: Advance environmental justice goals through selection and
                             implementation of National Enforcement Initiatives.
                                    ACTIVITIES
                             Activity 1.1:  Consider
                             environmental justice in
                             selecting National
                             Enforcement Initiatives
                             (NEIs)forFY2011-13.
   DELIVERABLES
Selection of National
Enforcement Initiatives for
FY 2011-13.
MILESTONES
   Completed
                             Activity 1.2:  Advance
                             environmental justice goals
                             through implementation of
                             NEIs.
Strategic Implementation
Team (SIT) strategies to
include opportunities to
advance environmental
justice goals.
  April 30,
  2011
                             Activity 1.3:  Consider
                             environmental justice in
                             nominating and selecting
                             National Enforcement
                             Initiatives for FY 2014-16.
Call for nominations for FY
2014-16 NEIs to include
request to identify
opportunities to advance
environmental justice goals.
   In 2013
                             Strategy 2: Advance environmental justice goals through targeting and
                             development of compliance and enforcement actions.
                                     ACTIVITY
                             Activity 2.1:  Issue internal
                             guidance calling for analysis
                             and consideration of
                             environmental justice in
                             EPA's compliance and
                             enforcement program,
                             including using available tools
                             and approaches to identify
                             areas of potential
                             environmental justice
                             concern.
    DELIVERABLES
 Issue guidance to EPA
 managers and staff that
 calls for consideration of
 environmental justice in
 EPA's compliance and
 enforcement program.
 Revise Model Litigation
 Report Guidance to call for
 increased analysis and
 discussion of environmental
 justice in judicial referrals.

 Consider environmental
 justice data, along with
 criminal case tiering
 information.

 Issue guidance calling for
 discussion of environmental
 justice issues in requests for
 prosecutorial assistance.
 MILESTONES
    April 30,
    2011
    Draft by
    June 30,
    2011; Final
    by Sept. 30,
    2011

    Ongoing
                                                                                         August 31,
                                                                                         2011
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                 71

-------
&EPA
                                     ACTIVITY
                             Activity 2.2:  Review
                             OECA's Enforcement
                             Response Policies to
                             determine whether any
                             revisions are needed to
                             ensure that environmental
                             justice concerns are
                             addressed in case
                             development and resolution.
   DELIVE RABIES
MILESTONES
Develop a plan and
timetable for review of
Enforcement Response
Policies.
   June 30,
   2011
                             Activity 2.3:  Re-evaluate
                             use of EJSEAT, as
                             appropriate, in response to
                             recommendations of the
                             NEJAC and conclusions of
                             the EPA Environmental
                             Justice Screening
                             Committee.
Finalize implementation of
the NEJAC technical
recommendations for
EJSEAT already accepted.

Reconsider and finalize
response to the NEJAC
recommendations on
EJSEAT following issuance
of final work product by
Environmental Justice
Screening Committee (to
ensure consistency).
   June 30,
   2011
   Within 180
   days
   following
   issuance of
   final work
   product of
   Environmen
   tal Justice
   Screening
   Committee
                             Activity 2.4:  Seek
                             opportunities to advance
                             environmental justice goals in
                             implementing the Clean
                             Water Action Plan.
As EPA develops and
implements new strategies
and plans under the Clean
Water Act Action Plan, we
will identify specific
opportunities to address
environmental justice
concerns.
   Ongoing
                             Activity 2.5:  Seek
                             opportunities to advance
                             environmental justice goals in
                             conducting the National
                             Enforcement Strategy for
                             RCRA Corrective Action.
Screen all facilities in the
2020 Corrective universe
that are subject to the
National Enforcement
Strategy for RCRA
Corrective Action for
potential environmental
justice concerns.

Identify as priorities for
enforcement, Corrective
Action sites using the
potential for environmental
justice concerns as a factor.
   Completed
                                                                                         Ongoing
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                72

-------
&EPA
                                      ACTIVITY
                             Activity 2.6: Improve
                             compliance at federal
                             facilities where violations may
                             affect overburdened
                             communities.
   DELIVE RABIES
Use EJSEAT to identify
overburdened communities
located near federal
facilities. Identify those that
have significant
environmental violations for
priority consideration by
regional federal facility
program targeting efforts, for
compliance assistance and
potential enforcement.	
MILESTONES
   Ongoing
                             Activity 2.7: Develop
                             tracking and reporting tools
                             on potential environmental
                             justice concerns and results
                             in enforcement actions.
Develop and implement
technical/programming
requirements for the ICIS
database.

Develop reporting guidance.
                                                            Revise the Criminal Case
                                                            Reporting System (CCRS)
                                                            to capture information
                                                            concerning potential
                                                            environmental justice
                                                            concerns in criminal
                                                            enforcement investigations
                                                            and prosecutions.	
   Ongoing;
   Draft
   guidance by
   March 30,
   2012
   Ongoing
                              Ongoing
                             Strategy 3: Enhance use of enforcement and compliance tools to advance
                             environmental justice goals in regional geographic initiatives to address the
                             needs of overburdened communities.
                                      ACTIVITY
                             Activity 3.1: Regions will
                             include use of enforcement
                             tools as part of integrated
                             problem-solving strategies
                             that are focused on particular
                             geographic areas.
   DELIVERABLE,
Regions will be asked to
include enforcement efforts
(e.g., through targeting and
inspections) when applying
integrated problem-solving
strategies in selected
geographic areas with
environmental justice
concerns. For example,
some regions incorporated
such an approach into their
Environmental Justice
Showcase Community
projects.
Document accomplishments
and future plans for including
enforcement in these
geographic initiatives.
MILESTONES
   Ongoing
                                                                                          December
                                                                                          31,2011
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                73

-------
&EPA
                             Activity 3.2: Regions will
                             include use of compliance
                             assistance tools as part of
                             integrated problem-solving
                             strategies (e.g., as applied  in
                             the Showcase Communities),
                             that are focused on particular
                             geographic areas.
                                                                DELIVERABLES
Regions will be asked to
evaluate appropriate
compliance assistance tools
when applying integrated
problem-solving strategies in
selected geographic areas
with environmental justice
concerns.  For example,
some regions incorporated
such an approach into their
Environmental Justice
Showcase Community
projects.


Document accomplishments
and future plans for including
compliance assistance in
these geographic initiatives.
                            MILESTONES
   Ongoing
                                                                                           December
                                                                                           31,2011
                             Strategy 4: Seek appropriate remedies in enforcement actions to benefit
                             overburdened communities and address environmental justice concerns.
                                      ACTIVITY
                             Activity 4.1: Increase efforts
                             to address environmental
                             justice concerns through use
                             of injunctive relief, including
                             mitigation, and SEPs in civil
                             enforcement actions.
    DELIVERABLES
On case-specific basis,
coordinate with DOJ on
potential options in judicial
cases for injunctive relief,
including  mitigation, and
SEPs that will deliver
substantial and meaningful
environmental benefits to
specific environmental
justice communities.
Assess opportunities for
increasing environmental
justice benefits in remedies
in administrative actions.
MILESTONES
   Ongoing
                                                                                           Ongoing
                             Activity 4.2: Increase efforts
                             to benefit overburdened
                             communities through use of
                             community service and the
                             Crime Victims' Rights Act
                             (CVRA) in criminal actions.
 Work with DOJ to (1)
explore innovative uses of
criminal sentencing options,
e.g., community service
and/or environmental
compliance plans, and (2)
take into account information
obtained pursuant to the
CVRA when developing
environmental crimes case
resolutions (e.g., restitution).
   Ongoing
                                                            Provide comments on the
                                                            DOJ/Attorney General's
                                                            CVRA Guidelines.
                               Completed
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                 74

-------
&EPA
                                                               DELIVERABLES
                                                            Coordinate with DOJ in their
                                                            implementation of CVRA
                                                            guidelines for federal
                                                            environmental prosecutions.
                                                            Evaluate use of restitution,
                                                            community service, and
                                                            CVRA in federal
                                                            environmental prosecutions,
                                                            and issue guidance to
                                                            investigators.
                           MILESTONES
                              Ongoing
                              Ongoing
                             Activity 4.3: Look for
                             opportunities to work with
                             other federal agencies, state
                             and local governments, and
                             the business community to
                             complement and leverage
                             community benefits resulting
                             from enforcement activities.
Identify specific
opportunities, in cases or
regional geographic
initiatives, to work with other
federal agencies, state and
local governments, and the
business community to
complement and leverage
benefits resulting from
enforcement activities.
Document and share
recommendations and best
practices for taking action on
these opportunities.
   Ongoing
                                                                                          December
                                                                                          31,2011
                             Strategy 5: Enhance communications with affected communities and the
                             public regarding environmental justice concerns and the distribution and
                             benefits of enforcement actions, as appropriate.
                                     ACTIVITY
                             Activity 5.1: Provide
                             affected communities with
                             information about
                             enforcement actions and
                             meaningful opportunities for
                             input on potential
                             environmental justice
                             concerns and remedies to be
                             sought, as appropriate.
   DELIVERABLES
Identify communities where
enhanced communication
and consultation regarding
enforcement matters is
appropriate.
Provide communities with
information about
enforcement actions and
meaningful opportunities for
input on potential
environmental justice
concerns and remedies to be
sought, as appropriate	
MILESTONES
   Ongoing
   Ongoing
                             Activity 5.2: Improve
                             website information on
                             cleanup enforcement,
                             develop fact sheets to better
                             explain the cleanup
                             enforcement process, and
                             prepare a compendium of
                             best practices.	
Coordinate across EPA
offices to maximize website
information on cleanup
enforcement at specific sites.
   Ongoing
Participate in the
development of fact sheets
that explain the cleanup
enforcement process.
   Ongoing
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                75

-------
&EPA
                                                      DELIVERABLES
                                                   Prepare compendium of best
                                                   practices.
                       MILESTONES
                          December
                          31,2011
                         Activity 5.3: Enhance
                         communication of
                         environmental justice
                         benefits of EPA's
                         enforcement actions.
Develop policy on
communicating in press
releases and similar
statements the
environmental justice
benefits of EPA's
enforcement actions.
August 31,
2011
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                            76

-------
vvEPA
                          OECA will report annually on progress in implementing the strategies
                          outlined in this implementation plan, and will update as necessary, the
                          activities and deliverables outlined here. For information, please contact
                          Loan Nguyen, 202-564-4041, Nguyen.Loan@epa.gov; or Eileen Deamer,
                          312-886-1728, Deamer.Eileen@epa.gov.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                  77

-------
&EPA
                      September 2011

                      Led by
                      Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response,
                      and Regions 2, 3, and 4

                      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                      Washington, D.C. 20460
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                          78

-------
 &EPA
 Goals At-A-G lance

To strengthen community-
based programs to
engage overburdened
communities and build
partnerships that promote
healthy, sustainable, and
green communities.
1.0    INTRODUCTION

For over forty years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s top
priority has been protecting human health and the environment. The
Agency has learned that communities must be the driver for local solutions.
Consequently, EPA has implemented numerous programs that support
community empowerment and provide community benefits at all levels,
from basic educational and leadership development to comprehensive
approaches to achieving healthy, sustainable, and green communities.
These efforts include financial assistance programs such as Environmental
Justice, Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE), Brownfields
Area-Wide Planning, and Tribal grants. They also include other place-based
programs such as EPA's Local Climate and Energy, Childhood Asthma,
Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth, Urban Waters, Superfund,
and Brownfields programs. EPA undertakes these programs in
collaboration with other federal agencies, state, tribal, and local
governments, and multiple stakeholders.  Significantly, EPA's ten regions
play a leading role in implementing these programs.

While communities continue to impress EPA with their dedication, their
innovative ideas, and most importantly their ability to bring real change to
their communities, we realize that far too many communities  still lack the
capacity to affect environmental conditions. Many minority low-income,
tribal, and indigenous communities continue to live in the shadows of the
worst pollution and face some of the harshest effects.

The Plan EJ 2014 Supporting Community-Based Action Programs
implementation plan builds upon an Agency effort to improve the
effectiveness of EPA's place-based community programs through better
information access, coordination, and leveraging.  Through this process,
EPA hopes to make "community" an organizing principle for our work. To
implement this principle, EPA is currently doing the difficult foundational
work of internally aligning and coordinating its programs. The resulting
foundation will enable EPA, particularly its regions, to more effectively
expand partnerships, build local capacity, and foster health and economic
benefits in overburdened communities, as well as aligning EPA programs
and investments with those of other federal agencies, state, local, and
tribal governments, and other stakeholders.

1.1 Goals
EPA will strengthen community-based programs to engage overburdened
communities and build partnerships that promote healthy, sustainable, and
green communities.

To accomplish this goal, EPA will build upon and leverage Agency efforts to
promote greater coordination in the use of programs and tools that
support community empowerment.  EPA will pursue this goal  at all levels,
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                              79

-------
&EPA
                             from basic educational and leadership development to comprehensive
                             approaches to achieving healthy, sustainable, and green communities.
                             Through these efforts, EPA will make the Agency's resources more
                             accessible to underserved communities, while achieving greater internal
                             efficiency through feedback and better understanding of implementing
                             community-based programs.  This approach will result in environmental,
                             health, and economic improvements in such communities.

                             1.2
                             The Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) and regions 2,
                             3, and 4 are responsible for designing and implementing the Plan EJ 2014
                             Supporting Community-Based Action Programs focus area.  They will be
                             supported by the Office of Water (OW), the Office of Air and Radiation
                             (OAR), the Office of Policy (OP), the Office of Enforcement and Compliance
                             Assurance (OECA), the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), the Office of
                             the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), and  Regions 1, 6,  and 10.

                             The EPA recognizes that Supporting Community-Based Action Programs is
                             cross-cutting in nature and requires the participation of all EPA programs
                             and regions. This integrated One EPA approach enables the Agency to
                             better engage and empower communities and other stakeholders,
                             particularly those who have been historically under-represented, in order
                             to support and advance environmental protection and foster
                             environmental, health, and economic benefits for all communities.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                       80

-------
v°/EPA
                             	

                             •-   .".'
                             EPA will employ six strategies in the Supporting Community-Based Action
                             Programs Implementation Plan that are tied to the larger Plan EJ 2014
                             goals and Agency priorities.
                             1. Advance environmental justice principles by building strong state and
                                tribal partnerships through the National Environmental Performance
                                Partnership System (NEPPS) and National Program Manager (NPM)
                                guidance.
                             2. Identify scalable and replicable elements of successful Agency
                                community-based programs and align multiple EPA programs to more
                                fully address the needs of overburdened communities.
                             3. Promote an integrated One EPA presence to better engage
                                communities in the Agency's work to protect human health and the
                                environment.
                             4. Foster community-based programs modeled on the  Community Action
                                for a Renewed Environment (CARE) principles.
                             5. Explore how EPA funding, policies, and programs can inform or help
                                decision makers to maximize benefits and minimize  adverse impacts
                                when considering current land uses in decision making, planning, siting,
                                and permitting.
                             6. Promote equitable development opportunities for all communities.

                             2,2
                             This section describes the ten major activities EPA will undertake to
                             implement these strategies to  support community-based programs.

                             Strategy 1: Advance environmental justice principles by building strong
                             state and tribal partnerships through the National Environmental
                             Performance Partnership System (NEPPS) and National Program
                             Manager (NPM) guidance
                             This effort will advance the Administrator's priorities on environmental
                             justice and children's health through state, tribal, and grant work  plans.
                             EPA regions will work with states and tribes to advance environmental
                             justice by improving environmental conditions and public health in
                             overburdened communities.

                             EPA has established a workgroup and schedule a series of meetings to hold
                             discussions. The workgroup will make recommendations and develop
                             appropriate language to incorporate environmental justice principles and
                             Title  VI to better protect overburdened communities. This effort will
                             demonstrate how the Agency can positively affect overburdened
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        81

-------
&EPA
                             communities through its partnerships, agreements, work plans and grants
                             that are governed by NEPPS and NPM guidance principles.

                             The workgroup will promote state and tribal engagement with affected
                             communities in their discussions and decision-making processes. The
                             workgroup has identified two key activities to address as part of its effort
                             to advance environmental justice through NEPPS and NPM guidance:
                             •   Activity 1: Provide recommendations that mutually support
                                 community involvement; resource and data sharing; and monitoring,
                                 tracking, and training within programs implemented through
                                 performance partnership agreements, tribal agreements, and work
                                 plans guided by NEPPS and NPM documents.
                                    o   Address specific issues and identify barriers within current
                                        practices to incorporating environmental justice principles into
                                        NEPPS and NPM process.
                                    o   Develop recommendations on how to best integrate
                                        environmental justice principles into  state and tribal grant
                                        work plans.
                                    o   Promote state  and tribal involvement in environmental justice
                                        discussions, reviews, and decision making to incorporate
                                        environmental justice principles into  the NEPPS and NPM
                                        processes.
                                    o   Coordinate with NEPPS and NPM efforts, exploring current
                                        regional practices and lessons learned to develop language for
                                        environmental justice guidance on community-based programs
                                        for inclusion in the annual NPM and NEPPS guidance.
                                    o   Identify Agency programs to pilot the inclusion of
                                        environmental justice principles into  negotiated work plans
                                        and tribal agreements.
                                    o   Incorporate lessons learned from pilot demonstrations of
                                        environmental justice in negotiated work plans and tribal
                                        agreements into NPM and NEPPS annual guidance.

                             •   Activity 2: Develop language for environmental justice principles
                                 including Title VI guidance (as appropriate with  all Agency grants) for
                                 inclusion in the FY 2013 NEPPS and FY 2012 NPM guidance through
                                 collaboration and discussions with Office of Congressional and
                                 Intergovernmental Relations (OCIR), Office of Civil Rights (OCR),
                                 regional offices, and  states.
                                    o   Consult Agency legal resources for guidance in integrating
                                        environmental justice considerations and Title VI guidance
                                        through NEPPS and NPM guidance documents.
                                    o   Review language from Performance Partnership Agreements
                                        (PPAs), Performance Partnership Grants (PPGs), and grants of
                                        Agency and state programs  being implemented under NEPPS
                                        and NPM guidance.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        82

-------
&EPA
                             Strategy 2: Identify scalable and replicable elements of successful Agency
                             community-based programs and align multiple EPA programs to more
                             fully address the needs of overburdened communities.
                             EPA has achieved great success with community-based programs that help
                             build capacity to address critical issues affecting overburdened
                             populations. In order to help Agency community-based programs learn
                             from experience, this workgroup will engage both headquarters and
                             regional offices regarding their successes and lessons learned with
                             community-based programs. The workgroup will also review Office of
                             Policy's (OP) list of 26 existing Agency community-based programs and
                             existing evaluations of select Agency EJ programs to identify effective
                             programmatic elements of successful place-based programs that help to
                             support healthy and sustainable communities.

                             This is part of EPA's efforts to improve the effectiveness of its community-
                             based programs through better information access, coordination, and
                             leveraging. This effort focuses on making "community" an organizing
                             principle of our work, increasing community access to our programs, and
                             improving environmental protection and the quality of life at the
                             community level. The workgroup has identified two key activities to
                             improve  EPA's community-based efforts to produce tangible results in
                             overburdened communities.
                             •   Activity 3:  Review Agency and key outside community-based
                                 programs, and existing evaluations of select Agency programs, to
                                 identify scalable and replicable program elements which encourage
                                 place-based solutions to environmental justice issues, strengthen and
                                 promote partnerships, and support healthy and sustainable
                                 communities.
                             •   Activity 4:  Make recommendations on how EPA can align its
                                 community-based programs, particularly in EPA's regions to more fully
                                 address the needs of overburdened communities.

                             Strategy 3: Promote an integrated One EPA presence to better engage
                             communities in the Agency's work to protect human health and the
                             environment.
                             The organizational structure of EPA presents a challenge for many
                             communities that are addressing multiple environmental issues.  The
                             reality is  that most Americans see EPA as a single entity.  More and more
                             communities are seeking comprehensive environmental solutions that cut
                             across individual media programs. We will find the best solutions when we
                             work consistently in a unified way. What we can achieve as One EPA to
                             assure a clean and healthy environment for all is far greater than the
                             results of multiple uncoordinated efforts. One EPA is a mindset that values
                             alignment - investing our time and energy to define together the outcomes
                             we want and how to get there. It entails our persistent search for more
                             integrated ways of reaching solutions that better protect the environment.
                             This involves headquarters and regions working together to target areas of
                             concerns.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         83

-------
&EPA
                              The workgroup has identified the following key activity to address as part
                              of its effort to promote a One EPA presence.
                              •   Activity 5:  Target three approaches to promote an integrated One EPA
                                  presence where EPA will find the best solution by working in a
                                  consistent and unified way.
                                  EPA will identify opportunities to present an integrated One EPA
                                  presence through:
                                      1.  Conferences and listening sessions.
                                      2.  Communication and outreach to better engage communities.
                                      3.  Capacity building through workforce development and job
                                         training.

                              Strategy 4: Foster community-based programs modeled on Community
                              Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) principles.
                              The CARE program was developed from lessons learned from EPA
                              community-based programs (e.g., Brownfields, Environmental Justice,
                              Community-Based Environmental Protection, etc.) and advice from the
                              2004 NEJACto "initiate community-based, collaborative, multi-media,  risk
                              reduction pilot projects."15 The CARE principles will be applied to a One
                              EPA approach toward testing regional approaches for joint planning  and
                              non-EPA funding of community partnerships. These partnerships will
                              engage private industry, businesses, foundations, universities and
                              community colleges, and other groups.

                              The workgroup has identified the following three key activities to address
                              as part of its effort to foster community-based programs modeled on CARE
                              principles:
                              •   Activity 6:  Develop a community-based partners (CBP) initiative for
                                  opportunities in underserved and environmentally overburdened
                                  neighborhoods to collaborate with federal agencies, private industry,
                                  foundations, and other institutions to implement the CARE principles.
                                      o  In developing the CBP program, EPA will assess and implement
                                         ways by which the Agency can better act as a conduit to bring
                                         together underserved communities with federal agencies,
                                         private industry, businesses, foundations, universities, and
                                         other institutions.
                              •   Activity 7:  Develop a CBP program that caters to grassroots or
                                  emerging community groups with little to no organizational or
                                  technical capacity.
                                      o  This second type of CBP program will address Agency concerns
                                         in reaching out to those community groups who have been
                                         unsuccessful in competing for government grants.
                                National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Ensuring Risk Reduction in Communities with
                              Multiple Stressors: Environmental Justice and Cumulative Risks/Impacts, December 2004. Available at:
                              http://www.epa.gov/compliance/ei/resources/publications/neiac/neiac-cum-risk-rpt-122104.pdf.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          84

-------
&EPA
                              •   Activity 8: Identify technical assistance resources, program staff, and
                                 regional staff available to aid overburdened communities with issues
                                 related to their areas of expertise.

                              Strategy 5: Explore how EPA funding, policies, and programs can inform
                              or help decision makers to maximize benefits and minimize adverse
                              impacts when considering current land uses in decision making, planning,
                              siting, and permitting.
                              EPA is aware of communities concerns about land use planning.  To
                              respond to these concerns, EPA will explore how our programs affect land
                              use planning, siting, and decision making in overburdened communities.
                              While land use planning is usually a local government responsibility, EPA
                              can provide interested jurisdictions with information on best practices
                              regarding policies and approaches that can benefit all community
                              stakeholders and minimize adverse impacts.

                              Building upon its work with the interagency Partnership for Sustainable
                              Communities, EPA can support a broad discussion forum to explore how
                              interested jurisdictions might better address the issues of overburdened
                              communities when making local land use decisions. Due to the cross-
                              cutting nature of land use planning and its effect on communities, EPA will
                              work collaboratively with state agencies that, subsequently, will work with
                              communities and other stakeholders to identify issues and opportunities.

                              EPA has identified the following activity to implement its effort to examine
                              land use decision making, planning, and siting in underserved and
                              overburdened communities:
                              •   Activity 9: Establish a workgroup and seek stakeholder feedback to
                                 explore ways the Agency's work intersects with land use decision
                                 making, planning, and siting.
                                    o  This workgroup will produce information discussing
                                        environmental concerns that may affect land use planning,
                                        siting, and permitting decisions. This workgroup will be
                                        comprised of select EPA offices, and state, local, and tribal
                                        governments. The workgroup will also develop a
                                        complementary training course for stakeholders with the goal
                                        of increasing awareness of land-use decision making, and its
                                        effect on communities.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         85

-------
&EPA
                             Strategy 6: Promote equitable development opportunities for all
                             communities.
                             EPA has a range of financing and technical assistance vehicles in place that
                             communities might be able to tap if they had basic, understandable
                             information about how to do so.  However, ensuring equitable access to
                             them can be a formidable challenge for communities and organizations
                             unfamiliar with EPA's processes for both distributing and leveraging these
                             resources. Therefore, EPA needs to foster a climate in which more
                             equitable development opportunities can be realized, by providing tailored
                             information on financing and related tools and strategies, including
                             outreach to agencies whose complementary tools could be given a greater
                             community focus.

                             •  Activity 10: Promote equitable development opportunities.
                                    o  This workgroup will conduct research on existing financing
                                       vehicles; prepare an analysis (that will integrate existing Office
                                       of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)/Environmental Financial
                                       Advisory Board (EFAB) tools, as appropriate); produce an "EPA
                                       Agency-wide Financing and Technical Assistance Vehicle:
                                       Strategies to Apply Them to Support Equitable Community
                                        Development" and post on the web; and prepare an outreach
                                       memorandum to other key agencies, to encourage application
                                       of their tools in ways that promote equitable development.

                             2,3              !
                             Community engagement and stakeholder partnership activities are
                             integrated into the different strategies and activities of this
                             implementation plan. Many strategies and activities of this plan resulted
                             from community dialogues and the NEJAC advice and recommendations.
                             In addition, we will coordinate our community outreach and stakeholder
                             involvement efforts  with OEJ.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         86

-------
&EPA
                            3.0   DELIVERABLES
                            The table below provides a list of activities to be completed with
                            deliverables and associated milestones.
                                                          DELIVERABLES
                            Activity 1:
                            Recommendations on
                            advancing
                            environmental justice
                            principles in work
                            plans and agreements.
                               MILESTONES
Necessary expertise identified for
developing recommendations.

Recommendations on how to best
integrate NEPPS principles into
state, tribal, and grant work plans.

Agency programs to pilot the
inclusion of environmental justice
into negotiated work plans and
tribal agreements identified.	
June 30,
2011

September
30,2011
                                                                                       September
                                                                                       30,2012
                            Activity 2:
                            Development of
                            appropriate language
                            for incorporating
                            environmental justice
                            principles in work
                            plans and agreements.
The Office of General Counsel
(OGC) guidance on
environmental justice and Title VI
language.
Proposed language on
environmental justice including
Title VI guidance for community-
based (CB) programs for FY 2013
NEPPS guidance and FY 2012
NPM guidance developed.	
June 30,
2011
September
30,2012
                            Activity 3: List of
                            scalable and replicable
                            elements of CB
                            programs.
Workgroup established to
coordinate with OP and look at
Agency and outside CB
programs.
List of scalable and replicable CB
program elements developed.
March 31,
2011
                                                                                       October 28,
                                                                                       2011
                            Activity 4:
                            Recommendations on
                            aligning Agency CB
                            programs.
Recommendations on aligning
Agency CB programs.
December
31,2011
                            Activity 5: Target
                            three approaches to
                            promote an integrated
                            One EPA presence.
Conferences and listening
sessions
Communication and outreach to
better engage communities.
Capacity building through
workforce development and job
training.
July 1,
2011
July 29,
2011
December
31,2011
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                     87

-------
&EPA
                             Activity 6: Develop
                             and implement CBP
                             program based on the
                             CARE model.
Communities with the established
framework in place to implement
this program identified by EPA
regional offices.
Select communities and engage
partnership opportunities.
Preliminary program initiated.
Lessons learned from selected
communities developed.	
August
2011
                                                                                         September
                                                                                         2011

                                                                                         June 2012
                             Activity 7: Develop
                             and implement CBP
                             program for grassroots
                             or emerging
                             community groups.
Develop a process to select
communities.
Preliminary program initiated.
                                                      Lessons learned from selected
                                                      communities developed.
December
2011
January
2012
January
2013
                             Activity 8: Identify
                             resources available to
                             underserved
                             communities.
Identify areas of need.

Reach out to offices and regions
to identify resources and staff.
Develop a list and a system for
updating the list.	
September
2011
October
2011
May 2012
                             Activity 9: Explore
                             how EPA funding,
                             policies, and programs
                             can inform and help
                             local decision makers
                             to maximize benefits
                             and minimize adverse
                             effects from land use
                             decision making,
                             planning, and siting.
Establish a workgroup.
Set up a series of meetings to
begin looking at intersection of
Agency work and land use
planning.
Develop an outreach strategy to
get stakeholder feedback.
Develop training course for
stakeholders.
Develop a tool to showcase
findings
May 2011
March 2011
June 2011

December
2011
December
2011
                             Activity 10: Promote
                             equitable development
                             opportunities.
Conduct research on financing
vehicles.
Prepare the Analysis (which will
integrate existing OCFO and
EFAB tools as appropriate).
Produce an "EPA Agency-wide
Financing and Technical
Assistance Vehicle: Strategies to
Apply Them to Support Equitable
Community Development"
and post on the web.
Prepare an outreach
memorandum to  other key
agencies, to encourage
application of their tools in ways
that promote equitable
development.	
August 1,
2011
September
30,2011

December
31,2011
                                                                                         December
                                                                                         31,2011
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                      88

-------
v°/EPA
                           Progress reports on this implementation plan will be generated annually.
                           The planned deliverables and milestones for each of the activities are
                           described in Section 3.0. Each of the offices responsible will further refine
                           and develop the activities during the process of implementation.  For
                           information, please contact Pat Carey, 202-566-0199, Carey.Pat@epa.gov.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                     89

-------
&EPA
                             1. Community Action for a Renewed Environment (Leads: OW and OAR)

                             OAR
                             2. Community-Based Childhood Asthma Program
                             3. Local Climate and Energy Program (Climate Showcase Communities)
                             4. EPA School Monitoring Initiative

                             OSWER
                             5. Brownfields - Training, Technical Assistance Grants, including Technical
                               Assistance to Brownfields Communities (TAB) grants
                             6. Targeted Brownfields Assessment
                             7. Superfund Job Training Initiative
                             8. Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
                             9.  Superfund Community Technical Assistance Grants
                             10.  Brownfields Sustainability Pilots
                             11.  Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup, and RLF Grants, including
                                 Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilots
                             12.  Superfund Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC)
                                 Program
                             13.  Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants
                             14.  Partnership for Sustainable Communities Brownfields Pilots (2010)
                             15. RE-Powering Feasibility Studies
                             16.  Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technical Support Centers

                             OW
                             17.  Five Star Restoration Grants Program
                             18.  Lead in Schools Program
                             29.  Urban Waters Initiative
                             20.  Stormwater/Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO)/Combined Sewer Overflow
                             (CSO) permits

                             Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP)
                             21.  Community-Based Lead Grant Program
                             22.  Tribal Lead Grant Program

                             OP
                             23.  Smart Growth Program

                             Office Indian Affairs (OIA)
                             24.  Indian Environmental General Assistance Program

                             OECA
                             25. Environmental Justice Showcase Communities
                             26.  Environmental Justice Small Grants Program
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        90

-------
&EPA
                     September 2011

                     Led by
                     Office of Water and Region 6

                     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                     Washington, D.C. 20460
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
91

-------
&EPA
 Goals At-A-G lance

To facilitate the active
involvement of all federal
agencies in implementing
EO 12898 by minimizing
and mitigating
disproportionate, negative
impacts while fostering
environmental, public
health, and economic
benefits for overburdened
communities.
1.0    INTRODUCTION

Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice
in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations" (EO 12898), signed
in 1994, calls on all federal agencies to focus attention on, and work with
other stakeholders to, eliminate or remediate the unduly high and adverse
human health or environmental effects that exist in these communities. In
other words, it called for federal agencies to achieve environmental justice.
EO 12898 directs each federal agency to "make achieving environmental
justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate,
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and
low-income populations," including tribal populations.16

1.1 Goals
Everyone in America deserves to live, work, and play in a healthy and
sustainable community. The goal of this implementation plan is to
facilitate the active involvement of all federal agencies in ensuring a
healthy, sustainable, and green community, as well as equitable
development, for all people. To better achieve this goal, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is leading the Administration's
effort to fully implement EO 12898. As each federal agency reinvigorates
its effort to make environmental justice part of its mission, EPA will focus
on helping each federal agency participate in  a coordinated approach that
acknowledges the disproportionately high and adverse human health and
environmental impacts on overburdened communities, while providing
access to the environmental, public health, and economic benefits of  EPA's
programs.

A coordinated and holistic approach is essential to ensure that we address
the full scope of adverse human health and environmental effects in
overburdened communities, legacy pollution  problems rooted in historical
discrimination, and cumulative  impacts; and to ensure that all communities
participate in, and benefit from, the transition to a clean energy economy.

1.2 Organizational Structure
The Office of Water (OW) and Region 6 will serve as co-leads for the
Fostering Administration-Wide  Action on Environmental Justice cross-
Agency focus area. OW will be  supported by the Office of Environmental
Justice (OEJ), the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER),
the Office of Federal Activities (OFA), the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), and
the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations (OCIR).
                               Clinton, William J., Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in
                              Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations," February 11, 1994, Federal Register 59, No. 32:
                              7629.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                                92

-------
&EPA
                           EPA recognizes that Fostering Administration-Wide Action requires
                           coordination with the White House Council on Environmental Quality
                           (CEQ), other federal agencies, and EPA's ongoing interagency activities. In
                           addition, the OFA will address the issues related to the National
                           Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the OCR will address issues related to
                           Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Interagency coordination will also
                           involve the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
                           (EJ IWG), which was established under EO 12898 and was reconvened in
                           September 2010.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                     93

-------
v°/EPA
                              	

                              •-   .".'
                              EPA, in conjunction with the White House CEQ and the EJ IWG, has
                              identified four major strategies for Fostering Administration-Wide Action
                              on Environmental Justice:
                              *   Assist other federal agencies to integrate environmental justice in their
                                  programs, policies, and activities.
                              •   Work with other federal agencies to strengthen use of interagency
                                  legal tools, such as NEPA and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
                              •   Foster healthy and sustainable communities, with an emphasis on
                                  equitable development and place-based initiatives.
                              •   Strengthen community access to federal agencies.

                              ••• •••  :•'.; •"  ities
                              The following activities are intended to carry out the strategies identified
                              for this implementation plan.

                              Strategy 1: Assist other federal agencies to integrate environmental
                              justice in their missions, programs, policies, and activities.
                              EPA will lead the Administration's effort to better integrate environmental
                              justice into federal agency programs, policies,  and activities by chairing the
                              EJ IWG. The Administration is dedicated to ensuring that everyone has the
                              opportunity to live in a healthy and sustainable community, particularly
                              those living in overburdened communities.  As part of this Administration-
                              wide effort, EPA has taken the lead in reinvigorating the EJ IWG. Under EO
                              12898, the EJ  IWG is chaired by the EPA Administrator and comprised of
                              principals from other agencies. The purpose of the EJ IWG is to guide,
                              support, and enhance federal environmental justice and community-based
                              activities.

                              The following five activities will be conducted to implement this strategy:
                              •   Activity 1.1: Chair and convene EJ IWG Principal, Deputy, and Senior
                                  Staff meetings. EPA and the other federal agencies place a high priority
                                  on facilitating the integration of environmental justice into federal
                                  agency programs, policies, and activities. For example, in  2010, EPA
                                  and CEQ reconvened the EJ IWG for the first time in over a decade.
                                  The White House, EJ IWG members, and other federal agency
                                  representatives expressed their commitment to meet their
                                  responsibilities under EO 12898.  EPA and  CEQ also hosted the first
                                  White House Forum on Environmental Justice. At the Forum, EJ IWG
                                  members and other federal agency representatives reengaged with
                                  environmental justice advocates about issues that are important to
                                  overburdened communities. Moving forward, EPA will continue to lead
                                  EJ IWG meetings and events.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          94

-------
&EPA
                                 Activity 1.2: Chair, assist, and oversee each federal agency's effort to
                                 update or develop its environmental justice strategy. This
                                 Administration is committed to identifying, evaluating, and reducing
                                 environmental and human health burdens while increasing
                                 environmental and human health benefits in overburdened
                                 communities.  Accordingly, each federal agency will update, or in some
                                 cases develop, an environmental justice strategy that will be
                                 responsive to the environmental and human health needs of
                                 overburdened communities.
                                 Activity 1.3: Lead the effort to organize regional events. EPA and other
                                 federal agencies recognize that, to successfully address the needs of
                                 overburdened communities, federal agencies must engage
                                 environmental justice stakeholders in and around their communities.
                                 To further this effort, EPA will lead the development of regional  events
                                 where EJ IWG  members and other federal agency representatives will
                                 meet with environmental justice stakeholders to discuss and help
                                 resolve issues  that are important to communities in each region.
                                 Activity 1.4: Develop and provide tools that help environmental justice
                                 and other stakeholders identify federal information and resources. This
                                 Administration recognizes the need to provide federal  resources,
                                 contact information, lessons learned, and other information to
                                 environmental justice stakeholders. As a result, EPA will develop
                                 information and resource tools to promote collaboration between
                                 federal agencies and environmental justice stakeholders and improve
                                 opportunities for environmental justice stakeholders to utilize federal
                                 resources.
                                 Activity 1.5: Convene a group of senior attorneys from across the
                                 federal government to promote the integration of environmental
                                 justice into their agencies' actions. In partnership with  the U.S.
                                 Department of Justice (DOJ), EPA's Office of General Counsel (OGC),
                                 the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), and the
                                 Office of Regional Counsel (ORC) will bring together attorneys from
                                 agencies across the federal government that have an interest in
                                 environmental justice. We will convene monthly meetings at the staff
                                 level to share information about legal issues the agencies have
                                 encountered and think through the role of agency attorneys in
                                 promoting their agencies' environmental justice policies. We also hope
                                 to develop other forms of information-sharing tools. Our goal is to
                                 help EJ IWG members and other agencies with environmental justice
                                 interest to understand the legal tools available to them to  promote
                                 environmental justice.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         95

-------
&EPA
                              Strategy 2: Work with other federal agencies to strengthen use of
                              interagency legal tools, such as the National Environmental Policy Act and
                              Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

                              National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
                              NEPA is an important tool that can be used to help advance the goals of
                              environmental justice. NEPA emphasizes transparency and public
                              involvement and promotes better, more responsible decision making by
                              the federal government. Namely, NEPA requires federal agencies to assess
                              and disclose environmental impacts, which include environmental justice
                              considerations, when proposing actions. Further, under the Clean Air Act
                              (CAA) Section 309, EPA is mandated to review Environmental Impact
                              Statements (EIS), comment in writing, and make those comments available
                              to the public. These reviews include an assessment of whether the
                              requirements of EO 12898 and the accompanying Presidential
                              Memorandum on environmental justice are considered and integrated
                              within the NEPA process. We have identified a number of activities that
                              EPA, in concert with other federal agencies, can take to strengthen all
                              agencies' abilities to incorporate environmental justice into major federal
                              activities.
                              •  Activity 2.1: Articulate a consistent message about the need to
                                 incorporate environmental justice into NEPA implementation efforts.
                                 We will articulate a clear, consistent message about need to
                                 incorporate environmental justice considerations into NEPA
                                 implementation efforts. We will reinforce the utility of NEPA as a tool
                                 to effect good environmental decision making and take environmental
                                 justice into account through CAA Section 309  reviews.  In addition to
                                 improving internal collaboration on environmental justice, a clear
                                 message will enable the Agency to send consistent messages to
                                 external stakeholders.

                              •  Activity 2.2: Enable federal NEPA practitioners to enhance
                                 consideration and execution of environmental justice requirements in
                                 NEPA implementation efforts.  We will develop tools to help federal
                                 NEPA practitioners in EPA and other agencies enhance environmental
                                 justice considerations in NEPA implementation efforts by identifying
                                 and  disseminating best practices in  general and  in specific sectors.
                                 These tools can assist agencies in analyzing environmental impacts and
                                 community concerns and will emphasize the benefits of having robust,
                                 agency-specific formal NEPA-specific environmental justice guidance.
                              Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964
                              Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis
                              of race, color, and national origin, including matters related to language
                              access for limited English proficient persons, by recipients of federal
                              financial assistance. Under EPA's Title VI regulations, recipients of EPA
                              financial assistance are prohibited from, among other things, using "criteria
                              or methods of administering its program which have the effect of
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          96

-------
&EPA
                              subjecting individuals to discrimination based on their race, color, or
                              national origin." For example, facially-neutral policies or practices that
                              result in discriminatory effects violate EPA's Title VI regulations, unless it is
                              shown that they are justified and that there is no less discriminatory
                              alternative.  In addition, EPA's regulations and Title VI prohibit intentional
                              discrimination by recipients.  Other similar laws prohibit discrimination on
                              the basis of age, sex, and disability by recipients of federal financial
                              assistance.

                              OCR has identified two activities that EPA, in concert with DOJ, can take to
                              strengthen the use of Title VI:
                              •  Activity 2.3: Consult with DOJ to strengthen the use of Title VI of the
                                 Civil Rights Act of 1964 by re-evaluating the approach for analyzing
                                 Title VI complaints.

                              •  Activity 2.4: Collaborate with DOJ and within EPA, to develop
                                 compliance strategies and actions to address non-compliance.

                              Strategy 3: Foster healthy and sustainable communities, with an
                              emphasis on equitable development and place-based initiatives.
                              Increasingly, environmentally and economically burdened communities are
                              seeking comprehensive solutions that address adverse human health and
                              environmental  effects, as well as health disparities, while enabling these
                              communities to make a transition to sustainable community development.
                              Communities are calling upon federal agencies to work in a coordinated
                              manner. Resulting efforts will improve community access to the
                              environmental, public health, and economic benefits that define a healthy
                              and sustainable community.

                              By mobilizing the resources of all federal agencies, the EJ IWG can foster
                              efforts to ensure that we address adverse human health and
                              environmental  effects in overburdened communities, including legacy
                              pollution problems rooted in historical discrimination and cumulative
                              impacts, and ensure that all communities participate in, and benefit from,
                              the transition to a clean energy economy.

                              As a result of community input and the White House Forum on
                              Environmental Justice, the EJ IWG identified four areas of significant
                              concern to overburdened communities:
                              •  Green Jobs and Clean Energy.
                              •  Healthy and Sustainable Communities.
                              •  Climate Change and Adaptation.
                              •  Goods Movement.
                              The following activity will be conducted to  implement Strategy 3.
                              •  Activity 3.1: Recommend ways to enhance federal interagency
                                 coordination in support of healthy and sustainable communities as well
                                 as equitable development. EPA, in conjunction with other federal
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          97

-------
&EPA
                                 agencies, will develop a proposal to the EJ IWG for how federal
                                 agencies can coordinate action in each of the four areas identified
                                 above to improve the health and sustainability of overburdened
                                 communities in the implementation of existing executive orders and
                                 administration priorities. Federal agencies will make community
                                 engagement an important part of our efforts to identify environmental
                                 justice issues and opportunities for interagency collaboration. Actions
                                 should be based on the following principles:
                                     o   Designate an EJ IWG agency to serve as lead.
                                     o   Build on and leverages existing Administration initiatives.
                                     o   Enhance existing policies or programs to address
                                         environmental justice issues.
                                     o   Identify data needs and success measures.
                                     o   Identifies place-based project for coordinated action, if
                                         appropriate.
                                     o   Address issues of community access to resources and technical
                                         assistance.
                                     o   Promote state, regional, local, and tribal partnerships.
                                     o   Utilize regional forums and other community outreach to
                                         inform federal actions.

                              Strategy 4: Strengthen Community Access to Federal Agencies.
                              In the priorities outlined by Administrator Lisa Jackson last year, she
                              highlighted the importance of expanding the conversation on
                              environmentalism and working for environmental justice. With that
                              priority in mind, the Administrator acknowledged the importance of
                              reaching out to and engaging with communities. As part of this interagency
                              focus on environmental justice, one of EPA's goals is to strengthen the
                              ability of communities to access the federal programs and the expertise
                              that they need to realize their goals for a healthy and sustainable way of
                              life. In support of that goal, EPA will implement actions that eliminate
                              barriers, make connections, fill gaps, and reduce duplication so that
                              communities are better able to access the federal  resources they need.
                              •  Activity  4.1: Community Needs Inventory Pilot. In order to determine
                                 the areas of interagency cooperation that need improvement, the EPA
                                 regions will select three communities of concern about which they
                                 have extensive knowledge. Each EPA region will develop an inventory
                                 of the communities' already-identified needs and then identify the
                                 federal agency(ies) that could address each need.  Once that has been
                                 accomplished for all regions, a data set of thirty communities will be
                                 available so that the EJ IWG can identify trends - for example, those
                                 three or four federal agencies whose assistance is needed in the
                                 broadest number of communities. The product of this internal EPA
                                 analysis will be a request to the Administrator to approach those
                                 agencies through the EJ IWG for a commitment and the development
                                 of strategies.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          98

-------
&EPA
                              •   Activity 4.2: Targeted Training for Communities.  EPA will identify
                                 appropriate delivery mechanisms to convey information to
                                 communities on existing federal programs and expertise relevant to
                                 them. This information will be based on the work already underway in
                                 the EJ IWG and EPA's Office of Policy (OP) to catalog existing federal
                                 programs and expertise. Potential delivery mechanisms include
                                 trainings, conferences, and webinars.
                              •   Activity 4.3: Review Federal Partners Meeting. EPA will review action
                                 items from the April 2010 Federal Partners Meeting, determine which
                                 recommendations support strengthening community access to federal
                                 agencies, and determine how to incorporate them into this
                                 implementation plan. This will result in a more robust implementation
                                 plan in the future and will help advance the outcomes of the Federal
                                 Partners Meeting. This is being done in coordination with Plan EJ 2014
                                 community-based action efforts.
                              •   Activity 4.4: Coordination with Agency Community-Based Coordination
                                 Efforts. A member of this Fostering Administration-Wide Action on
                                 Environmental Justice Workgroup will participate on the parallel
                                 workgroup under the OP's Community-Based  Coordination Efforts
                                 (CBCE) Initiative's cross-Agency External Coordination Workgroup.  This
                                 person will ensure that environmental justice  communities' needs are
                                 adequately addressed in each of the activities recommended and
                                 ultimately undertaken.  The CBCE cross-Agency External Coordination
                                 Workgroup is recommending a number of activities, including:
                                    o  Cataloguing existing community-based efforts with interagency
                                        coordination.
                                    o  Mining existing community-based efforts with interagency
                                        coordination for best practices.

                              Improving community access to federal agency resources, including a
                              website portal that will serve as a one-stop shop for communities to access
                              all federal agencies according to searchable needs and key words.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         99

-------
&EPA
                           2,3                         arid
                           Community engagement and stakeholder partnership activities are
                           integrated into the different strategies and activities of this
                           implementation plan. Many of the strategies and activities in this plan
                           resulted from community dialogues and the National Environmental Justice
                           Advisory Council's (NEJAC) advice and recommendations. In addition, we
                           will coordinate our community outreach and stakeholder involvement
                           effortswithOEJ.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                   100

-------
&EPA
                             3.0    DELIVERABLES

                             Strategy 1: Assist other federal agencies to better integrate environmental
                             justice into agency programs, policies, and activities.
                                   ACTIVITY
                             Activity 1.1: Chair and
                             convene EJ IWG
                             Principal, Deputy, and
                             Senior Staff meetings.
DELIVERABLES
Chair annual
Principals/Deputies
meetings.

Chair Senior Staff
meetings/calls.
MILESTONES
 By the end of
 2011
                                                                                Monthly
                             Activity 1.2: Chair,
                             assist, and oversee
                             each federal agency's
                             effort to update or
                             develop its
                             environmental justice
                             strategy.
Oversee the
finalization of each
Agency's
environmental justice
strategy.
 By the end of
 2011
                             Activity 1.3: Lead the
                             effort to organize
                             regional events.
Hold at least one
event in each EPA
region,  or in
appropriate
equivalent.
 By the end of
 2011
                             Activity 1.4: Develop
                             and provide tools that
                             help environmental
                             justice and other
                             stakeholders identify
                             federal information and
                             resources.
Publish a draft
Federal
Environmental
Justice Directory and
draft Federal
Resource Guide.
Review EPA's EJ
IWG website.
Update EPA's EJ
IWG website.
 By the end of
 2011
Annually

As appropriate
                             Activity 1.5: Convene
                             a group of senior
                             attorneys from across
                             the Administration in
                             order to promote the
                             integration of
                             environmental justice
                             into their agencies'
                             actions.
Conduct meetings on
regular basis.
As appropriate
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                   101

-------
&EPA
                             Strategy 2: Work with other federal agencies to strengthen use of
                             interagency legal tools, i.e., National Environmental Policy Act and Title VI
                             of Civil Rights Act of 1964.
                                   ACTIVITY
                             Activity 2.1:  Articulate
                             a consistent message
                             about the need to
                             incorporate
                             environmental justice
                             into NEPA
                             implementation.
      DELIVERABLES
Issue a directive to NEPA
reviewers emphasizing
environmental justice,
reinforcing the utility of NEPA
through CAA Section 309
reviews as a tool to effect
good decisions and take into
account environmental justice
considerations.
•  Stakeholder outreach:
   Work with regional
   managers.  Post on web.
 MILESTONES
March 31, 2011
                             Activity 2.2:  Enable
                             federal NEPA
                             practitioners to
                             enhance consideration
                             and execution of
                             environmental justice
                             requirements in NEPA
                             implementation.
Engage with federal agencies
to identify unique or "best
practices." Develop
information on "best practices"
for implementing
environmental justice
requirements in the NEPA
process and post on the
internet.
•  Stakeholder outreach:
   Work with EPA
   environmental justice
   experts and regional
   NEPA practitioners.
   Share with the NEJAC.

Work with the EJ IWG, White
House CEQ, federal agencies,
and the NEJAC to urge that all
federal agencies with NEPA
responsibilities have robust
agency-specific guidance in
place setting forth a process to
meaningfully consider
environmental justice in the
NEPA EIS process. EPA will
identify and disseminate
examples/components of
strong guidance.
•  Stakeholder outreach: EJ
   IWG, White House CEQ,
   NEJAC.
Develop a best practices tool
for regulators to analyze
specific environmental  impacts
and identify typical community
concerns for a particular
sector.
September 30,
2011
                                                                               June 30,  2011
                                                                               September 31,
                                                                               2011
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                       102

-------
&EPA
1 ACTIVITY




Activity 2.3: Develop
a plan of action, in
consultation with DOJ,
which will outline how
EPA will re-evaluate the
approach for analyzing
Title VI complaints.

Activity 2.4:
Collaborate with DOJ
and EPA to develop
compliance strategies
and actions to address
non-compliance.






DELIVERABLES MILESTONES
• Stakeholder outreach:
Work with affected
regions, communities, and
federal and state
regulators.
Convene stakeholder dialogue
to discuss the re-evaluation of
the approach for analyzing
Title VI complaints.
• Stakeholder Outreach:
Work with EPA; DOJ;
state agencies;
businesses; and civil
rights, environmental
justice, community, and
other experts.
Develop a comprehensive
plan of action that will outline
how EPA will implement this
approach.
• Stakeholder Outreach:
Work with EPA and DOJ.
Convene EPA, DOJ, and other
federal agencies to hold
stakeholder dialogues to
discuss the development of
compliance strategies and
actions to address non-
compliance.
• Stakeholder Outreach:
Work with EPA, DOJ, and
other federal agencies.




June 30, 2011

September 30,
2011
November 30,
2011




  Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
103

-------
&EPA
Strategy 3: Foster Healthy and Sustainable Communities, with emphasis on
equitable development and place-based initiatives.
1 ACTIVITY DELIVERABLES MILESTONES
Activity 3.1:
Recommend ways by
which the EJ IWG can
enhance interagency
coordination in support
of healthy and
sustainable
communities.









Develop proposal to EJ IWG
for how federal agencies can
coordinate action to improve
the health and sustainability of
overburdened communities in
the implementation of existing
executive orders and
administration priorities, in the
at least two of the following
four areas:
• Clean Jobs and Clean
Energy.
• Healthy and Sustainable
Communities.
• Climate Change and
Adaptation.
• Goods Movement.
September 30,
2012















                           Strategy 4: Strengthen Community Access to Federal Agencies.
                                 ACTIVITY
                           Activity 4.1:
                           Community Needs
                           Inventory Pilot.
      DELIVERABLES
Inventory of three Region 6
environmental justice
communities' needs and
corresponding federal
agencies.

Inventory of 27 remaining
regional environmental justice
communities' needs and
corresponding federal
agencies.

Analysis of commonalities and
trends.

Recommendations made to
Administrator to take to the EJ
IWG.
 MILESTONES
April 30, 2011
                                                                          By June 15,
                                                                          2011
                                                                          By December
                                                                          31,2011

                                                                          By May 31,
                                                                          2012
                           Activity 4.2: Targeted
                           Training for
                           Communities.
    Assessment of program
    cataloging results in the
    EJ IWG and OP efforts.
    Identification of best
    delivery mechanisms to
    reach communities.
By September
30,2011
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                     104

-------
&EPA
1 ACTIVITY
Activity 4.3: Review
Federal Partners
Meeting
Recommendations.
Activity 4.4:
Coordination with
Agency CBCE Initiative.
DELIVERABLES MILESTONES
Identification of
recommendations from the
April 2010 Federal Partners
Meeting to determine which to
incorporate.
Draft options paper for
Executive Management
Council (EMC) review.
Form workgroups to
implement selected actions.
By June, 2011
By February 15,
2011
To be
determined
  Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
105

-------
vvEPA
                           Progress reports on this implementation plan will be made annually. The
                           planned deliverables and milestones for each of the activities are described
                           above. Each of the offices responsible will further refine and develop the
                           activities during the process of implementation. For information, please
                           contact Sherri White, 202-564-2462, White.Sherri@epa.gov; or Alice
                           Walker, 202-529-7534, Walker.Alice@epa.gov.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                   106

-------
&EPA
                      September 2011

                      Led by
                      Office of Research and Development
                      And Region 7

                      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                      Washington, D.C. 20460
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                         107

-------
 &EPA
 Goals At-A-G lance

To substantially support
and conduct research that
employs participatory
principles and integrates
social and physical
sciences aimed at
understanding and
illuminating solutions to
environmental and health
inequalities among
overburdened populations
and communities in the
United States.
1.0    INTRODUCTION

Under Plan EJ 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
committed to building a strong scientific foundation for supporting
environmental justice and conducting disproportionate impact analysis,
particularly methods to appropriately characterize and assess cumulative
impacts. These efforts will help to ensure that EPA brings the best science
to decision making around environmental justice issues.

This Science Tools Development Implementation Plan discusses
overarching goals, strategies, and activities, including a science and
research agenda for the Agency. The science and research activities
described in this plan build upon discussions and recommendations from
"Strengthening Environmental Justice and Decision Making: A Symposium
on the Science of Disproportionate Environmental Health Impacts" (March
17-19, 2010) and the  workshop on "Analytical Methods for Assessing the
Environmental Justice Implications of Environmental Regulations" (June 9-
10, 2010). The March 2010 Symposium was the principal event for the
Agency to identify science needs for  environmental justice and stimulate
ideas for innovative research to meet those needs.

1.1  Goals
Our goal is that, within five years, EPA will substantially support and
conduct research that employs participatory principles and integrates
social and physical  sciences aimed at understanding and illuminating
solutions to environmental and health inequalities among overburdened
populations and communities in the  United States. This goal supports our
vision that all Agency decisions will make use of the information, data, and
analytic tools produced.  Our goal has two specific elements:
1.  Improve the scientific basis for environmental regulatory and policy
    decisions in order to  ensure that everyone enjoys the same degree of
    protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to
   the decision-making  process to have a healthy environment in which to
    live, learn, and work.

2.  In order to increase the relevance of science to policy making,
   transform how EPA formulates, designs, prioritizes, conducts, and
   fosters more citizen participatory, inclusive, co-production of
    knowledge, and collaborative processes within the scientific  research
    enterprise.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                              108

-------
&EPA
                              We have five major strategies to achieve our goals.
                              1.  Apply integrated transdisciplinary and community-based participatory
                                 research approaches with a focus on addressing multi-media,
                                 cumulative impacts and equity in environmental health and
                                 environmental conditions.
                              2.  Create mechanisms to incorporate perspectives from community-
                                 based organizations and community leaders into EPA's research
                                 agendas and engage in collaborative partnerships with them on science
                                 and research to address environmental justice.
                              3.  Leverage partnerships with other federal agencies on issues of
                                 research, policy, and action to address health disparities.
                              4.  Build and strengthen the technical capacity of Agency scientists on
                                 conducting research in partnership with impacted  communities and
                                 translating research results to inform change.
                              5.  Build and strengthen technical capacity of community-based
                                 organizations and community environmental justice and health leaders
                                 to address environmental health disparities and environmental
                                 sustainability issues.

                              1,  !
                              Multiple aspects of the physical environment in which  we live, learn, work,
                              and play can put certain groups of people "at higher risk." Also, individuals
                              and groups may experience disadvantages related to their gender,
                              lifestage, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, disability, education,
                              geographic location, or other characteristics historically linked to
                              discrimination or exclusion. This complex interaction between the physical
                              environment and other conditions of social disadvantage contributes to
                              known social disparities in environmental health outcomes.

                              Since 1994, as stated in the  Executive Order 12898 (EO 12898), it has been
                              incumbent upon all federal agencies including EPA to identify and address
                              disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
                              effects on minority and low-income populations that may result from their
                              programs,  policies, and activities. The concept of disproportionate
                              environmental health impacts and  burdens refers to the finding that some
                              populations systematically experience higher levels of  risks and impacts
                              than the general population. (Brulle and Pellow 2006) This perspective
                              recognizes that multiple factors, including social, psychosocial, economic,
                              physical, chemical, and biological determinants may contribute to
                              disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
                              impacts.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         109

-------
&EPA
                              The importance of science in environmental decision making at EPA
                              emphasizes the need for data and information that is sound and
                              defensible, reproducible, and informative. For environmental justice
                              stakeholders, it is even more important that the science underlying EPA's
                              decisions appropriately accounts for the multiple exposures to chemical
                              stressors and cumulative impacts from multiple exposures that they
                              experience in their communities.  Further, the social and real world context
                              in which exposures to environmental contaminants occur also needs to be
                              explicitly considered and reflected in EPA's scientific research and analysis
                              as emerging evidence demonstrates that social  context may enhance the
                              toxic effects of both single and multiple environmental contaminant
                              exposures.  Such considerations require  new models for assessing the
                              toxicity of environmental hazards, advanced methods for analyzing
                              complex interactions between multiple stressors, and enhanced access to
                              community-level wisdom and resources.

                              These emerging needs indicate that new ways of conducting scientific
                              inquiry to inform environmental decision are needed at EPA. Such
                              expansion and  advancement of EPA's scientific agenda, methods, models,
                              research  inquiry approaches, and information resources is necessary for
                              the Agency to adequately address environmental justice stakeholder's
                              concerns about environment, sustainability, and health inequalities. These
                              advancements  take on additional importance when viewed in the context
                              of the Agency's mandate to achieve environmental justice as required by
                              EO 12898, and  its ability to effectively contribute towards Healthy People
                              2020's overarching goals to achieve health equity, eliminate health
                              disparities, improve the health of all groups, and create social and physical
                              environments that promote good health for all.17

                              Conversely, health and environment status can  influence, for example, the
                              social and institutional arrangements, which can lead to both negative and
                              positive outcomes cumulatively impacting the health of a community. The
                              cumulative impact has greater and farther-reaching consequences than any
                              one factor or event alone;  this is particularly evident among vulnerable
                              low-income and underserved populations. In order to determine the
                              positive and negative health and environmental impacts during some of
                              the social processes described above, the scientific research requires both
                              quantitative and qualitative approaches.

                              The goals, strategies, and activities for this implementation plan build upon
                              the science  recommendations articulated at the March 2010 symposium,
                              Strengthening Environmental Justice Research and Decision- Making: A
                              Symposium on  the Science of Disproportionate Environmental Health
                              Impacts, and the subsequent "100-Day Challenge" Report developed by the
                              Agency in response to recommendations generated from  the symposium.
                               Healthy People is a set of goals and objectives with 10-year targets designed to guide national health
                              promotion and disease prevention efforts to improve the health of all people in the United States.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          110

-------
&EPA
                             A consistent theme throughout the March 2010 symposium was the
                             linkages between science and policy. These discussions were framed
                             within the context of identifying research and scientific needs that are
                             necessary to ensure that environmental justice concerns and social
                             disparities in environmental health are incorporated in EPA's decisions for
                             the purpose of advancing EPA policy on environmental justice.  Several
                             conceptual frameworks have been published in the last few years that
                             relate environmental justice and health disparities to upstream, structural
                             determinants of health (CSDH 2008; Gee and Payne-Sturges 2004; Krieger
                             2001; Habermann and Gouveia 2008; Morello-Frosch 2002; Morello-Frosch
                             and Shenassa 2006; Schulz et al 2002; Wakefield and Baxter 2010).

                             Symposium participants suggested several actions that EPA and other
                             federal agencies take in order to reduce data gaps in the area of
                             environmental justice, overcome limitations in the theories and methods
                             for conducting research on environmental health disparities and
                             particularly research supported by the federal government, and overcome
                             limitations in practice of risk assessment at EPA. The science
                             recommendations from environmental justice advocates and other
                             stakeholders are captured in Appendix C.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                      111

-------
&EPA
                             i;   .
                             The specific science and research actions described in Section 2.0 were
                             developed through a cross-Agency workgroup for the Agency's 100-Day
                             Report follow-up to the March 2010 Symposium. Representation on the
                             workgroup included the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), the Office of
                             Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), the Office of Policy (OP),
                             the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), the Office of
                             Water (OW), the Office of Research and Development (ORD), and Regions
                             6, 7, 8, and 10. Region 7 serves as ORD's Lead Region.

                             Going forward, ORD, as lead for the Science Tools Development
                             Implementation Plan, proposes to establish a more permanent structure
                             within ORD, which we are planning to name the Environment Health and
                             Society Workgroup. This workgroup will serve as ORD science experts and
                             points of contact on environmental justice, environmental disparities, and
                             disproportionate impacts science issues. ORD's National Center for
                             Environmental Research (NCER) and the Office of Science Policy (OSP) will
                             jointly sponsor and co-chair this new workgroup. The co-chairs will also
                             lead the Plan EJ 2014 Science Tools Development Workgroup and monitor
                             the Science Implementation Plan for Plan EJ 2014. ORD is considering re-
                             constituting the intra-agency group on science for the 100-Day Report to
                             serve as the Plan EJ 20114 Science Group. ORD will coordinate with all the
                             Plan EJ 2014 implementation workgroups to ascertain how current
                             activities can be better tailored or leveraged to address Plan EJ 2014
                             workgroups' science needs  under the five strategies (listed in Section 1.2)
                             and to identify future science activities.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        112

-------
v°/EPA
                              2.0

                              Below we describe several major science and research activities under the
                              five strategies. These activities will be carried out with existing resources,
                              provided these resources remain available.

                              '•  •'•  "
                              Strategy 1: Apply integrated transdisciplinary and community-based
                              participatory research approaches with a focus on addressing multi-
                              media, cumulative impacts and equity in environmental health and
                              environmental conditions.
                              Activity 1.1: Establish an Integrated Transdisciplinary ORD Research
                              Program on Environment and Community Health -Sustainable and Healthy
                              Communities Research Program.
                              The new Administration at EPA and in particular in ORD recognizes that
                              fragmented research programs cannot solve 21st century environmental
                              challenges including disparities in environmental health.  ORD is leading the
                              way by integrating 12 research programs that were mostly media-specific
                              into four transdisciplinary programs aligned with EPA's new Strategic Plan.
                              As part of this re-structuring, ORD is fully establishing and supporting a new
                              integrated transdisciplinary research program on environment and
                              community health known as "Sustainable and Healthy Communities." This
                              program seeks to adopt a more holistic view of environment and health as
                              its conceptual framework, take on research projects that address many of
                              the topics raised at the Symposium, and conduct research in a manner
                              consistent with principles of community-based participatory research.
                              Both ORD intramural and extramural resources from existing human
                              health, land, sustainability, and ecosystems research programs would be
                              directed to support this new program. For this new research program to
                              be successful, implementation of many of the recommended actions on
                              capacity building within ORD and incorporating community perspectives is
                              critical.

                              As part of the new Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research
                              Program (SHCRP), EPA's new Science to Achieve Research (STAR) grant
                              solicitations are being considered to support tribal community
                              environmental health research and to establish Centers of Excellence on
                              Environment and Health Disparities to examine the joint impacts of social
                              and physical environmental conditions, processes and systems on health in
                              collaboration with the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Center
                              on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD).
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         113

-------
&EPA
                              Benefits to EPA Stakeholder Communities
                              •   ORD's new research program is responsive to suggestions from
                                 stakeholders to create and institute a new scientific research approach
                                 that develops a more holistic understanding of the environmental and
                                 health. This approach will also integrate perspectives from community
                                 residents and leaders, community-based non-governmental
                                 organizations (NGOs), and community health and environmental
                                 quality advocates in the development  of EPA's scientific research
                                 agendas, as well as in data collection, conduct of risk and exposure
                                 assessments, and risk management decisions.
                              •   The hallmark of the integrated proposed transdisciplinary approach is
                                 "systems thinking," which seeks to understand the complex
                                 interactions between social, natural, and built environmental systems,
                                 conditions and policies that impact human health and well-being.  To
                                 explicitly address environmental justice concerns, this program will
                                 need to direct its attention to how these complex interactions  result in
                                 unequal environmental health conditions or disproportionate impacts
                                 among (diverse) disadvantaged population groups, communities,
                                 neighborhoods and individuals.
                              •   Anticipated outcomes of this program  include new information and
                                 tools to support  more holistic environmental decision making at
                                 national, regional, state, tribal, and local levels. It is anticipated that
                                 this program will also inform strategies for alleviating systemic drivers
                                 of racial and socio-economic disparities in environmental health
                                 outcomes and access to healthy environments.

                              Impacts on EPA Programs and Activities
                              •   The Assistant Administrator for ORD announced the re-structuring of
                                 ORD's 12 media-specific research programs into four integrated
                                 programs in Fall  2010. The Sustainable and Healthy Communities
                                 Research Program is an important part of this effort. This new program
                                 is currently in the early stages of organizing and development.  Input
                                 from EPA program offices will be sought in early 2011.  Then in late
                                 spring, input from outside stakeholders will be solicited.  Bringing
                                 together diversity of disciplines to plan and implement integrated
                                 research  programs will make EPA more effective at developing
                                 sustainable solutions to complex, 21st century environmental
                                 problems. It will create a culture where different disciplines are
                                 encouraged to find innovative solutions and will make EPA's research
                                 more timely, relevant and responsive to the short-, medium- and
                                 longer-term needs of our partners and stakeholders. Several external
                                 advisory committees continue to recommend this approach.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         114

-------
&EPA
                              Timeframe
                              •   Establish and fully support a Sustainable and Healthy Communities
                                  Research Program (Fiscal Year [FY] 2011).
                              •   Incorporate ideas and concerns from stakeholders and representatives
                                  from disproportionately impacted communities and populations (FY
                                  2011).
                              •   Issue joint Request for Applications (RFA) or other funding mechanisms
                                  to collaborate with NIH National Institute on Minority Health and
                                  Health Disparities to establish Centers of Excellence on Environment
                                  and Health Disparities (FY 2012).

                              Activity 1.2: Develop technical guidance, analytic methods, tools and data
                              to advance the integration of environmental justice in EPA's decision
                              making.

                              EPA's regulatory decision making is  informed by scientific data and analysis.
                              To facilitate the process of using scientific data, EPA scientists and decision
                              makers, as well as communities, community advocates  and other
                              stakeholders, require consistent and systematic guidance on how to
                              conduct these analyses. They also depend on scientifically valid tools and
                              methods, as well as information communicated by environmental data.
                              While the guidance, methods, tools, and data for advancing environmental
                              health protection has been an area  of significant investment by EPA, these
                              tools of the trade have not been fully adapted or developed to specifically
                              address environmental justice issues.

                              EPA's commitment to integrating environmental justice in all of its
                              decisions, policies, and programs has resulted in investments to develop
                              technical guidance, analytic methods, tools, and data. For example, EPA is
                              in the process of developing guidance entitled "Technical Guidance for
                              Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking Activities" through
                              Plan EJ 2014's Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking
                              Implementation Plan. This document is expected to aid EPA staff and
                              managers in incorporating environmental justice into EPA's analytical
                              frameworks such as risk assessment, and economic analysis, and other
                              scientific and policy assessments.

                              EPA's OAR is piloting several kinds of analyses that are useful in informing
                              managers about the potential environmental justice implications of air
                              rulemakings. OAR is evaluating and testing several analytical approaches
                              including: (1) proximity-based socio-demographic analyses, which highlight
                              the  characteristics of those living closest to  sources of air pollution;  (2)
                              exposure and health risk modeling that breaks out data based on socio-
                              demographic characteristics (e.g., race, income); and (3) benefits mapping
                              that shows the distribution of benefits of a regulation to various socio-
                              demographic groups. OAR expects to learn from their experiences in using
                              these approaches. OAR will revise its methods accordingly, as it seeks to
                              do a better of job of identifying rules that may present environmental
                              justice concerns and to understand  more fully the implications of air rules
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         115

-------
&EPA
                              on overburdened populations. OAR's experiences will help to inform the
                              overall Agency effort to develop the technical guidance.

                              ORD plans to evaluate existing tools developed by ORD scientists with
                              respect to appropriateness and ease of use for lay experts in communities.
                              To improve access to Agency tools, ORD plans to work with stakeholders to
                              develop a series of free regionally-based trainings on EPA's information and
                              assessment tools. ORD also plans to partner with EPA regional offices,
                              other federal agencies, and consortia of environmental justice and
                              community health non-profits and community-based organizations to host
                              community-based tools workshops and Regional Tools Summits. There will
                              be a specific focus on tools to evaluate environmental justice and health
                              disparities policies and programs.

                              ORD proposes to continue to  develop cumulative risk/impact assessment
                              techniques and analytics, tools, and mapping methods that can be applied
                              at multiple geographic scales. For example, ORD  has committed $8 million
                              in research investment through STAR grants on cumulative risk assessment
                              methods that incorporate community social contexts (non-chemical
                              stressors) and indicators of population vulnerability (see
                              http://www.epa.gov/ncer/cumulativerisk). The Agency will ensure
                              research results from these new STAR grants on cumulative risks, and
                              chemical and non-chemical stressors are well disseminated and used by
                              EPA program offices.

                              ORD's Office of the Science Advisor (OSA) and the National Exposure
                              Research Laboratory (NERL) have launched an initiative to develop a web-
                              based cumulative risk assessment tool, the Community Cumulative
                              Assessment Tool (CAAT). This tool will enable a more complete and
                              thorough evaluation and understanding of physiological and socioeconomic
                              stressors that result in cumulative impacts in U.S. communities and
                              populations. This broader framework for decision making leads to
                              inherently more sustainable outcomes as a result of a more complete
                              understanding of the factors constituting and contributing to risk in
                              identified populations.

                              The CCAT is designed to implement a multi-media approach to cumulative
                              risks in communities facing environmental justice issues; and will leverage
                              datasets, research, and certain Geographic Information System (GIS)
                              capabilities that were developed for C-FERST in the  Communities and
                              Cumulative Risk Research Program in ORD. The CCAT will also reflect the
                              cumulative impact considerations outlined in the  "Technical Guidance for
                              Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking Activities" and
                              provide insight on environmental justice to the Risk Assessment Forum
                              (RAF) Technical Panel developing the EPA Cumulative Risk Assessment
                              (CRA) Guidelines. The project is directly responsive to the recognition that
                              vulnerability and health disparities are interrelated and must be studied
                              within the risk assessment paradigm.  The developers of the CCAT will
                              engage with environmental justice and community-based stakeholders  to
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         116

-------
&EPA
                              inform the development of the CCAT and related agency cumulative risk
                              assessment guidelines. This approach purposely builds skills among EPA
                              scientists to design research and risk assessment protocols informed by
                              collaboration with affected communities.

                              At the March 2010 Symposium, participants requested EPA to develop
                              easy-to-use GIS tools.  ORD's National Atlas of Ecosystem Services is
                              developing an Urban Atlas, which will include high-resolution mapping for
                              100-250 populated areas selected along several gradients of concern (e.g.,
                              size, location, demographics, and environmental and health condition). It
                              will feature selected small towns and rural communities, including rural
                              Tribal  lands. By mapping the current availability of "green" infrastructure
                              and applying existing models for pollutant removal, water storage, and
                              other functions, ORD's National Atlas will estimate the extent to which
                              ecosystem services contribute to the basic needs of populated places.

                                     Additionally, the Atlas will reveal under-served areas where
                                     management to enhance specific ecosystem services would benefit
                                     community health and well-being. This local component of the
                                     Atlas will include demographic mapping to identify overburdened
                                     sub-populations that may benefit disproportionately from "green"
                                     infrastructure  and/or are disproportionately underserved. The
                                     Atlas will permit stratification of urban and other populated areas
                                     to develop separate estimates of ecosystem services for
                                     communities identified as socially vulnerable. Additionally, it will
                                     incorporate accessible health data to map aspects of population
                                     susceptibility to diminished or degraded services. EPA is
                                     conducting this project in collaboration with multiple federal
                                     agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geological
                                     Survey, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well
                                     as academic and other educational organizations.  EPA regions and
                                     ORD's Human  Health Research Program are interacting with
                                     communities to identify priority issues and build capacity for
                                     working with mapping tools to inform risk evaluation and
                                     management decisions.

                              EPA's ORD is also developing an Environmental Quality Index tool for
                              measuring county level environmental quality, which will increase
                              understanding about how multiple stressors simultaneously contribute to
                              health disparities in minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous
                              populations.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         117

-------
&EPA
                              Benefits to EPA Stakeholder Communities
                              •   The development of guidance, methods, tools, and data to advance the
                                 integration of environmental justice into EPA's decision-making
                                 processes is responsive to several comments provided by stakeholders.
                                 For example, these activities address suggestions that EPA consider the
                                 areas of policy, capacity building, and promoting healthy and
                                 sustainable communities. These stakeholder comments recommend
                                 EPA to: (1) develop analytic and assessment tools and data collection
                                 approaches that can be used by community health advocates and
                                 environmental justice groups; (2) adopt multi-media cross-program
                                 approaches to addressing cumulative environmental exposures in
                                 stakeholder communities, as well as restructuring risk assessment to
                                 better account for multiple stressors; (3) increase community capacity
                                 to assess their environment; (4) develop a more holistic understanding
                                 of environment and health; and (5) integrate environmental justice in
                                 all its decisions.  Better integration of environmental justice into EPA's
                                 decisions directly benefits communities impacted by EPA's regulatory
                                 activities. The overarching goal of developing these tools of the trade
                                 is to aid EPA staff to develop regulatory options that fully protect the
                                 health and environment of all people, as well as help communities to
                                 better understand their environmental problems.
                              •   Community-based "stakeholders" will benefit from CCAT through
                                 access to improved information that integrates their own
                                 understanding of local conditions with data drawn from EPA's
                                 databases. Depending upon application, benefits may include
                                 improved capacity to collaborate with Agency experts, identify
                                 priorities, and pursue risk reduction strategies to improve  public health
                                 and the environment.
                              •   Key outcomes of the Urban Atlas will be to inform community
                                 members and decision makers as to how natural resources are critical
                                 community assets, and how their absence or degradation  may be
                                 contributing to cumulative burdens on human health and well-being.
                                 Furthermore, the integrated, multi-media approach of the Urban Atlas
                                 will provide information on the co-benefits accrued to the community
                                 when applying ecosystem services to mitigate specific environmental
                                 contaminants or other priority health risks.
                              Impacts on EPA programs and activities
                              •   These actions are also responsive to several core focus areas of EPA's
                                 Plan EJ  2014 and the principles on environmental justice articulated in
                                 EPA's Strategic Plan for 2011-2015. It is also responsive to the
                                 mandate in EO 12898 which requires that EPA identify and address
                                 disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
                                 effects  of its policies, programs and activities on minority,  low income,
                                 and tribal populations.
                              •   Results produced by the new research grants on cumulative risks and
                                 impacts will demonstrate successful approaches to incorporating
                                 community knowledge into the development of such tools and the
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         118

-------
&EPA
                                 application of qualitative approaches and social science methods into
                                 cumulative impact assessments. EPA's programs will benefit from the
                                 development of the CCAT through engaging with stakeholders to
                                 address the community-based assessment of cumulative risks with
                                 environmental justice concerns.
                                 Intensive engagement with environmental justice stakeholders will
                                 improve the incorporation of these issues in the design of the CRA
                                 Guidelines. The CCAT will improve the capacity of EPA regional risk
                                 assessors to assist communities in understanding the complexity of
                                 risk, and provide the means by which to identify priorities.  Also the
                                 CRA-EJ software will assist programs in implementing the planned
                                 "Technical Guidance for Incorporating Environmental Justice into
                                 Rulemaking Activities" by facilitating a step-by-step approach to
                                 evaluating cumulative risks and impacts. More broadly the CRA
                                 Guidelines will affect risk-based decision making across the full range of
                                 EPA's programs, nationally, regionally, and more locally.  The CCAT is a
                                 project under the RAF CRA Technical Panel, and will directly
                                 incorporate environmental justice into CRA and thus introduce
                                 environmental justice risk-based considerations throughout EPA's
                                 policies and decision making.
                                 The process for developing these tools, data,  methods, and guidance
                                 will lead to innovative approaches and tools for incorporating
                                 environmental justice concerns in EPA's regulatory and policy decision
                                 making. Other innovations include identifying research needs and data
                                 gaps on topics such as environmental public health indicators to assess
                                 disparities, equity impact assessment methods, metrics to assess
                                 inequities in risk assessments to support rule  making, and policy and
                                 program evaluation.  ORD plans to bridge these data gaps through both
                                 intramural and extramural research programs.
                                 Initial community interaction for the development of the Urban Atlas
                                 will proceed through EPA's existing initiatives such as the CARE and
                                 Environmental Justice Showcase Communities programs and the
                                 EPA/U.S.  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)/U.S.
                                 Department of Transportation (DOT) Partnership for Sustainable
                                 Communities, and their EPA liaisons.  Information about ecosystem
                                 services will expand options for improving community health and well-
                                 being, and clarify  economic and other trade-offs involved in alternate
                                 environmental mitigation and remediation decisions. The selection of
                                 focal areas along several gradients is designed to facilitate the
                                 application of observed linkages between community welfare and
                                 ecosystem services to additional populated places of concern to EPA.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         119

-------
&EPA
                             Timeframe
                             •   Develop final draft of technical guidance by FY 2013.
                             •   Develop and refine screening tools that identify air rules that raise
                                 potential environmental justice concerns (FY 2011).
                             •   Determine the analytical tools are most appropriate for particular types
                                 of air rulemaking (FY 2011-12).
                             •   Identify any additional analytical tools that may be needed to better
                                 understand the environmental justice implications of air rulemakings
                                 (FY 2011-12).
                             •   Host community-based tools workshop(s) and Regional Tools Summits
                                 with focus on environmental justice and health disparities, to solicit
                                 recommendations and inform EPA's actions on tools under Plan EJ
                                 2014 (FY 2012-13).
                             •   Develop final Environmental Quality Index (Long term).
                             •   Beta test a prototype of the CCAT in early 2012.
                             •   Complete first phase of the Urban Atlas will be completed in FY 2013;
                                 incorporate additional populated areas will begin in FY 2012 and FY
                                 2013, contingent upon funding.

                             Strategy 2: Incorporate perspectives from community-based
                             organizations and community leaders into EPA research  agendas and
                             engage in collaborative partnerships on science and research to address
                             environmental justice.
                             A few initiatives are highlighted here to better engage with communities in
                             EPA science activities and implementation of regulatory programs.
                             Activity 2.1: Establish Community Engagement Initiative.
                             OSWER has launched the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI),
                             www.epa.gov/oswer/engagementinitiative/. which is designed to enhance
                             OSWER and regional offices' engagement with local communities and
                             stakeholders (e.g., state and local governments, tribes, academia, private
                             industry, other federal agencies, non-profit organizations) to help them
                             meaningfully participate in government decisions on land  cleanup,
                             emergency preparedness and  response, and the management of hazardous
                             substances and waste.

                             Activity 2.2: Re-engage with National  Environmental Justice Advisory
                             Committee.

                             ORD intends to establish a health and  research workgroup or
                             subcommittee within  National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee
                             (NEJAC) to advise the  EPA Administrator and ORD in the area of scientific
                             research, health impacts, and  environmental  risks and exposures that
                             directly relate to environmental justice. An initial task of the workgroup
                             will be to advise ORD on the development of the Sustainable and Health
                             Communities Research Program.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        120

-------
&EPA
                              Activity 2.3: Support Community-based Participatory Research.
                              Participatory research methods will be integrated into the new ORD
                              research program on Sustainable and Healthy Communities and new
                              extramural research solicitations to support CBPR are under consideration.
                              A significant feature of the Sustainable and Health Communities Research
                              program will be community and regional based projects.  Applying
                              participatory research methods will be the hallmark of this new program
                              within ORD. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) fosters more
                              complete understandings of the existing interactions between
                              environmental conditions, human health and ecosystems. Researchers,
                              practitioners, community members, and funding institutions have
                              increasingly recognized the importance of comprehensive, holistic, and
                              participatory approaches to environmental research and later stages of
                              intervention. For EPA, applying CBPR in its scientific research and program
                              planning promises to lead to more appropriate solutions for the persistent
                              and uneven social disparities in health as well as access to clean and safe
                              environments.

                              Benefits to EPA Stakeholder Communities
                              •   These actions are in agreement with suggestions from environmental
                                 justice stakeholders to integrate perspectives from community
                                 residents and community leaders in the development of the EPA's
                                 scientific research agendas as well as in data collection.
                              •   OSWER's CEI will include direct outreach to state and local
                                 governments, tribes, academia, private industry, other federal
                                 agencies, and non-profit organizations. The CEI is designed to help
                                 stakeholders have meaning participation in EPA's decisions on land
                                 cleanup, emergency  preparedness and response, and the management
                                 of hazardous substances and waste. It will also improve OSWER efforts
                                 to protect human health and the environment through site cleanups
                                 and other risk reduction activities.
                              •   Re-establishing a NEJAC health and research workgroup or
                                 subcommittee would provide a critically needed formal mechanism for
                                 environmental justice stakeholders, community-based organizations to
                                 provide input and feedback into the EPA/ORD research  initiatives.
                                 Presently, ORD lacks any mechanism for public input into its research
                                 agenda. If concerns about environmental and health inequalities are
                                 not "on the table" they will be not be addressed by the  EPA research
                                 enterprise.  However it must be recognized that a NEJAC subcommittee
                                 cannot be the only approach for soliciting the contribution of
                                 environmental justice stakeholders. ORD will need to identify
                                 additional approaches for soliciting input and collaborating with
                                 environmental justice stakeholders (e.g., through regional outreach,
                                 the Regionally Applied Research Effort (RARE) program, and partnering
                                 with EPA program offices and other federal agencies). Creating formal
                                 mechanisms for receiving stakeholder input assures that community
                                 wisdom, perspectives and values are duly considered and
                                 accommodated in the development of ORD's new program.  Moreover,
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         121

-------
&EPA
                                 such mechanisms assure that the results of this program, which
                                 subsequently influence decision making at EPA, also consider robust
                                 community input.
                              Impacts on EPA programs and activities
                              •   Nearly all of OSWER programs and activities will be impacted by the
                                 various CEI actions. The CEI is designed to enhance OSWER and
                                 regional offices' engagement with local communities and stakeholders,
                                 and to help them meaningfully participate in government decisions on
                                 land cleanup, emergency preparedness and response, and the
                                 management of hazardous substances and waste.
                              •   The first task for this NEJAC workgroup could be to advise ORD on
                                 developing the Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research
                                 Program initiative, which is currently being  discussed. Since this
                                 research program is in its early stages of development, engaging a
                                 NEJAC workgroup now could be extremely beneficial to ORD to help set
                                 the course, identify critical research questions that should be
                                 addressed and how best to solicit input and potential partnerships with
                                 community-based organization and environmental justice leaders such
                                 as hosting public forums on the Sustainable Community Environments
                                 and Public Health research program.
                              Timeframe
                              •   Each of the CEI actions has defined deliverables and timeline for their
                                 completion. Nearly all of the actions have significant deliverables due
                                 in FY 2011.
                              •   Incorporate ideas and concerns from stakeholders and representatives
                                 from disproportionately impacted communities and populations (FY
                                 2011).
                              •   Establish a NEJAC workgroup on research by FY 2012.
                              •   Issue joint RFA or other funding mechanism to collaborate with NIH
                                 National Institute Minority Health and Health Disparities to establish
                                 national research Centers of Excellence on Environment and  Health
                                 Disparities (FY 2012).

                              Strategy 3: Leverage partnerships with other federal agencies on issues
                              of research, policy, and action to address environmental and health
                              disparities.
                              Environmental justice and related  concerns for  health inequalities are
                              complex and multi-dimensional. Solutions to these societal problems
                              require intersectoral and intergovernmental actions.  Environmental justice
                              is not solely EPA's responsibility, just as health disparities cannot be seen
                              solely as a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services problem. At
                              present, governmental approaches to promoting and managing health and
                              it determinants, namely the environment, are fragmented. Symposium
                              participants recognized in order to achieve environmental justice, a multi-
                              stakeholder, multi-system approach is required. Within federal agencies,
                              we need to strengthen federal interagency collaboration to improve
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        122

-------
&EPA
                              research that can impact environmental and health practice, programs, and
                              policy and formulate solutions for communities.

                              Activity 3.1: Join the Federal Collaboration on Health Disparities.
                              EPA's ORD will actively participate on the interagency Federal Collaboration
                              on Health Disparities Research (FCHDR) and represent EPA on the Executive
                              Steering Committee (http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/fchdr/). The Executive
                              Committee of the FCHDR was created to bring together selected agency
                              representatives to seek practical solutions to advance health disparities
                              research, and foster greater federal coordination, collaboration, and
                              communication around the elimination of health disparities.
                              Federal departments represented on the Executive committee include:
                              •   U.S. Department of Education
                              •   National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
                              •   U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
                              •   U.S. Department of Justice
                              •   U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
                              •   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                              •   National Science Foundation
                              •   U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for
                                  Disease Control and Prevention
                              •   HHS,  Health Resources and Services Administration
                              •   HHS,  National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities
                              •   HHS,  Office of Minority Health
                              The FCHDR's goal is to ensure that health disparities research is conducted
                              as an integrated and inclusive field of study, rather than as an aggregate of
                              independent research activities occurring in separate research domains.
                              FCHDR members will work together to explore needs and opportunities for
                              pooling scientific expertise and resources to conduct, translate, and
                              disseminate research most needed to accelerate the elimination of health
                              disparities.

                              FCHDR goals and strategies are to:
                              1.  Identify health disparities challenges including the scientific and
                                  practical evidence most relevant to underpinning future policy and
                                  action.
                              2.  Increase and maintain awareness about federal government efforts
                                  and opportunities to address health disparities.
                              3.  Determine how evidence can be translated into practice to address
                                  health disparities and promote innovation.
                              4.  Advise on possible objectives and measures for future research,
                                  building on the successes and experiences of health disparities experts.
                              5.  Publish reports that will contribute to the development of the FCHDR
                                  strategic vision and plan.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          123

-------
&EPA
                              Activity 3.2: Engage with President's Task Force on Environmental Health
                              Risks and Safety Risks to Children.
                              EPA's OAR, the Office of Children's Health Protection (OCHP), ORD, and
                              others are collaborating and participating with other federal agencies on
                              the newly re-established President's Task Force on Environmental Health
                              Risks and Safety Risks to Children.  One focal area of their work is on
                              asthma disparities among minority and disadvantaged children.  In early
                              December 2010, a Federal Workshop on Asthma Disparities was  held in
                              Washington, D.C., to foster interagency coordination on development and
                              implementation of a  detailed Federal Action Plan to address asthma
                              disparities.

                              Benefits to EPA Stakeholder Communities
                              •  More coordinated federal approach to research, policy, and action to
                                 address environmental justice health disparities.
                              Impact on EPA programs and activities
                              •  EPA's participation in these three federal initiatives will identify and
                                 create opportunities to combine resources to tackle issues of
                                 disparities in health and access to clean environments; and will
                                 increase access and exposure of all EPA offices, including ORD, to non-
                                 traditional EPA disciplines such as social science and concepts such as
                                 social determinants of health.
                              Timeframe
                              •  ORD's participation with the federal collaboration is ongoing.
                              •  Participation with other federal agencies on the President's Task Force
                                 on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children to work on
                                 asthma  disparities among minority and disadvantaged  children that can
                                 be addressed through interagency coordination on development and
                                 implementation of a detailed Federal Action Plan (FY 2011- 2015).

                              Strategy 4: Build and strengthen the technical capacity of EPA scientists
                              on conducting research and related science activities in partnership with
                              impacted communities and translating research results to inform change.
                              Along with efforts to increase technical capacity in communities, EPA needs
                              to build up its capacity to work with communities in order for real progress
                              to be made. Several  recommendations from the Symposium address this
                              issue and call for EPA to:
                              •  Train EPA staff on effective  outreach and dialog with communities;
                              •  Develop capacity within the Agency.
                              •  Provide training for EPA risk assessors and managers on community
                                 engagement.
                              •  Consider using qualitative approaches in risk assessment.
                              •  Establish multi-disciplinary teams to work on issues.
                              •  Encourage multidisciplinary teams in environmental health research.
                              •  Explore  approaches for interacting with communities that can build
                                 collective efficacy and social capital.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         124

-------
&EPA
                              •   Support participation of communities as equal partners in research;
                                  include them as equal partners in the co-production of knowledge.
                              •   Include community representatives and perspectives in the design of
                                  studies/research.

                              Social science disciplines like social epidemiology indicate that EPA needs
                              to look more at upstream factors - social processes that ultimately process
                              the disparities in risks and health outcomes.

                              Activity 4.1: Provide training to EPA scientists on CBPR.
                              Both ORD and OSWER intend to provide training to scientists on principles
                              of community-based participatory research, health disparities, and
                              environmental justice. Both offices will look for opportunities to
                              collaborate on providing training for staff.  For example, OSWER's
                              Community Involvement and Program Initiatives Branch (CIPIB) sponsors a
                              Community Involvement University (CIU) to provide training courses for
                              Superfund Program Community Involvement Coordinators (CIC) and other
                              EPA and EPA-affiliated staff. Participants are provided with the necessary
                              skills, techniques, and practices to engage the community in the Superfund
                              process.  CIU offers a variety of courses each year at regional offices and at
                              national conferences or training events.  These courses could be offered to
                              ORD scientists and modified to address community-engagement in more of
                              the research context.

                              In order to design appropriate capacity training program, ORD will first
                              evaluate current understanding and research capacity of ORD sciences
                              regarding principles of community-based participatory research, health
                              disparities, and environmental justice. ORD will then design and
                              implement training for its staff.

                              Activity 4.2: Build Social Science Capacity within ORD.
                              The National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) is developing an
                              ORD research agenda for behavioral and social sciences as they impact and
                              affect environmental protection as well as the evolution of environmental
                              policy. Environmental justice consideration will be critical to this research
                              agenda. ORD will conduct Individual  and focus group interviews of
                              behavioral and social science experts to solicit their thoughts and identify
                              the most relevant current research as well as known gaps in four areas:
                              behavioral economics, decision theory, management science, and risk
                              perception. Following the expert interview, NCER  will host a workshop
                              with the scientific leaders identified through the interview phase (30-50
                              people).

                              NCER plans to establish a cooperative agreement with a professional
                              society concerned with applying the social science research to
                              contemporary environmental health  issues. This effort is intended to help
                              ORD devise approaches and methods for truly incorporating the social
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         125

-------
&EPA
                              sciences into its research and assessment activities.  Activities under the
                              cooperative agreement could include:
                              •  Providing training to ORD staff on incorporating  qualitative approaches
                                 and social science methods into cumulative impact assessments.
                              •  Developing approaches to incorporate community knowledge in such
                                 tools for cumulative impact assessments.
                              •  Offering webinars and training to cultivate analytical skills among ORD
                                 staff to examine the social and economic systems that create
                                 cumulative adverse environmental impacts in communities.

                              Activity 4.3:  Develop Environmental Justice Risk Management Training for
                              OPP.
                              The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) has created a new training module
                              as a part of its regular staff training program to ensure that environmental
                              justice and sensitive population considerations are fully incorporated and
                              more clearly characterized  in the pesticide risk assessment process. The
                              training module consists of two components: (1) addressing general
                              background on environmental justice, and (2) integrating environmental
                              justice considerations through OPP risk management to address
                              environmental justice issues identified by the risk assessments.
                              Benefits to EPA Stakeholder Communities
                              •  Impacted communities and environmental justice leaders should see
                                 improved interactions with Agency scientists.
                              •  The goal of OPP's training is to provide the tools to better identify
                                 potential environmental justice issues.  Enhanced risk assessment
                                 methodologies will  result from a closer and more focused look at the
                                 toxicity and exposure patterns specific to each pesticide and pesticide
                                 use that could present a disproportionate risk. Areas now considered
                                 in pesticide risk assessment (hazard assessment, dietary exposure,
                                 occupational and resident exposure, incident data) will be considered
                                 through an environmental justice lens.
                              Impact on EPA programs and activities
                              •  We anticipate that the capacity of Agency scientists to conduct
                                 research in partnership with impacted communities, to understand and
                                 employ social science methods in environmental research, and
                                 translate research results to inform change will be greatly improved.
                                 This will help ORD's Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research
                                 Program meet its objectives.
                              •  The OPP training program will improve how environmental justice is
                                 incorporated by risk managers. This training is expected to influence
                                 pesticide registration and re-registration decisions to more robustly
                                 incorporate environmental justice considerations. To date, 10 training
                                 sessions on the first component and a total of 160 OPP staff completed
                                 the training.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         126

-------
v°/EPA
                             Timeframe
                             •   Host scientist to scientist workshop on behavioral and social sciences
                                 (late FY 2011).
                             •   Design a research capacity training program for ORD scientists, which
                                 could include self-paced training on community-based and
                                 participatory research CBPR offered by Michigan  Public Health Training
                                 Center and joint courses through OSWER's Community Involvement
                                 University (FY 2012-2013).
                             •   Complete the new OPP module on risk management training by early
                                 FY 2012. The goal will be to have 100 percent of  risk assessors and
                                 managers trained by the end of FY 2012.

                             Strategy 5: Build and strengthen technical capacity of community-based
                             organizations and community environmental justice and health leaders to
                             address environmental health disparities and environmental
                             sustainability issues.
                             Community capacity has been defined as "a set of dynamic community
                             traits, resources, and associational patterns that can be brought to bear for
                             community-building and community health improvement" (Norton et al
                             2002). "Community capacity building activities" are those designed to
                             increase community capacity and emphasize (1) assets and empowerment
                             (versus disease and deficiency); (2) the role of bottom-up, community-
                             determined processes and agendas (versus top-down/externally
                             determined ones); and (3) the processes for developing community
                             competence.

                             The commissioned paper on community-capacity presented at the March
                             2010 Symposium identified important domains of action to strengthen
                             community capacity, including leadership, participation, skills, resources,
                             social and organizational networks, sense of community and understanding
                             of community history, community power, community values, community
                             cohesion, language capacity, and community information.
                             (See http://www.epa.gov/ncer/events/calendar/2010/marl7/papers.html)

                             In addressing all of these domains, strategies for enhancing community
                             capacity may include training and technology transfer, technical assistance,
                             community-based participatory research, empowerment approaches,
                             community organizing, and social action.  Commissioned paper authors
                             noted that capacity-building strategies that give more control to
                             communities (e.g., CBPR, empowerment, and community organizing) may
                             more fully address the fundamental causes of environmental disparities
                             than more agency controlled processes (e.g., training and technical
                             assistance).
                             (See
                             http://www.epa.gov/ncer/events/calendar/2010/marl7/presentations/fre
                             udenberg.pdf)
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        127

-------
v°/EPA
                              These community-driven strategies are more labor and resource intensive
                              and require a higher level of commitment from communities, researchers,
                              and agencies, as well as a new set of capabilities on the part of Agency
                              personnel with regard to the skills needed to, for example, facilitate
                              meetings, communicate clearly, and create an atmosphere of inquiry and
                              trust.

                              In order to more effectively reduce disparate environmental exposure and
                              engage the public in making environmental policy decisions, the EPA must
                              engage relevant constituencies in participation processes early, provide
                              these constituencies with the resources and information that can
                              contribute to effective participation, and ensure that the outcomes reflect
                              participation. Specifically, helping communities develop the capacities to
                              create, access, use, and interpret scientific information and changing
                              Agency practices to better incorporate community voices in scientific
                              activities  and decisions will be a key and proper task for EPA. EPA,
                              therefore, proposes the following actions to establish programs and
                              provide federal government support to increase technical and scientific
                              capacity in communities.

                              Activity 5.1: Build Awareness and Community Capacity to Address Asthma
                              Disparities.
                              In response to the growing asthma problem where minority, low-income,
                              tribal, and indigenous populations are disproportionately affected, EPA's
                              OAR established the Asthma Program to promote scientific understanding
                              of environmental asthma triggers and  ways to manage them. The program
                              collaborates with partners to support research and educate the public
                              about asthma and ways to manage environmental triggers. Partners
                              include government agencies, universities and research centers, the health
                              care community, nonprofit organizations, and community programs. Major
                              program activities center around the Communities in Action for Asthma
                              Friendly Environments initiative, and include support for real time peer-to-
                              peer learning, technology transfer and resources for community-based
                              asthma programs through an online network
                              (www.AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org). "pacing" events (National Asthma
                              Forum, regional events and webinars), and support to non-profit
                              organizations focused on health care provider training, improving school
                              environments and  raising public awareness about asthma (see also
                              Supporting Community-Based Action Programs, Strategy 2, Activity 3).

                              Activity 5.2: Build Tribal Community Capacity to Monitor Air Quality.
                              OAR has a long history of supporting capacity building among tribal
                              environmental professionals, primarily through its partnership with the
                              Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona
                              University, which OAR has supported for over  15 years. Consistent with
                              our trust  responsibility to tribes, OAR works with tribes to increase their
                              capability to address their environmental  concerns. OAR supports the
                              training and educational efforts of ITEP in the areas of air quality and
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                          128

-------
&EPA
                              climate change impacts and adaptation planning, as well as the work of the
                              Tribal Air Monitoring Support (TAMS) Center, which builds and strengthens
                              the technical capacity of tribal staff. The TAMS Center cross-trains tribal air
                              professionals on air monitoring, indoor air quality, radon, and asthma (see
                              also Supporting Community-Based Action Programs, Strategy 2).

                              Activity 5.3: Increase Citizen Participation in Science and Decisions.
                              ORD proposes to create a program, in  partnership with other governmental
                              agencies, private non-profits, professional societies, and private
                              foundations, to develop the capacity of community leaders to understand
                              the role of science in decision making and influence the decision-making
                              process and on the use of data and other information to document
                              disparities  and concerns in their communities.

                              Activity 5.4: Establish Centers of Excellence on Environment and Health
                              Disparities.
                              Several new extramural research solicitations are under consideration to
                              fund research that address specific research needs and topics raised at the
                              March 2010 Symposium and that fully employ CBPR approaches such as
                              establishing Centers of Excellence on Environment and Health Disparities.
                              The aim for these Centers will be to examine the joint impacts of social and
                              physical environmental conditions and processes on health, link with
                              community health clinics to increase their capacity to address occupational
                              and environmental health concerns of their constituents, and design policy
                              solutions to ameliorate and prevent disparities.

                              Activity 5.5: Build diverse environmental workforce and enhancing the
                              capacities of Minority Academic Institutions (MAI) to engage in scientific
                              research and workforce training
                              The National Center for Environmental Research's (NCER) Fellowship
                              Program is implementing several initiatives to strengthen EPA's efforts to
                              encourage and support environmental justice research among the next
                              generation of environmental scientists and engineers.  For example,
                              Environmental justice research topics are highlighted in the STAR
                              Fellowships RFA and environmental justice considerations have been
                              included as review criteria under "Broader Societal Impacts" for all
                              fellowship  applications.

                              As part of the Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) fellowship, NCER has
                              a goal of enhancing capacity at academic institutions that are not well
                              funded for environmental research capacity, including HBCUs. ORD
                              considers ineligible those institutions identified as receiving more than $35
                              million in annual federal research.  NCER has increased resources allotted
                              to the GRO program to increase GRO funded students, which can enhance
                              our efforts in this area.

                              OSWER will support research through the Faculty and Student Teams
                              (FaST) Program, a cooperative effort between the U.S. Department of
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         129

-------
&EPA
                              Energy (DOE) Office of Science and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
                              Faculty from colleges and universities with limited research facilities and
                              those institutions serving populations, women and minorities
                              underrepresented in the fields of science, engineering, and technology are
                              encouraged to apply for the FaST program.  The FaST program will support
                              a team comprised of one faculty member and two to three undergraduate
                              students.  The program provides hands-on research opportunities in the
                              DOE or EPA national laboratories during the summer.  The faculty member
                              identifies a mutually beneficial research area amenable to collaboration by
                              the faculty member and the laboratory scientist.

                              The EPA Region 6 University-Community Partnerships initiative will
                              facilitate and nurture a partnership between universities and community
                              groups to  increase overburdened communities' capacity to address their
                              environmental challenges through technical assistance. Memorandums of
                              Understanding (MOU) are in place between EPA Region 6 and the
                              University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) and EPA Region 6, EPA's Office of Water
                              and Texas A&M Kingsville.

                              Within the federal government, EPA has been a leader in the use of
                              collaborative approaches to accomplish strategic goals and objectives.
                              Learning from this rich experience can help the Agency realize the full
                              potential of collaborative processes and accelerate environmental
                              progress.  The ability to collaborate effectively with MAIs will become more
                              important as the growing complexity of environmental problems will
                              require diverse approaches to developing innovative solutions. Failure to
                              tap into MAIs represents a missed opportunity for advancing
                              environmental protection and stewardship. For example, MAIs in the
                              Southeast and the Southwest could be leveraged for strategic projects
                              targeting climate change impacts and adaptation, and engaging
                              populations that are vulnerable to climate change.

                              Benefits to EPA Stakeholder Communities
                              •   These capacity-building actions can help the public to address
                                 environmental health issues and to allow them to effectively
                                 participate in environmental health decision making and will increased
                                 confidence that concerns about the power dynamics between
                                 academic, government researchers, and communities will be taken
                                 seriously.
                              •   Actions undertaken by the Asthma Program will equip stakeholder
                                 communities and organizations to assess, organize and sustainably
                                 deploy community resources to reduce or eliminate exposure to
                                 asthma triggers, and improve health outcomes and the quality of life
                                 for people with asthma. The actions help support and strengthen the
                                 capacity of health care and environmental professionals, schools, and
                                 community-based organizations to develop comprehensive asthma
                                 care strategies in partnership with impacted communities and to
                                 spread their results to accelerate improvements across the national
                                 asthma care landscape.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         130

-------
&EPA
                              •  Through the partnership with ITEP, tribes are better able to fashion
                                 their own responses to environmental issues including climate change,
                                 and have a better understanding of how they can effectively
                                 participate in the environmental decision making of federal, state and
                                 local regulatory agencies.
                              •  Research through the proposed Centers of Excellence will be specially
                                 aimed at benefiting disadvantaged, undeserved, and environmentally
                                 overburdened communities or groups.
                              •  Requiring NCER fellowship applicants to consider and explain the
                                 environmental justice implications of their research will help  develop a
                                 new generation of environmental scientists, engineers, and policy
                                 makers who are cognizant of environmental justice -related issues that
                                 can arise in research and thus adjust approaches accordingly to
                                 promote broad environmental protection.
                              •  Increasing the reach of the GRO program will promote research and
                                 training at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), which may have special
                                 expertise on environmental justice matters.
                              •  Through the Region 6 partnerships with University of Texas and Texas
                                 A&M  Kingsville, EPA will increase knowledge about best approaches for
                                 community-university partnerships.
                              Impact on EPA programs and activities
                              •  The Communities in Action initiative and the online Network, Asthma
                                 Community Network will surface important, field-tested community
                                 strategies that the Asthma Program will use to bolster the Agency's
                                 national asthma education and outreach efforts.
                              •  When tribal perspectives are effectively communicated, EPA  is more
                                 cognizant of Tribal issues and is able to make more informed  and
                                 responsive decisions concerning its rules, programs and policies. As
                                 tribes take more  responsibility for  implementing air programs, EPA may
                                 be able to reduce some of its implementation efforts.
                              •  The proposed research-oriented activities will help institute program
                                 development and strategic institutional change within EPA. The goal is
                                 to increase democratization in the conduct of and community access to
                                 EPA/ORD research. The proposed  activities will produce:  (1) consistent
                                 and validated principles of community engagement in research for ORD
                                 and EPA programs; (2) improved science and research results that are
                                 more relevant to environmental problems faced by the public and
                                 more effectively translated to inform policy change and intervention;
                                 and (3) inclusion of environmental justice considerations as review
                                 criteria that serve as a model for other competition-based EPA
                                 programs. These results will promote a culture that considers
                                 environmental justice implications in all agencies funding  actions and
                                 activities.
                              •  The process of increasing the reach of the GRO program will translate
                                 into stronger outreach to MSIs and highlight the critical role MSIs play
                                 in the nation's research and development enterprise to solve pressing
                                 environmental protection challenges.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         131

-------
&EPA
                             •   The intent of Region 6's existing MOU's are to: (1) improve the quality
                                 of environmental science and technical education; (2) increase the
                                 relevance of UTEP research projects to EPA's environmental and public
                                 health mission; and (3) increase number of culturally diverse students
                                 electing to pursue graduate study and research careers in areas
                                 including science, engineering, and mathematics.  It is expected that
                                 UTEP's capacity to develop environmental specialists for potential EPA
                                 employment will be significantly enhanced while important
                                 contributions will be made to EPA's overall research and
                                 developmental programs.
                             Timeframe
                             •   Support and grow an online community network of stakeholders that
                                 serves as a real time resource for mentoring and collaboration to
                                 support community asthma management programs (FY 2011 and
                                 ongoing).
                             •   Develop web-based tools that facilitate collaboration, problem solving,
                                 and learning among leaders of asthma programs (FY 2011 and
                                 ongoing).
                             •   Facilitate knowledge transfer among stakeholders through EPA
                                 sponsorship of "pacing" events, including the National Asthma Forum,
                                 regional events and webinars for community-based asthma programs
                                 (FY 2011 and ongoing).
                             •   Train health care professionals to improve their ability to integrate the
                                 assessment of environmental factors into  a comprehensive, culturally
                                 appropriate asthma care  plan, based on national standards of care (FY
                                 2011 and ongoing).
                             •   Continue funding for ITEP and the TAMS Center (ongoing).
                             •   Continue OAR involvement in developing ITEP's curriculum and
                                 training, and oversight of the TAMS Center (ongoing).
                             •   Institute a pilot program on "meet the decision makers" on
                                 environmental health and environmental justice that would
                                 accommodate up to 15 community leaders (FY 2013).
                             •   Issue joint RFA or other funding mechanism to collaborate with NIH
                                 National Institute Minority Health and Health Disparities to establish
                                 national research Centers of  Excellence on Environment and Health
                                 Disparities (FY 2012).
                             •   Highlight Environmental Justice Research topics in the STAR
                                 Fellowships RFA (ongoing).
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                       132

-------
                           Community outreach and engagement plans are integrated into the
                           individual science actions described above. The most significant science
                           actions that will include community outreach and partnerships are ORD's
                           Sustainable and Health Communities Research Program, OSWER's
                           Community Engagement Initiative and the extramural research funding
                           under consideration.
Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                           133

-------
&EPA
                            3.0   DELIVERABLES

                            Strategy 1: Apply integrated transdisciplinary and community-based
                            participatory research approaches with a focus on addressing multi-media,
                            cumulative impacts, and equity in environmental health and environmental
                            conditions.
                                 ACTIVITIES
                            Activity 1.1:  Establish
                            an Integrated
                            Transdisciplinary ORD
                            Research Program on
                            Environment and
                            Community Health -
                            Sustainable and Healthy
                            Communities Research
                            Program.
    DELIVERABLES
Research program framework
developed (ORD - SHCRP
Team).

Regional listening sessions to
gather input from
communities.  Incorporate
ideas and concerns from
stakeholders and
representatives from
disproportionately impacted
communities and populations
(ORD - SHCRP Team).

RFA to support Extramural
research on Tribal
Community Health (ORD -
NCER).

RFA to support Extramural
research to support Centers
of Excellence on Environment
and Health Disparities (ORD
- NCER).
MILESTONES
  February
  2011


  Spring 2011
                                                                                   FY2012
                                                                                   FY2012
                            Activity 1.2:  Develop
                            technical guidance,
                            analytic methods, tools
                            and data to advance the
                            integration of
                            environmental justice in
                            EPA decision making.
Environmental Justice
Technical Guide (ORD, OEJ,
OP).

Community Cumulative
Assessment Tool (CCAT)
(ORD - NERL and OSA).

Environmental Quality Index
Tool (ORD - NHEERL).

Regional Tools Summits
(ORD - OSP and SHCRP
Team).

Environmental justice
screening tools for air rules
(OAR).

Urban Atlas (ORD -
NHEERL).	
 FY2013
 EarlyFY2012
                                                                                  Long-term
                                                                                  FY2012-
                                                                                  2013
                                                                                  FY 2011 -
                                                                                  2012
                                                                                  First phase
                                                                                  complete FY13
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                 134

-------
&EPA
                            Strategy 2:  Incorporate perspectives from community-based organizations
                            and community leaders into the EPA's research agendas and engaging in
                            collaborative partnerships on science and research to address
                            environmental justice.
                                 ACTIVITIES
                            Activity 2.1: Establish
                            Community Engagement
                            Initiative (OSWER).
    DELIVERABLES
Conduct training of OSWER
staff on CBPR(OSWER).
MILESTONES
 Ongoing
                            Activity 2.2: Re-engage
                            National Environmental
                            Justice Advisory
                            Committee.
Establish a research
workgroup under NEJAC to
advise ORD on the
development of the
Sustainable and Health
Communities Research
Program (ORD - NCER and
OSP; OEJ).
 FY2012
                            Activity 2.3: Support
                            Community-Based
                            Participatory Research.
RFA to support extramural
research on Tribal
Community (ORD-NCER).

RFA to fund Extramural
research to support Centers
of Excellence on Environment
and Health Disparities (ORD
- NCER).

Regional listening sessions to
gather input from
communities. Incorporate
ideas and concerns from
stakeholders and
representatives from
disproportionately impacted
communities and populations
(ORD - Rick Linthurst and
SHCRP Team).
 FY2012
                                                                                  FY2012
                                                                                  Spring 2011
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                 135

-------
&EPA
                            Strategy 3:  Leverage partnerships with other federal agencies on issues of
                            research, policy and action to address environmental and health
                            disparities.
                                  ACTIVITIES
                            Activity 3.1: Join the
                            Federal Collaboration on
                            Health Disparities.
     IELIVERABLES
 Potential collaboration on
 research funding with sister
 federal agencies; better
 coordination of research
 needs on health disparities
 across federal government
 (ORD).
MILESTONES
     Ongoing
                            Activity 3.2: Engage
                            with President's Task
                            Force on Environmental
                            Health Risks and Safety
                            Risks to Children.
 Federal Action Plan to
 address asthma disparities
 (OCHP, ORD, OAR).
     FY2011-
     2015
                            Strategy 4:  Build and strengthen the technical capacity of EPA scientists on
                            conducting research and related science activities in partnership with
                            impacted communities and translating research results to inform change.
                                 ACTIVITIES
                            Activity 4.1: Provide
                            training to EPA
                            scientists on CBPR.
    DELIVERABLES
Survey ORD scientists' needs
and awareness about
CBPR(ORD - OSP and
NCER).

Develop a training plan for
ORD scientists (ORD - OSP
and NCER).

Collaborate with OSWER to
modify and offer courses
under the Community
Involvement University (ORD
and OSWER).
MILESTONES
  FY2012
  2013
                                                                                     FY2012
                                                                                     2013
                                                                                     FY2012
                                                                                     2013
                            Activity 4.2: Build
                            Social Science
                            Capacity within ORD.
Host scientist to science
workshop on behavioral and
social sciences (ORD-NCER).

An ORD research agenda for
behavioral and social sciences
(ORD-NCER).

Cooperative Agreement with a
Social Science professional
society (ORD- NCER).
  FY 2011
  2012
                                                                                     FY2012
                                                                                     2013
                                                                                     FY2012
                                                                                     2013
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                   136

-------
&EPA
                                 ACTIVITIES
    DELIVERABLES
                            Activity 4.3: Develop
                            Environmental Justice
                            Risk Management
                            Training forOPP.
Training module to ensure
environmental justice and
sensitive population
considerations are fully
incorporated and more clearly
integrated throughout OPP risk
management processes
(OPP).

100% of OPP risk assessors
and managers properly trained
on environmental justice in risk
management (OPP).
MILESTONES
  By early
  FY2012
                                                                                     End of
                                                                                     FY2012
                            Strategy 5:  Build and strengthen technical capacity of community-based
                            organizations and community environmental justice and health leaders to
                            address environmental health disparities and environmental sustainability
                             issues.
                                 ACTIVITIES
                            Activity 5.1: Build
                            Community Capacity to
                            Address Asthma
                            Disparities.
    DELIVERABLES
Establish an online community
network available to
stakeholders as a year-round
resource for mentoring and
collaboration and designed to
support community asthma
management programs (OAR).

Develop web-based tools that
facilitate collaboration, problem
solving, and learning among
leaders of asthma programs
(OAR).

Hosting the National Asthma
Forum and Awards Program
and regional pacing events for
community-based programs
(OAR).

Train health  care
professionals, to improve their
ability to integrate the
assessment of environmental
factors into a comprehensive,
culturally appropriate asthma
care plan, based on national
standards of care (OAR).
MILESTONES
  FY 2011 and
  ongoing
                                                                                     FY 2011 and
                                                                                     ongoing
                                                                                     FY 2011 and
                                                                                     ongoing
                                                                                     FY 2011 and
                                                                                     ongoing
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                   137

-------
&EPA
                                  ACTIVITIES
                             Activity 5.2:  Build
                             Tribal Community
                             Capacity to Monitor Air
                             Quality.
    DELIVERABLES            MILESTONES
Continue funding for ITEP and    •   Ongoing
the TAMS Center (OAR).
                             Activity 5.3:  Increase
                             Citizen Participation in
                             Science and Decisions.
Cooperative agreement to
support a citizen scientist
fellowship program - a meet
the decision makers" on
environmental health and
environmental justice (ORD-
NCER).
FY2013
                             Activity 5.4:  Establish
                             Centers of Excellence
                             on Environment and
                             Health Disparities.
RFA to support Extramural
research to support Centers of
Excellence on Environment
and Health Disparities (ORD -
NCER)
FY2012
                             Activity 5.5:  Build
                             diverse environmental
                             workforce and
                             enhancing the
                             capacities of MAI to
                             engage in scientific
                             research and  workforce
                             training.
Highlight environmental justice
research topics in the STAR
Fellowships RFA. Include
environmental justice
considerations as review
criteria under "Broader Societal
Impacts" for all fellowship
applications (ORD-NCR)

Support research through the
FaST Program and provide
university faculty and students
to have hands-on research
opportunities  in DOE or EPA
national laboratories (OSWER)

Establish a University-
Community Partnerships
initiative to provide technical
assistance to  local community
groups and increase number of
culturally diverse students
electing to  pursue graduate
study and research careers
(Region 6).
 Completed
 and ongoing
                                                                                       Ongoing
                                                                                       To be
                                                                                       determined
                                                                                       (TBD)
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                    138

-------
vvEPA
                          There is no overall reporting plan for the science activities at this time.
                          However, program reporting may occur by the individual program offices
                          responsible for each activity. For information, please contact Devon Payne-
                          Sturges, 703-347-8055, Payne-Sturges.Devon@epa.gov; or Chris Saint, 202-
                          564-9839, Saint.Chris@epa.gov.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                 139

-------
v°/EPA
                               :'..-..
                             Brulle RJ and Pellow DN (2006). Environmental Justice: Human Health and
                             Environmental Inequalities. Annual Review of Public Health. Vol 27: pp 103-
                             24.

                             CSDH (2008).  Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action
                             on the social determinants of health. Final Report of the Commission on
                             Social Determinants of Health. Geneva, World Health Organization.

                             Gee GC and Payne-Sturges DC.  2004. Environmental Health Disparities: A
                             Framework Integrating Psychosocial and Environmental Concepts.
                             Environmental Health Perspectives.  VOLUME 11, NUMBER 17.  pp!645-
                             1653.

                             Habermann M and Gouveia N.  2008. Environmental Justice: an ecossocial
                             health approach. RevSaude Publica 42(6). Pp 1 - 7.

                             Krieger N. 2001. Theories for social epidemiology in the 21st century: an
                             ecosocial perspective. International Journal of Epidemiology. Vol  30: pp
                             668- 677.

                             Morello-Frosch RA.  2002. Discrimination  and the political economy of
                             environmental inequality. Environment and Planning C: Government and
                             Policy. Volume 20, pages 477 - 496

                             Morello-Frosch R. and Shenassa ED.  2006. The Environmental "Riskscape"
                             and Social Inequality: Implications for Explaining Maternal and Child Health
                             Disparities. Environmental Health Perspectives. VOLUME 114. NUMBERS.
                             Pp. 1150-1153.

                             Norton B, Mcleroy K, Burdine J, Felix M, and Dorsey A.  2002. Community
                             capacity: Concept, theory and methods, in DiClemente R, Crosby R, Kegler
                             M,  eds. Emerging Theories in Health Promotion Practice and Research.  San
                             Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

                             Schulz AJ, Williams DR, Israel BA, Lempert LB. 2002. Racial and Spatial
                             Relations as Fundamental Determinants of Health in Detroit. The Milbank
                             Quarterly, Vol. 80, No. 4.  Pp 677-707.

                             Wakefield S.E.L and Baxter J. 2010. Linking Health Inequality and
                             Environmental Justice: Articulating a Precautionary Framework for
                             Research and Action.  ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. Volume 3, Number 3. pp
                             95-102.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        140

-------
&EPA
                              Symposium participants recommended several actions to reduce research
                              or data gaps, overcome limitations in the theories and methods for
                              conducting environmental research, particularly research supported by
                              federal government, and limitations in practice of risk assessment. The
                              science recommendations are described below.  The first sentence is a
                              summary statement meant to capture the main points of the individual
                              recommendations from the Symposium that follow, including
                              recommendations from the Environmental Justice-Caucus letter that was
                              sent to Lisa Garcia, Senior Advisor to EPA Administrator for Environmental
                              Justice.

                              1. Create and institute a new scientific research approach to develop
                              more holistic understanding of environment and health.  One of the
                              potential outcomes of this new framework is to inform environmental
                              policies related to environmental justice and address environmental
                              health disparities.  Several recommendations from the symposium point to
                              EPA to adopt a more holistic view of the environment and  the impacts on
                              population health: "[the] EPA/ORD's research agenda needs to be
                              reframed, inequality and inequity needs to  be a part of the discussion [and
                              research]; there needs to be a shift to not only look at risks and exposures,
                              but to consider root and fundamental causes, need to start where it
                              (inequality) begins; [the]  EPA likes to start the analysis and research at a
                              level that does not address the history and  root causes of health endpoints,
                              risks and exposures; analyze the environment in a broader context,
                              evaluate the interaction between the social and the physical environments;
                              a better framework is needed for combining physical and psychosocial
                              science in research and practice; use social  determinants of health and
                              health disparities research framework to conduct research on cumulative
                              impacts/risks; encourage multidisciplinary teams in environmental health
                              research; develop the science of interactive effects; social  science
                              disciplines like social epidemiology indicate that [the] EPA  needs to look
                              more at upstream factors - social processes that ultimately process the
                              disparities in risks and health outcomes; develop measures for the social
                              environment; test the validity of available vulnerability indices and tools;
                              encourage multidisciplinary approach to research and analysis; address the
                              role of institutionalized racism in poor community environmental health;
                              encourage the consideration of environmental justice in land use planning;
                              and conduct research with direct policy implications - not research for the
                              sake of research."

                              Further, the Environmental Justice-Caucus participants recommend that
                              "[the]  EPA should develop a plan to ensure incorporation of the concept of
                              vulnerability, particularly its social and cultural aspects in the Agency's
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         141

-------
&EPA
                              research agendas" and "... in consultation with environmental justice
                              constituencies, incorporate community principles in its funding guidelines
                              for research in environmental health and planned and existing actions that
                              adversely impact public health and quality of life."

                              2. Integrate perspectives from decision makers such as community
                              residents, community leaders, community-based NGOs and community
                              health and environmental quality advocates in the development of EPA's
                              scientific research agendas as well as in data collection, conduct of
                              exposure/risk assessments and  risk management decisions.
                              A common recommendation articulated in both the Environmental Justice-
                              Caucus letter and through discussions the Symposium is the need to
                              incorporate community perspectives in the development of EPA's
                              science/research agendas and in the conduct of exposure/risk assessments.
                              Signatories to the Environmental Justice-Caucus letter recommend that
                              "[the] EPA and other publicly funded research require the expertise of
                              environmental justice communities in the research design,
                              implementation, recommendations and programmatic design that may
                              result from the research" and "[the] EPA should develop a plan to ensure
                              incorporation of the concept of vulnerability, particularly its social and
                              cultural aspects in the Agency's research agendas."  Related
                              recommendations from the Symposium state "include community
                              representatives and perspectives in the design of studies/research;
                              communities would like to be involved as [the] EPA sets its research
                              priorities and agenda as well as the regulatory agenda and priorities; and
                              there needs to be a research workgroup formed within the NEJAC."
                              Although the following recommendations from the Symposium stem from
                              discussions on regulatory actions and capacity building, they also suggest
                              that EPA/ORD needs to approach its research planning and its
                              contributions to the development of Agency risk assessment guidance
                              differently: "create effective mechanisms to listen to community concerns;
                              develop culturally competent outreach processes. Hire local community
                              folks with cultural expertise and community knowledge; and improve
                              incorporation of exposure information for smaller communities and
                              population groups in national risk assessments."

                              3. Create EPA funding mechanisms for community-based participatory
                              research (CBPR) and transdisciplinary research, with a specific focus on
                              studies that will benefit disadvantaged, undeserved, and environmentally
                              overburdened communities or groups.  The Environmental Justice-Caucus
                              letter states that "affected communities need to be involved in the conduct
                              of research to insure that that results are disseminated in  an effective and
                              understandable manner and that research recommendations are reviewed
                              by the community." Similar recommendations were made at the
                              Symposium including "support/fund community originated and owned
                              research; increase support/funding for community based participatory
                              research; support participation of communities as equal partners in
                              research; include them as equal  partners in the co-production of
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        142

-------
&EPA
                              knowledge; include community representatives and perspectives in the
                              design of studies/research."

                              Further, Environmental Justice-Caucus letter recommends that EPA should
                              also "develop a set of guidelines for federal environmental health research
                              that would require community participation with binding ethical and Title
                              VI guidelines for federally funded researchers in  [environmental justice]
                              communities and tribal nations." This is consistent with comments raised at
                              the symposium encouraging "federal funders of  University researchers to
                              address the unequal power dynamic that often arises between Universities
                              and  impacted communities that are subject of environmental and public
                              health research."

                              4. Collaborate with other federal government agencies on research,
                              policy-making and other kinds of actions to address environmental health
                              disparities. Many comments were made about the need to strengthen
                              interagency efforts:  "to address [environmental justice], need interagency
                              collaboration; government approach to promoting and managing health is
                              fragmented; agencies need to work together to formulate solutions for
                              communities; other agencies should integrate [environmental justice] in all
                              their activities."

                              5. Enhance the capacities of Minority Academic Institutions (MAI) to
                              engage in scientific research and workforce training.  For instance, help
                              MAI institutions to provide training opportunities for minority students in
                              relevant scientific disciplines. Several statements were made at the
                              Symposium that there was a lack of diversity in the academic institutions
                              represented at the meeting and as presenters. HBCUs need to be involved
                              in this new and expanded area of research on environmental health
                              disparities.

                              6. Develop and implement a multi-media approach to cumulative
                              contamination exposures in environmental justice communities.
                              Restructure risks assessment practice to better  account for multi-
                              stressors that cumulatively impact community and population health and
                              recognize that the concepts that vulnerability and health disparities are
                              interrelated. These recommendations from the Environmental Justice-
                              Caucus letter echo many of the concerns and other recommendations
                              raised at the Symposium on the topic of cumulative impacts.  Comments
                              from the Symposium include "communities see their environment as a
                              whole not pieces; [the] EPA needs to address the issue of non-concordance
                              between risk assessment results and community experience; vulnerability
                              should be an integral part of cumulative risk assessment even it must be
                              analyzed using qualitative measures; incorporate social vulnerabilities and
                              cultural risks in risk assessments and cumulative risks/impact assessments;
                              incorporate background risk in risk assessment; consider using qualitative
                              approaches in  risk assessment; adopt a quality of life approach; risk
                              assessment should move away from individual lifestyles to one that
                              considers the social context; focus on health and well-being as opposed to
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        143

-------
&EPA
                              risk, illness and death; [the] EPA should recognize that stressors in
                              communities that are unaccounted for are not considered in risk
                              assessments; adopt a systems approach to risk assessment and decision
                              making; and [the] EPA should use information on cumulative impacts in all
                              its decisions."

                              7. Establish programs and provide federal government support to
                              increase technical and scientific capacity in communities. This capacity
                              building can help the public to address environmental health issues and
                              to allow them to effectively participate in environmental health decision
                              making. The Environmental Justice- - Caucus letter recommends that
                              "grant/funding programs be expanded to provide support directly to
                              [environmental justice] communities, [environmental justice] organizations
                              and networks, Tribes and Native organizations to assess and act on
                              [environmental justice] issues." Additionally Symposium participants
                              advocated that "[the] EPA include community-based organizations, leaders
                              and residents in the co-production of knowledge and the scientific bases
                              for environmental decision making; make resources available to develop
                              technical skills of community leaders on science and  decisions; develop
                              technical expertise within the communities; and commit resources to
                              develop networks and centers/consortia with universities to support
                              community groups with technical matters and participation in decision
                              making."

                              8. Develop analytic and assessment tools, and data  collection approaches
                              that could be used by community health advocates  and environmental
                              justice groups. Availability of appropriate tools and training on use of such
                              tools would also help increase technical capacity of communities. For
                              example recommendations include "work with local  governments to
                              provide access to  data sources; influence their [local  governments] data
                              collection approaches; develop mapping tools that communities can use;
                              encourage community engagement in the collection  of data by
                              government; explore the approach of using communities to collect data to
                              overcome limitations of government data such as privacy issues and poor
                              geospatial resolution; and develop zoning maps that are accessible to
                              communities; regional councils of government can provide accurate city
                              level data for community research."

                              9. Build capacities and skills among EPA/ORD staff and scientists to
                              conduct research and other science related activities in equal partnership
                              with impacted communities. This step must include diversifying EPA's
                              technical and scientific expertise in the social sciences. Concomitant with
                              efforts to increase technical capacity in communities, EPA/ORD needs to
                              build up its capacity to work with communities in order for real progress to
                              be made.  Several recommendations from the Symposium address this
                              issue: "train EPA staff on effective outreach and dialog with communities;
                              develop capacity within the agency; provide training for EPA risk assessors
                              and managers on  community engagement; consider  using qualitative
                              approaches in  risk assessment; multi-disciplinary teams are needed to work
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         144

-------
&EPA
                              on issues; encourage multidisciplinary teams in environmental health
                              research; social science disciplines like social epidemiology indicate that
                              EPA needs to look more at upstream factors - social processes that
                              ultimately process the disparities in risks and health outcomes; explore
                              approaches for interacting with communities that can build collective
                              efficacy and social capital; support participation of communities as equal
                              partners in research; include them as equal partners in the co-production
                              of knowledge; and include community representatives and perspectives in
                              the design of studies/research."

                              10. EPA and other agencies should integrate environmental justice in all
                              EPA activities, including policy making, regulatory  actions, research and
                              public outreach. An important place for intervention for environmental
                              justice is regulation and rule-making. Example recommendations from the
                              Symposium on the use of science and information to address
                              environmental justice concerns in decision making include "develop
                              measures of environmental health disparities to monitor temporal and
                              spatial trends in disparities, and also whether environmental regulation  is
                              effective; stratify research data  by race and income to better analyze
                              disparate impacts; account for differences in the effect of lead on
                              hypertension which is more pronounced in chronically stressed individuals
                              in regulatory assessments and policies; develop tools for equity
                              assessment; test the validity of available vulnerability indices and tools;
                              base decisions on good science that passes the tests of reliability,
                              repeatability and peer review; good data are legally defensible; and present
                              policy choices and equity impacts to Administrator as a standard
                              consideration in decision making."
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         145

-------
&EPA
                     September 2011

                     Led by
                     Office of General Counsel
                     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                     Washington, D.C. 20460
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                        146

-------
 &EPA
 Goals At-A-G lance
To provide legal
assistance to EPA policy
makers and other Agency
decision makers to
advance their
environmental justice
objectives.
1.0    INTRODUCTION

Plan EJ 2014 established a road map to help the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) integrate environmental justice into its programs.
The Plan outlined five cross-Agency focus areas. The five focus areas are:
1. Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking.
2. Considering Environmental Justice Concerns in EPA's Permitting
   Process.
3. Accelerating Compliance and Enforcement Initiatives.
4. Supporting Community-Based Action Programs.
5. Fostering Administrative-Wide Action on Environmental Justice.
In addition, Plan EJ 2014 identifies four tools to support the cross-Agency
efforts. One of the tools relates to identifying opportunities to use existing
legal authorities to advance environmental justice. The Office of General
Counsel (OGC) has been assigned primary responsibility for this tool. This
implementation plan discusses the goal, strategy, and activities associated
with the development and dissemination of information about EPA's
environmental justice-related legal authorities.

1.1 Goals
The goal of this Initiative is to provide legal assistance to EPA policy makers
and other Agency decision makers to advance their environmental justice
objectives. Our vision is that the Agency will use law as a tool to advance
environmental justice.  By providing advice on  EPA's discretionary legal
authorities to advance environmental justice, OGC will support the five
cross-Agency focus areas. In particular, OGC's advice will help EPA officials
to (1) implement forward-leaning environmental justice policies with
acceptable legal risk; and (2) identify new opportunities to promote their
environmental justice policy objectives. This initiative will advance
Administrator Lisa Jackson's environmental justice priority, her
commitment to the rule of law, and EPA's overarching mission to protect
human health and the environment.


1.2 Organizational Structure
OGC will give leadership to Plan EJ 2014's focus areas by helping EPA to
integrate environmental justice into its day-to-day business. As the chief
legal adviser to the EPA, OGC provides ongoing legal support for Agency
rules and policies, case-by-case decisions (such as permits and response
actions), and legislation, which includes all of Plan EJ 2014's elements.
OGC's practice areas include all of the Agency's programs (i.e.,  land, air,
water, etc.), as well as cross-cutting law areas that including environmental
justice, tribal law, and civil rights.  OGC regularly interfaces with all the EPA
program offices and regions, as well as EPA's ten Offices of Regional
Counsel.
     Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                               147

-------
&EPA
                             OGC will accomplish its goal of providing legal assistance to EPA policy
                             makers and other Agency decision makers to advance their environmental
                             justice objectives by providing legal support to each cross-Agency focus
                             area workgroup.
                             OGC's activities will promote a sound legal framework for the tools and
                             programs developed by the five focus area workgroups. We will use the
                             resources of OGC and the Offices of Regional Counsel, both at the staff and
                             senior leadership levels, to develop our advice to Plan EJ 2014's
                             workgroups. The persons primarily responsible for coordinating the
                             development and communication of this advice will be the counseling
                             attorneys assigned to each workgroup, in collaboration with senior Agency
                             attorneys and the General Counsel. OGC will conduct this activity
                             contemporaneously with the work of the five cross-Agency focus areas.
                             OGC will participate in the stakeholder outreach implemented by each
                             focus area that we serve.
                             OGC will provide legal support to each cross-Agency focus area workgroup
                             through the following activities:
                             •   Activity 1: Counseling attorneys will serve as workgroup members for
                                 each cross-Agency focus area. These attorneys are drawn from OGC
                                 and its regional offices.
                             •   Activity 2: Regional Counsels and OGC Associate General Counsels will
                                 convene regularly to identify legal issues and develop advice in support
                                 of the five focus areas.
                             •   Activity 3: The General Counsel will provide active oversight, direction,
                                 and decision making on all aspects of Plan EJ 2014, in consultation with
                                 the EPA's Senior Leadership.
                             •   Activity 4: OGC will convene a group of senior attorneys from across
                                 the federal government to promote the integration of environmental
                                 justice into their agencies' actions.
                             OGC will participate in the stakeholder outreach implemented by each
                             focus area that we serve.
                             The Office of General Counsel might adjust this implementation plan after a
                             period of implementation.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
148

-------
vvEPA
                          This portion of the implementation plan incorporates by reference the
                          deliverables, schedules, measures, and reports identified in the
                          implementation plans for the five cross-Agency focus areas. For
                          information, please contact David Coursen, 202-564-0781,
                          Coursen.David@epa.gov.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                 149

-------
SEPA
                      September 2011

                      Led by
                      Office of Policy and Office of Environmental Information
                      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                      Washington, D.C. 20460
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
150

-------
  &EPA
  Goal At-A-Glance

To develop a more
integrated,
comprehensive, efficient,
and nationally consistent
approach for collecting,
maintaining, and using
geospatial information
relevant to overburdened
communities.
1.0    INTRODUCTION

In 1994, Executive Order 12898 (EO 12898) mandated that each federal
agency make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by
identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse human
health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on
minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous populations. In implementing
EO 12898,  EPA programs and regions have developed a variety of internal
environmental justice screening tools and other Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) applications. These applications, such as the Environmental
Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment Tool (EJSEAT), EJView, and
others, have played an important role as the Agency worked to integrate
environmental justice into its programs, policies, and activities. Senior EPA
leadership has been asked to focus on developing a nationally consistent
environmental justice screening tool in order to better meet the Agency's
responsibilities of protecting public health under EO 12898 and our goals
under Plan EJ 2014.

In addition, EPA is developing a suite of tools, data,  and services known as
EPA's GeoPlatform that will help coordinate and consolidate mapping
activities, applications, and data across the Agency.  The GeoPlatform will
support a wide variety of uses across the Agency, including components of
the nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool, and other
data  and applications that may be of interest to environmental justice
stakeholders.

1.1 Goal
The goal of this implementation plan is to develop a more integrated,
comprehensive, efficient, and nationally consistent  approach for collecting,
maintaining, and using geospatial information relevant to overburdened
communities. EPA will accomplish this goal by: (1) developing a common
Agency-wide mapping platform -the GeoPlatform,  (2) creating a nationally
consistent  environmental justice screening tool, and (3) incorporating
appropriate elements of the screening tool into the GeoPlatform.

1.2 Organizational Structure
The Office  of Environmental Information (OEI) has the lead on the
GeoPlatform, and the Office of Policy (OP) has the lead on the nationally
consistent  screening tool.

The development of EPA's GeoPlatform is being led by OEI, with oversight
from the Agency's GIS Workgroup Steering Committee (comprised of
representation from six regions), the Office of Research and Development
(ORD), the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), the
Office of Water (OW), and the EPA Quality and Information Council (QIC).
The QIC is the Agency's decision making body for addressing enterprise-
wide technology issues and developing policies to guide EPA decision
      Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                              151

-------
&EPA
                            makers in the area of information technology and information
                            management within the framework of OEI. The QIC is comprised of Senior
                            Executive Service-level managers from Agency program and regional
                            offices, and is chaired by the Agency's Chief Information Officer (CIO).

                            Development of the nationally consistent environmental justice screening
                            tool is led by OP and is overseen by a steering committee comprised of
                            Assistant Administrators or their designees from OP, the Office of
                            Environmental Justice (OEJ), ORD, OEI, and Regions 7, 8, and 9. In addition,
                            a staff level workgroup meets regularly and has participation from nearly
                            every program office and region across EPA.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                     152

-------
v°/EPA
                                     ill:
                              '-   •". '
                              The following three major strategies have been identified as critical
                              components of the Information Tools Development Implementation Plan:
                              •   Develop EPA's GeoPlatform.
                              •   Develop a nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool.
                              •   Incorporate appropriate elements of the screening tool into the
                                 GeoPlatform

                              '  '
                              Strategy 1: Develop EPA's GeoPlatform
                              EPA's GeoPlatform consists of a suite of tools, data and services that will
                              support a wide variety of uses across the Agency. The GeoPlatform is an
                              Agency initiative that will serve environmental justice, but also other
                              important areas such as enforcement and community-based work. The
                              GeoPlatform will eventually be applied for additional uses, and will provide
                              access to a wide range of EPA and stakeholder data pertaining to
                              environmental exposure and risk, ecological condition, public health,
                              demographic data, and boundary/administrative information, as needed by
                              EPA programs.

                              The next several paragraphs describe the GeoPlatform. An understanding
                              of the structure and  philosophy behind the platform is important to seeing
                              how it will serve environmental justice practitioners. EPA's GeoPlatform
                              project strives to coordinate activities, applications, and data across the
                              Agency. We seek to ensure that the opportunity for re-use is maintained
                              and that data and  information  is documented and available across the
                              Agency, to states and tribes, and to our other stakeholder communities.
                              Our vision is that ultimately everyone has the ability to conduct relevant
                              geospatial analysis in their area of interest using common data, tools, and
                              techniques.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         153

-------
&EPA
                              The GeoPlatform concept consists of three primary tiers - Applications,
                              Services, and Data - plus a governance tier (see Figure 1 for the EPA
                              GeoPlatform conceptual architecture). Details on each tier are provided
                              below:

                              Figure 1: Conceptual Architecture for the EPA GeoPlatform
                                                                                                  _
          Applications
             Services
                Data
          Governance

                                                             EPA GeoPlatform
                                                                "Online"
                                     EPA Environmental
                                         Analyst
                   EPA Earth
Other Agency CIS
  Applications
Professional CIS
   Desktops
Web Services Framework
•Discovery Services
•Data Access Services
•Analytical Services
•Shared hosting
Internal Geodata Repository
and Catalog
•Integrated GeoDatabase (IGD)
•Geodata Gateway (GDG)
External Geodata Repositories
and Catalogs
•Data.gov
•Federal Geospatial Platform
Policy and Investment Framework
•Investment review and optimization
•Governance for operational aspects of EPA GeoPlatform
•Process and investment  strategy to fulfill high priority Agency data needs
                              Data Tier. The Data components of the EPA GeoPlatform include a wide
                              range of geospatial data needed for EPA programmatic purposes. Some of
                              this data is originated and maintained by the Agency, but most of the data
                              needed is sourced from other public or private sector organizations. Data
                              components already identified as core sources to be integrated into the
                              GeoPlatform are the Integrated Geospatial Database (IGD), currently
                              managed by the OEI/the Office of Information Analysis and Access (OIAA);
                              the Facility Registry System (FRS), currently managed by OEI/OIC; program
                              specific databases such as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and
                              Brownfields, currently managed by the individual program offices; and
                              externally held geospatial data services, such as for transportation
                              networks, land use, land cover, and Census data, which come from a
                              variety of public and private sources. The key to organizing data assets
                              spread across these different offerings lies in metadata management.  The
                              Agency's "Geospatial Data Gateway" (GDG, http://geogateway.epa.gov)
                              application will continue to be used for metadata management.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                        154

-------
&EPA
                              Services Tier.  Standardizing our geospatial data management at the Agency
                              is of critical importance, however, we must also consider the mechanisms
                              through which we provide Agency staff and other stakeholders access to
                              different datasets housed in this enterprise. From a technical perspective,
                              the most effective and re-usable way to broker this access is through open
                              standards compliant web services. One of the most important components
                              of the EPA GeoPlatform, then, will be a comprehensive web services tier
                              that will help ensure that all relevant geospatial data and analytical
                              components are as widely accessible as possible throughout the enterprise.
                              Geospatial data access and some geoanalytical services (e.g., buffer and
                              proximity searches) are being developed to leverage our  internal data
                              stores. Additionally, through catalog services and our application tier
                              (Environmental Analyst, EPA Portal, etc.), we will be able to leverage
                              services offered by external public and private providers.

                              Applications Tier.  As part of the EPA GeoPlatform "Release 1" offering,
                              three central applications will be developed and made available for
                              Agency-wide use:  Environmental Analyst, the EPA Geospatial Portal, and
                              EPA Earth.  Environmental Analyst will  be the primary tool initially intended
                              for environmental justice practitioners. Environmental Analyst is an EPA
                              custom version of the forthcoming ESRI commercial web application
                              Community Analyst (http://communityanalyst.esri.com). Environmental
                              Analyst will feature an interface designed for EPA staff to easily access and
                              leverage a wide range of geospatial data to carry out their specific tasks.
                              This represents a major opportunity to consolidate  a number of different
                              internal Program  and regional geospatial web applications into a single
                              one, and a significant portion of the GeoPlatform effort will be dedicated to
                              outreach and  development of opportunities for organizations to have their
                              data, analytical and reporting requirements integrated into this central
                              application.
                              •   Activity 1.1: Prototype of EPA Environmental Analyst for review.
                              •   Activity 1.2: Production release of the EPA Environmental Analyst.
                              •   Activity 1.3: Production release of the EPA GeoPlatform (including
                                  initial data services) for use by Environmental Analyst and other
                                  GeoPlatform components.

                              Strategy 2: Develop the nationally consistent environmental justice
                              screening tool.
                              EPA is now taking the next step in creating a nationally consistent
                              environmental justice screening tool to help identify communities living
                              with the greatest potential for negative environmental and health effects.
                              The purpose of the screening tool will be to provide, for locations across
                              the United States, a comprehensive and nationally consistent tool for
                              presenting available environmental and demographic data.

                              The tool will aid decision makers in assessing  policy and actions to be taken
                              by EPA,  in accordance with, and pursuant to, applicable law. The tool will
                              serve as a national baseline screening tool, which can then be
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         155

-------
&EPA
                              supplemented with additional information and on-the-ground experience
                              to help identify overburdened communities that may warrant additional
                              investigation by EPA to help reduce risk and improve public health. OP is
                              leading a cross-Agency team to identify relevant data and develop
                              appropriate methods that would serve as the basis of the nationally
                              consistent screening tool. Asa result of this effort, increased consistency
                              of data and methods will be brought to environmental justice screening
                              work across EPA.
                              •   Activity 2.1: Hold regular staff workgroup and project steering
                                 committee meetings.
                              •   Activity 2.2: Develop a set of options to present to Senior Agency
                                 Officials.
                              •   Activity 2.3: Create a working prototype of screening tool.
                              •   Activity 2.4: Update the National Environmental Justice Advisory
                                 Council on progress.
                              •   Activity 2.5: Obtain peer review and public comment on a prototype
                                 tool.
                              •   Activity 2.6: Revise the tool based on comments.

                              Strategy 3: Incorporate appropriate elements of the screening tool into
                              the GeoPlatform.
                              The development of the GeoPlatform and the concurrent creation of a
                              nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool provide an
                              opportunity for the two efforts to reinforce and enhance each other. As
                              both projects continue to evolve, EPA will be watching for opportunities for
                              them to work together.  Making consistent data and screening methods
                              available to users of the GeoPlatform would go a long way towards
                              furthering the Agency's work in environmental justice.
                              •   Activity 3.1: Review screening tool data, methods, and requirements to
                                 determine which portions may be appropriate to include in the
                                 GeoPlatform.
                              •   Activity 3.2: Incorporate appropriate elements of the prototype
                                 screening tool into the GeoPlatform.
                              •   Activity 3.3: Revise GeoPlatform elements of the tool to be consistent
                                 with changes made to the prototype tool in response to peer review
                                 and public comments on screening tool.

                              2.3
                              Adjustments to the environmental justice screening approach may be
                              made after public comment, after peer review, and in response to feedback
                              from early users. Any required adjustments to the EPA GeoPlatform
                              datasets or the Environmental Analyst application will also be made to
                              support changes made to the environmental justice screening approach.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        156

-------
&EPA
               3.0 DELIVERABLES
ACTIVITIES

DELIVERABLES MILESTONE

Strategy 1 : Develop the EPA's GeoPlatform.
Activity 1.1
Activity 1 .2
Activity 1 .3
Prototype of EPA Environmental Analyst for
review.
Production release of EPA Environmental
Analyst.
Production release of EPA GeoPlatform
(including initial data services) for use by
Environmental Analyst and other
GeoPlatform components.
Fiscal Year
(FY) 2011 Q4
FY 2012 Ql
FY 2012 Ql
Strategy 2: Develop the nationally consistent environmental justice
screening tool.
Activity 2.1
Activity 2.2
Activity 2.3
Activity 2.4
Activity 2.5
Activity 2.6
Hold regular staff workgroup and project
steering committee meetings.
Develop a set of options to present to Senior
Agency Officials.
Create a working prototype of screening tool.
Update the National Environmental Justice
Advisory Council on progress.
Obtain peer review and public comment on a
prototype tool.
Revise the tool based on comments.
Ongoing
FY 2011 Q3
FY 2012 Q2
TBD
TBD
TBD
Strategy 3: Incorporate appropriate elements of the screening tool into the
GeoPlatform.
Activity 3.1
Activity 3.2
Activity 3.3
Review screening tool data, methods, and
requirements to determine which portions
may be appropriate to include in the
GeoPlatform.
Incorporate appropriate elements of the
prototype screening tool into the
GeoPlatform.
Revise GeoPlatform elements of the tool to
be consistent with changes made to the
prototype tool in response to peer review and
public comments on screening tool.
Begin FY 2011
Q4 & continue
on a monthly
basis
TBD
TBD
  Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
157

-------
vvEPA
                         Progress reports on this implementation plan will be made annually. For
                         information, please contact: Glynis Hill, 202-564-1139, hill.glynis@epa.gov.
                         Jerry Johnston, 202-564-3175. iohnston.ierry@epa.gov. or Kim Balassiano,
                         202-566-0709, balassiano.kim@epa.gov.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                158

-------
SEPA
                      September 2011

                      Led by
                      Office of Administration and Resources Management

                      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                      Washington, D.C. 20460
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
159

-------
&EPA
 Goals At-A-G lance

To develop an efficient
and effective system for
delivering financial and
technical assistance to
communities to empower
them to improve their
health and environment.
1.0    INTRODUCTION

1.1 Goals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPAj's Office of
Administration and Resource Management (OARM)'s implementation plan
has two major components. The first component addresses the Agency's
mechanisms for providing grants and technical assistance to support
community-based action programs. The second component addresses
workforce diversity. The goals of each are discussed below.

Grants and Technical Assistance: OARM's goal is to have an efficient and
effective system for delivering financial and technical assistance to
communities to empower them to improve their health and environment.

This goal includes establishing a transparent, integrated One EPA approach
to organizing and implementing the Agency's community-based grants
programs, streamlining grants processes consistent with the EPA's fiduciary
responsibilities, and providing grants management training to
communities. It also includes providing technical  assistance to
communities that find it difficult to manage grants, in order to build their
capacity and strengthen their ability to analyze and use technical
environmental information.

OARM's goal furthers the Administrator's priority of Expanding the
Conversation on Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice
by establishing a new paradigm for the delivery of EPA assistance to
minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous peoples to create healthy and
sustainable neighborhoods. It also responds to the cross-Agency focus area
under Plan EJ 2014 of Supporting Community-Based Action Programs by
building on the success of ongoing EPA grants and technical assistance
activities, such as the Community Action for a Renewed Environment
(CARE) Program. By aligning EPA's grants and technical assistance
programs with the needs of all communities to achieve healthy,
sustainable, green, and equitable development, OARM's vision advances
the Agency's mission of protecting human health  and the environment.

The purpose of this implementation plan is to realize OARM's vision over
the next three years by charting a course of action for grants and technical
assistance that will be accomplished  collaboratively with communities and
EPA's grants management workforce.

Workforce Diversity: OARM's goal is to achieve an inclusive work
environment by developing an efficient system for the outreach and
recruitment of potential employees.  Development of a diversity portal,
using social media tools, will be  part of the system to attract qualified,
diverse applicants.  OARM will also provide Agency-wide diversity training
for hiring officials.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                              160

-------
&EPA
                              This goal includes establishing an integrated One EPA approach to
                              consistently recruit and select, both internally and externally, from diverse
                              pools, the best-qualified candidates for all positions. The changing
                              demographics of America mean that the public served by EPA is also
                              changing. When EPA recruits and retains an inclusive workforce — one
                              that looks like the America it serves and where individual differences are
                              respected, appreciated, and valued, diversity becomes an organizational
                              strength that contributes to achieving results.

                              OARM's Office of Diversity, Outreach, and Collaboration (ODOC), in
                              conjunction with in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources
                              (OHR) and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), will work with the EPA national
                              program offices and regions to broaden the standard outreach and
                              recruitment efforts to attract qualified applicants from identified groups
                              with low inclusion rates in EPA's workforce, in compliance with  Equal
                              Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws.  OARM's workforce diversity goal
                              furthers the Administrator's priority of Expanding the Conversation on
                              Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice by establishing a
                              new paradigm for selecting and hiring potential employees.

                              1.2
                              Grants and Technical Assistance: As communicated by the Deputy
                              Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
                              the Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 5, to the Deputy Assistant
                              Administrators and Deputy Regional Administrators on November 5, 2010,
                              the Agency will implement the Resources Tools Development elements for
                              grants and technical assistance through the existing Grants Workgroup
                              formed under the Deputy Administrator's Community-Based Coordination
                              Project.

                              The Grants Workgroup is co-chaired by the Director, the Office of Grants
                              and Debarment (OGD), OARM; and the Director, Financial Policy and
                              Planning Staff, the Office of Financial Management (OFM), the Office of the
                              Chief Financial Officer (OCFO).  It includes the following seven Subgroups:
                              •   Healthy Communities Coordinated Grants Subgroup: Office of Air and
                                 Radiation (OAR) and Region 9 (Co-Chairs).
                              •   Technical Assistance Subgroup: Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ)
                                 (Chair).
                              •   Training Subgroup: OCFO (Chair).
                              •   Competition Subgroup: OGD (Chair).
                              •   Internal Policies Subgroup: OGD (Chair).
                              •   Legal Issues Subgroup: OEJ and Office of General Counsel (OGC) (Co-
                                 Chairs).
                              •   Timely Award Subgroup: OGD and Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
                                 Response (OSWER) (Co-Chairs).
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        161

-------
&EPA
                          The Grants Workgroup has broad representation from EPA headquarters
                          and regional offices.

                          Workforce Diversity: OARM's ODOC will be establishing a cross-Agency
                          task force, the Outreach and Recruitment Task Force, with representatives
                          from national program offices and regional offices to develop a national
                          strategy to attract a diverse pool of qualified applicants.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                 162

-------
v°/EPA
                              	

                              ••   .".'
                              Grants and Technical Assistance: Under the framework of the Community-
                              Based Coordination Project, the Grants Workgroup has the following
                              charges:
                              •   Improve community access to information about available grants and
                                 application processes.
                              •   Design streamlined grants processes, grants bundling, and other
                                 approaches that ensure quality awards while reducing transaction costs
                                 to communities seeking assistance.
                              •   Design efficient and effective approaches to provide technical
                                 assistance to communities that find it difficult to manage grants.
                              •   Coordinate with related ongoing grants streamlining efforts.

                              To accomplish these charges, the workgroup has established seven
                              strategies:
                              •   Strategy 1: Increase Transparency and Efficiency in Providing
                                 Community-Based Grant Opportunities.
                              •   Strategy 2: Improve Delivery of Technical Assistance to Communities.
                              •   Strategy 3: Strengthen Grants Training for Communities.
                              •   Strategy 4: Improve Community Awareness of Grant Competition
                                 Process.
                              •   Strategy 5: Revise Grant Policies that are Unduly Restrictive.
                              •   Strategy 6: Encourage OGC/Office of Regional Counsel (ORC)/Program
                                 Office Dialogue on Community-Based Grant Opportunities.
                              •   Strategy?: Improve timeliness of Brownfields Grant Awards.

                              Workforce Diversity: The Outreach and Recruitment Task Force will have
                              the following charge:
                              •   Increase the diverse pool of qualified applicants.
                              •   Operate under an integrated One  EPA approach for recruitment and
                                 outreach.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        163

-------
&EPA
                              2.2
                              Grants and Technical Assistance: To implement these seven strategies, the
                              Grants Workgroup has identified a set of priority activities. OGD is
                              responsible for overseeing the workgroup's progress in completing these
                              tasks.

                              Strategy 1: Increase Transparency and Efficiency in Providing
                              Community-Based Grant Opportunities.
                              *   Activity 1.1: Draft recommendations for improving community group
                                 access to EPA grant programs to be presented to Executive
                                 Management Committee (EMC) in March 2011.
                              •   Activity 1.2: Solicit informal feedback from communities (e.g., CARE
                                 Program workshops).
                              •   Activity 1.3: Conduct outreach to regions and National Program
                                 Managers (NPMs) via conference calls and sharing of drafts.
                              Strategy 2: Improve Delivery of Technical Assistance to Communities.
                              *   Activity 2.1: Develop Technical Assistance Center approach.
                              •   Activity 2.2: Preliminary draft options to be presented to the EMC in
                                 March 2011.
                              •   Activity 2.3: Obtain senior management guidance on initial concepts
                                 before obtaining informal feedback from communities.
                              •   Activity 2.4: Conduct outreach to regions and NPMs via conference
                                 calls and sharing of drafts.
                              Strategy 3: Strengthen Grants Training for Communities.
                              *   Activity 3.1: Create umbrella, basic on-line grants training for
                                 communities, environmental justice-specific on-line training, and
                                 program-specific training (e.g., CARE, Urban Waters).
                              •   Activity 3.2: Develop training modules by December 2011.
                              •   Activity 3.3: Obtain informal community feedback as modules
                                 developed.
                              •   Activity 3.4: Conduct outreach to EPA grants management community
                                 by providing opportunities for review of draft training scripts.
                              Strategy 4: Improve Community Awareness of Grant Competition
                              Process.
                              *   Activity 4.1: Develop and implement appropriate grant competition
                                 tools (e.g., listservs, webinars).  Tools will be in place by October 2011.
                              •   Activity 4.2: Obtain informal community input through
                                 Regional/Headquarters websites.
                              •   Activity 4.3: Work with regions and  NPMs to develop and implement
                                 tools.
                              Strategy 5: Revise Grant Policies that are Unduly Restrictive.
                              *   Activity 5.1: Revise Delegation 1-86 and indirect cost rate policies for
                                 environmental justice grants by the end of 2011. Temporarily revised
                                 delegation policies were issued  in November 2010.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                         164

-------
&EPA
                              •   Activity 5.2: Establish simplified Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) policy by
                                 October 2011.
                              •   Activity 5.3: Obtain informal community feedback once draft ICR policy
                                 developed.
                              •   Activity 5.4: Conduct outreach to regions and NPMs by providing
                                 opportunity to comment on draft policy issuance.
                              •   Activity 5.5: Explore simplification of other policies.
                              Strategy 6: Encourage Office of General Counsel/Office of Regional
                              Counsel/Program Office Dialogue on Community-Based Grant
                              Opportunities.
                              •   Activity 6.1: Conduct periodic OGC/ORC/OEJ meetings and OGC
                                 guidance on scope of community-based grant authorities.
                                 OGC/ORC/OEJ calls were conducted on January 5, 2011, and February
                                 2, 2011.
                              •   Activity 6.2: Obtain OGC legal_guidance on scope of grant authorities.
                              •   Activity 6.3: Coordinate discussions with larger OGC effort on existing
                                 legal authorities.
                              Strategy 7: Improve timeliness of Brownftelds Grant Awards.
                              *   Activity 7.1: Develop recommendations for consistent Brownfields
                                 award times by August 2011.  Draft recommendations will be shared
                                 with the EPA's Grants Management Officers (GMOs) and OSWER. This
                                 is primarily an internal Agency process issue.

                              The workgroup anticipates that it will complete all of these priority
                              activities by the end of 2011.  It recommends that the Agency codify
                              workgroup accomplishments in a consolidated Grants Policy approved by
                              senior Agency management.  No additional Full Time Employee (FTE) will
                              be required to complete agreed-upon tasks. As described above, each
                              Subgroup under the Grants Workgroup will conduct appropriate
                              community and stakeholder outreach.

                              Workforce Diversity: To meet its goals, the Outreach and Recruitment
                              Task Force has identified four priority activities.  OARM's ODOC is
                              responsible for overseeing the workgroup's progress in completing these
                              tasks.
                              *   Activity 1: Design an efficient Agency-wide outreach strategy by
                                 January 2012.
                              •   Activity 2: Develop effective marketing materials and strategy by
                                 January_2012.
                              •   Activity 3: Develop a National Conference Toolkit by January 2012.
                              •   Activity 4: Develop a National Outreach Calendar by January 2012.

                              OARM will also provide Agency-wide diversity training for hiring officials.
    Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                        165

-------
SEPA
                            Grants and Technical Assistance: As noted in Section 2.2, the Grants
                            Workgroup is seeking informal feedback from communities in developing
                            revisions to policies, procedures, and organizational structures. More
                            formal community feedback (for example, feedback from the National
                            Environmental Justice Advisory Council [NEJAC]) may be required for
                            certain activities, including the development and selection of options under
                            Strategies 1 and 2. As workgroup activities proceed, OARM will consult
                            with OEJ to determine the need for formal community feedback.
                            Grants and Technical Assistance: OGD will carefully monitor and evaluate
                            the effect of revised policy and procedures in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. If the
                            Agency and communities are not realizing the desired outcomes, OGD and
                            the workgroup will make necessary adjustments in FY 2013 to reach the
                            desired outcomes.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                     166

-------
v>EPA
                             • i            """i" i •
                            Grants and Technical Assistance: Appendix B contains a draft schedule of
                            deliverables along with associated performance measures.

                            Workforce Diversity: OARM's ODOC is in the process of soliciting
                            proposals from contractors for diversity training. It is anticipated that the
                            Outreach and Recruitment Task Force will initiate all of these priority
                            activities by the end of 2011.

                            3,2
                            Grants and Technical Assistance: See Appendix B.
                            Workforce Diversity: Measures will be developed in a collaborative
                            manner once the Task Force is convened.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                     167

-------
vvEPA
                           Grants and Technical Assistance: The Grants Workgroup will provide
                           quarterly progress updates as part of the Community-Based Coordination
                           Project.  OARM will submit an annual progress report at the end of each FY
                           as required by Plan EJ 2014.  For information, please contact Howard
                           Corcoran, 202-564-1903, Corcoran.Howard@epa.gov.
                           Workforce Diversity: Reporting will be developed in a collaborative
                           manner once the Outreach and Recruitment Task Force is convened. For
                           information, please contact Antoinette Powell-Dickson, 202-566-0738,
                           Powell-Dickson.Antoinette@epa.gov.
   Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans                                                    168

-------
&EPA
        Appendix B: Table of Deliverables and Measures
Strategy Number Q2FY2011 Q3FY2011 Q*Q™ Q1FY2012 Q2FY2012 Q3FY2012 Q*QU ^FYan?" Measures
Strategy 1: Increase
Transparency &
Efficiency in Providing
Community-Based
Grant Opportunities.


Strategy 2: Improve
Delivery of Technical
Assistance to
Communities.








Strategy 3:
Strengthen Grants
Training for
Communities.




Strategy 4:
Improve Community
Awareness of Grant
Competition Process.



Brief EMC on
draft options
for improving
grant delivery
system.


Brief EMC on
preliminary
draft options.









Complete
development
of draft
umbrella and
environmental
justice on-line
training.

Seek input
from EPA
grants
community
via
regional/HQ
websites.
Refine
reform
options
based on
EMC and
community
feedback.
Refine
reform
options
based on
EMC and
community
feedback.





Obtain
community
&EPA
feedback;
initiate
program-
specific
trainings.
Evaluate
community
feedback;
Obtain EPA
feedback.


Finalize
reform
options.




Finalize
reform
options.









Evaluate
feedback;
continue
to develop
program-
specific
training.

Evaluate
feedback;
finalize
competitio
n tools.


Begin
implementation





Begin drafting
of grant or
contract
RFP(s).








Complete all
training.






Roll-out
competition
tools to
communities.



Continue
implementation





Issue RFP(s).











Roll-out
training to
communities.





Promote use of
tools.





Continue
implementation





RFP period
closes.










Provide
training.






Promote use of
tools.





Continue
implement
ation.




Evaluate
application
s an make
selections
for service
provider(s)






Provide
training.






Evaluation
of
effectiven
ess of
tools.


Conduct
evaluation
and make
necessary
adjustments.


Monitor
service
provider(s),
conduct
evaluation,
and make
necessary
adjustments.




Conduct
evaluation of
training and
make
necessary
adjustments.


Tools
adjusted
based on
results of
evaluation.


Reduction in
regional workload;
Increase in
community grant
applications.


Compliance with
performance
measures in
grant/contract
workplan(s);
Degree of
utilization by
regions and
Communities;
Geographic
distribution of
outreach activities.
Community
satisfaction as
measured by
customer
feedback.



Number of, and
participation in,
webinars;
Increase in
applications from
new organizations
(OEJ).
           Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                                                 178

-------
&EPA
O1 FY90n
Strategy Number Q2FY2011 Q3FY2011 Q4FY2011 Q1FY2012 Q2FY2012 Q3FY2012 Q4FY2012 py^fflli Measures
Strategy 5:

Revise grant policies that
are unduly restrictive.


Strategy 5:
Revise grant policies that
are unduly restrictive.


Strategy 6: Encourage
OEJ-OGC/ORC-Program
Office Dialogue on
Community-Based Grant
Issues.


Strategy 6:
Encourage OEJ-
OGC/ORC -Program
Office Dialogue on
Community-Based Grant
Issues.


Strategy 7: Improve
Timeliness of Brownfields
Grant Awards.


Inform

programs of
temporary
rsvissd
version of
Delegation 1-
86.

Draft policy to
simplify
indirect cost
rules; solicit
feedback on
changes to
other policies.
Hold kick-off
meeting to
clarify roles
and
responsibilitie
s for eligibility
reviews.
Schedule for
issuance of
OGC
guidance on
the scope of
existing grant
authorities to
be
determined.
Develop draft
approach.







Issue draft
revision to
indirect
cost
policies and
nthpr
Ull 1 Gl
identified
policies.
Second
quarterly
meeting.








Consult
with HO/
Regional
Program &
Grsnts
Offices.





Issue final
revised
indirect
cost rate
policy/other
revised
policies.
Quarterly
meeting.








Finalize
strategy
and begin
tn
Lu
implement.


Issue final
revised
vsrsion of
Delegation 1-
86.



Implement.


Quarterly
meeting.








Implement.









Continue to
implement.


Quarterly
meeting.








Continue to
implement.









Continue to
implement.


Quarterly
meeting.








Continue to
implement.









Continue to
implement.


Quarterly
meeting.








Continue to
implement.


Assess need
for additional
changes to
delegation
and make
adjustments
as
necessary.

Conduct
evaluation
and make
necessary
adjustments.

Conduct
evaluation
and make
necessary
adjustments.







Conduct
evaluation
and make
nscssssry
adjustments.


Increase in
number of
single-statute
awards.

Number of
communities
that take
advantage of
simplified
indirect cost
rates.
Increase in
timeliness of
Program
Office/
OGC/ORC
eligibility
reviews.
Reduction in
number of
legally
ineligible
grant
applications.


Reduction in
award times
across grants
officss

        Plan EJ 2014: Appendix, Implementation Plans
                                                                179

-------
This page left intentionally blank

-------
SEPA
                               AANAPISIs    Asian American Native American Pacific Islanders Servicing
                                            Institutions
                               ADP         Action Development Process
                               Agency       U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                               ASIWPCA     Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control
                                            Administrators
                               ASTSWMO    Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste
                                            Management Officials
                               BAG"         Best Available Control Technology
                               C-FERST      Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool
                               CAA         Clean Air Act
                               CAAAC       Clean Air Act Advisory Committee
                               CAFO         Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
                               CARE         Community Action for a Renewed Environment
                               CB           Community-based
                               CBCE         Community-based coordination efforts (initiative)
                               CBP         Community-based partners (program)
                               CBPR         Community-Based Participatory Research
                               CCRS         Criminal Case Reporting System
                               CEI           Community Engagement Initiative
                               CenRANK     Census Tract Ranking Tool for Environmental Justice
                               CEQ         White House Council on Environmental Quality
                               CHPAC       Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee
                               CIC           Community Involvement Coordinator
                               CIO          Chief Information Officer
                               CIPIB         Community Involvement and Program Initiatives Branch
                               CIU           Community Involvement University
                               CRA         Cumulative Risk Assessment
                               CSO         Combined Sewer Overflow
                               CVRA         Crime Victims' Rights Act
                               DAA         Deputy Assistant Administrator
                               DOE         U.S. Department of Energy
                               DOJ         U.S. Department of Justice
 Plan EJ 2014: Acronyms
                                                                                           181

-------
vvEPA
                                DOT          U.S. Department of Transportation
                                DRA          Deputy Regional Administrator
                                DSW          Definition of Solid Waste (rule)
                                ECOS         Environmental Council of the States
                                EEO          Equal Employment Opportunity
                                EFAB         Environmental Financial Advisory Board
                                EIS           Environmental Impact Statement
                                EJIWG        Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental
                                             Justice
                                EJC           Environmental Justice Committee
                                EJGAT        Environmental Justice Geographic Assessment Tool
                                EJSEAT        Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment
                                             Tool
                                EMC          Executive Management Council
                                EO 12898      Executive Order 12898 (on environmental justice)
                                EPA          U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                                ESC           Executive Steering Committee
                                FaST          Faculty and Student Teams (Program)
                                FCHDR        Federal Collaboration on Health Disparities Research
                                FRS           Facility Registry System
                                FY           Fiscal Year
                                GDG          Geospatial Data Gateway
                                GIS           Geospatial Information System
                                GMO         Grants Management Officers
                                GRO          Greater Research Opportunities (fellowship)
                                GWPC        Ground Water Protection Council
                                HBCUs        Historical Black Colleges and Universities
                                HHS          U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
                                HSIs          Hispanic  Servicing Institutions
                                HUD          U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
                                ICIS           Integrated Compliance Information System
                                ICR           Indirect Cost Rate
                                IGD           Integrated Geospatial Database
                                ITEP          Tribal Environmental Professionals
  Plan EJ 2014: Acronyms
                                                                                            182

-------
vvEPA
                                LEP           Limited English Proficiency
                                MAI          Minority Academic Institutions
                                MOU          Memorandum of Understanding
                                MSI           Minority Serving Institution
                                NACAA        National Association of Clean Air Agencies, comprised of
                                              the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program
                                              Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution
                                              Control Officials
                                NACWA       National Association for Clean Water Agencies
                                NAHMMA     North American Hazardous Materials Management
                                              Association
                                NCER          National Center for Environmental Research
                                NCMHD       National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
                                NEI           National Enforcement Initiative
                                NEJAC         National Environmental Justice Advisory Council
                                NEPA          National Environmental Policy Act
                                NEPPS         National Environmental Performance Partnership System
                                NERL          National Exposure Research Laboratory
                                NESCA         National Enforcement Strategy for Corrective Action
                                NEWMOA     Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association
                                NGO          Non-governmental organization
                                NHEERL       National Health and Environmental Effects Research
                                              Laboratory
                                NIH           National Institutes of Health
                                NPM          National Program Manager
                                NSF           National Science Foundation
                                NTOC         National Tribal Operations Committee
                                OAR          Office of Air and Radiation
                                OARM         Office of Administration and Resource Management
                                OCFO         Office of the Chief Financial Officer
                                OCHP         Office of Children's Health Protection
                                OCIR          Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
                                OCR          Office of Civil Rights
                                OCSPP         Office of Chemical Safety  and Pollution Prevention
                                ODOC         Office of Diversity, Outreach and Collaboration
  Plan EJ 2014: Acronyms
                                                                                             183

-------
vvEPA
                               OECA         Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
                               OEI           Office of Environmental Information
                               OEJ           Office of Environmental Justice
                               OFA          Office of Federal Activities
                               OFM          Office of Financial Management
                               OGC          Office of General Counsel
                               OGD          Office of Grants and Debarment
                               OHR          Office of Human Resources
                               OIA           Office Indian Affairs
                               OIAA         Office of Information Analysis and Access
                               OP           Office of Policy
                               OPP          Office of Pesticide Programs
                               ORC          Office of Regional Counsel
                               ORD          Office of Research and Development
                               OSA          Office of the Science Advisor
                               OSP          Office of Science Policy
                               OSWER       Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
                               OW           Office of Water
                               PPA          Performance Partnership Agreement
                               PPG          Performance Partnership Grants
                               Q&A          Question-and-Answer
                               QIC           Quality and Information Council
                               RAF           Risk Assessment Forum
                               RARE         Regional Applied Research Effort Program
                               RCRA         Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
                               RFA           Request for Applications
                               RFP           Request for proposal
                               RSS           Really Simple Syndication
                               SAB           Science Advisory Board
                               SEP           Supplemental Environmental Project
                               SHCRP        Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program
                               SIT           Strategic Implementation Team
                               SSMs         Startups, Shutdowns, and Malfunctions
                               SSO           Sanitary Sewer Overflow
  Plan EJ 2014: Acronyms
                                                                                           184

-------
vvEPA
                            STAR        Science to Achieve Research (grant)
                            TAB         Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (grant)
                            TAMS       Tribal Air Monitoring Support (Center)
                            TASC        Technical Assistance Services for Communities (program)
                            TBD         To be determined
                            TCUs        Tribal Colleges and Universities
                            TRI         Toxics Release Inventory
                            UTEP        University of Texas El Paso
                                                                                   185
 Plan EJ 2014: Acronyms

-------
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

-------