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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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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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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