vvEPA
  United States
  Environmental Protection
  Agency
Plan  EJ  2014
  Legal Tools
 Development
                         Plan EJ 2014 is EPA s roadmap for
                         integrating environmental justice into
                         its programs and policies.

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        &EPA
LEGAL TOOLS DEVELOPMENT
       Implementation Plan
         September 2011

             Led by
        Office of General Counsel
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
        Washington, D.C. 20460

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&EPA
                                                PLAN EJ 2014 AT A GLANCE

                                  Plan EJ 2014 is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s
                                  roadmap to integrating environmental justice into its programs and policies.
                                  The year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order
                                  12898 on environmental justice.  Plan EJ 2014 seeks to:

                                         Protect the environment and health in overburdened communities.
                                      -   Empower communities to take action to improve their health and
                                         environment.
                                      •   Establish partnerships with local, state, tribal, and federal
                                         governments and organizations to achieve healthy and sustainable
                                         communities.
                                  As the EPA's overarching environmental justice strategy, Plan EJ 2014 has
                                  three major sections: Cross-Agency Focus Areas, Tools Development
                                  Areas, and Program Initiatives.
                                  The Cross-Agency Focus Areas are:
                                         Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking.
                                         Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting.
                                      •   Advancing Environmental Justice through Compliance and
                                         Enforcement.
                                      •   Supporting Community-Based Action Programs.
                                      •   Fostering Administration-Wide Action on Environmental Justice.

                                  The Tools Development Areas are:
                                         Science.
                                         Law.
                                         Information.
                                         Resources.

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                       1.0   INTRODUaiON	2
                         1.1 Goals	1
                         1.2 Organizational Structure	1
                       2.0   IMPLEMENTATION	2
                         2.1 Strategies	2
                         2.2 Activities	2
                         2.3 Community Engagement and Stakeholder Outreach	3
                         2.4 Adjustments	3
                       3.0   DELIVERABLES	3

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 &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: Legal Tools Development

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           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."
                                •• " ;.••
                                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.
                                •" :    -  "•" ities
                                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.
  Plan EJ 2014: Legal Tools Development

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                              .' •                        and
                           OGC will participate in the stakeholder outreach implemented by each
                           focus area that we serve.
                           2,4
                           The Office of General Counsel might adjust this implementation plan after
                           a period of implementation.
                           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: Legal Tools Development

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For more information on Plan EJ 2014, visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of
     Environmental Justice website at: http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/plan-ej7

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