SEPA 190B12002 United States Environmental Protection Agency Cross-Cutting Fundamental Strategy FY 2011 Action Plan Annual Progress Report Strategy 2: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health Work to reduce and prevent harmful exposures and health risks to children and underserved, disproportionately impacted low-income, minority, and tribal communities, and support community efforts to build healthy, sustainable green neighborhoods. Executive Summary In FY 2011, EPA took important steps to: (1) promote environmental justice and children's health in regulatory decisions; (2) strengthen federal partnerships; (3) apply best scientific methods; and, (4) deliver environmental results in communities. In addition, EPA has finalized "Plan EJ 2014," which implements the environmental justice (EJ) portion of this cross-cutting strategy. Some of most significant Agency accomplishments that demonstrate how EPA works for environmental justice and children's health (CH) and challenges are noted below. Accomplishment Highlights: • EPA is developing and implementing guidance on incorporating environmental justice into EPA's rulemaking process. For the first time in its history, EPA has begun conducting a review and analysis of EJ considerations in its ongoing rulemaking work. On June 30, 2011 EPA proposed a revised Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) rulemaking which took into consideration disproportionate risk on certain population groups from the recycling of hazardous secondary materials and from the facilities that may take advantage of the 2008 DSW rule. 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. • EPA is developing tools to enable communities to have full and meaningful access to the permitting process and to develop permits that address environmental justice. One example was the Environmental Justice Assessment of Mountain Top Mining Sites in Region 3, which utilizes a multi-tiered approach. In FY 2011, EPA Region 3 conducted these assessments on over 20 mines, 90 outfalls related to an Arch Consent Decree, and several other mining sites. The EJ assessment of the Spruce No. 1 Mine led to the inclusion of EJ considerations in the factors leading to the Clean Water Act Section 404(c) action to veto the permit. This was only the 13th Section 404(c) action in the Agency's history, the first post-permit Section 404(c) action, the first Section 404(c) action protecting headwater stream ecosystems, and the first action addressing surface coal mining. Additionally, in recent prevention of significant deterioration permit reviews, the Regions have included a review of community asthma rates and native cultural and traditional concerns in its environmental justice analysis. • EPA's enforcement program is developing case targeting strategies and remedies in enforcement actions to benefit overburdened communities. On July 7, 2011, a Consent Decree (CD) resolving Clean Water Act (CWA) violations by North East Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) was entered. The decree legally FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health ------- binds NEORSD to a $3 billion, 25-year program to reduce the total volume of raw sewage discharges from 4.5 billion gallons to 494 million gallons annually. About 43% of area households have incomes under $25,000. The Consent Decree provides accelerated relief to EJ areas bearing a disproportionate burden of contamination. The CD will also reduce bacteria pollution at the two bathing beaches serving EJ communities in Cleveland, reducing the days swimming advisories are issued. Over 98% of the wet weather flows in the sewer system will be receiving treatment in 25 years. The Plan mandates many infrastructure projects that will create jobs both in the near term, and for a number of years to come, creating an economic benefit to the community. NEORSD is also breaking new ground with the use of large-scale "green Infrastructure" projects. • EPA is strengthening community-based programs to deliver environmental and economic benefits that promote healthy, sustainable, and green communities. For example: o 75,000 people were trained and 12,664 firms certified on the lead renovation, repair, and painting rule in New England. Cumulative national numbers through FY 2011 are 500,000 trained workers and 100,000 certified firms. Lead poisoning disproportionately impacts low-income children, and the training to support the implementation of the rule is expected to contribute to the reduction of elevated blood lead levels in low-income children. o 600 private wells in Yakima Valley, WA were tested for nitrogen and 172 water filters were installed on contaminated properties. Yakima Valley is predominantly a low-income, Spanish-speaking farm worker community that has high nitrate concentrations in drinking water from private wells. • EPA is facilitating the active involvement of all federal agencies in implementing Executive Order (E.O.) 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations." On August 4, 2011 the Federal Environmental Justice Interagency Workgroup (EJ IWG) released its Memorandum of Understanding (MOD) on Environmental Justice and E.O. 12898 affirming the commitment of EPA and sixteen other federal agencies to integrate environmental justice into programs, policies, and activities. As part of this commitment, each agency updated existing environmental justice strategies by the end of September 2011. • EPA, through a contract with the National Center for Healthy Housing, worked with EPA Regional coordinators to conduct over 25 training sessions regarding the assessment of housing-related environmental health hazards for environmental health practitioners, public health nurses, housing professionals, community outreach workers, tribal environmental health officials, and leaders of community-based organizations. • EPA engaged with the Children's Heath Protection Advisory Committee and other stakeholders to get public input into the criteria it will use to identify chemicals of concern for assessment and potential action under the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA), including two criteria that focus on children— chemicals identified as potentially of concern for children's health (e.g., chemicals with reproductive or developmental effects) and chemicals used in children's products. Challenges: • EPA needs to continue efforts to establish meaningful performance measures to track delivery of environmental and public health results in overburdened communities and populations and address challenges related to the criteria for identifying areas of EJ concern for the establishment of place-based measures. • The request for research applications planned for March 2011 on observational studies to explore links among environmental contaminants in child care environments and school facilities, children's health, and student performance has been delayed until Agency policy on the ethical conduct of exposure studies has been approved. FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 2: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete Children's Health 1. Implement Action Development Process Guidance for considering CH when developing regulations related to the protection of human health (Supports Principle 1). Train appropriate managers and staff on implementing CH guidance documents, identify additional training needs, and develop a roadmap for future years to ensure sustained implementation, including specific follow-up steps and measures to ensure that the training was used and useful by the programs (by September 2011). EPA conducted training on the CH guidance as part of the Agency's 2-day course on "Action Development at EPA." A webinar and additional training dates are being considered for FY 2012. Based on FY 2012 training results, a roadmap for future years will be developed. 2. Each National Program Manager (NPM) will identify at least one existing strategic plan measure that can be used as is or enhanced so that it describes the measurable human health and environmental outcomes resulting from programmatic actions that benefit children's health. Program measures will also be examined and selected for their potential to support the development of baselines in FY 2012 to track and report progress to improve conditions and health among vulnerable age groups over time (Supports Principle 2). Each NPM will identify, enhance or develop at least one annual performance measure that can be used to incorporate children's health progress (by March 2011) in the FY 2013 OMB Budget Submission (by September 2011). Three of the five major program offices provided annual budget measures, and an additional office identified measures that can be enhanced to incorporate children's health progress. Final FY 2012 NPM Guidance will include Regional performance expectations for the implementation of children's health programs, including annual commitments and baselines (if applicable) (by April 2011). Four out of five FY 2012 NPM (National Program Manager) Guidance documents included Regional performance expectations for CH. EPA will update and expand America's Children and the Environment - Third Edition, which presents trends in environmental factors related to the health and well-being of children in the United States and submit to EPA's Science Advisory Board for review (by September 2011). Letter peer review completed in place of Science Advisory Board review. Based on this feedback, EPA is on track to finalize "America's Children and the Environment-Third Edition" by December 2011. 3. Use children's health protection as a factor for prioritizing/targeting Agency work related to safe chemicals management (Supports Principle 3). FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 2: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete • Using children's health indicators and the latest children's health research findings, EPA will identify 5-10 priority chemical hazards for children's health for EPA to target through all Agency mechanisms, including regulations, enforcement, research, and voluntary programs (by April 2011). An Agency-wide workgroup has developed criteria for prioritizing the chemical hazards list. Initial input on chemicals was received and the list for internal use was finalized by September 30, 2011. EPA will consult with the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee on children's health criteria to contribute to identification of priority chemicals for assessment and appropriate action under TSCA (by September 2011). EPA consulted with the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC) and received feedback through a letter to Administrator Jackson in March 2011. EPA will advance the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in settings where children are present with a focus on schools, and with the long- term goal that every school in America is managed under a verifiable IPM program. In FY 2011, EPA will begin to shift the current emphasis of IPM grants from demonstration to implementation or adoption. EPA has redirected resources to focus on the verifiable school IPM program and is continuing efforts to design, coordinate, and implement this program at the Regional level. 4. Ensure consistent implementation of existing Agency policies and processes to account for specific exposure pathways and dose-response characteristics of children in risk assessments and standard setting practices (Supports Principle 4). Issue Request for Proposals (RFPs) on observational research on childhood exposures to environmental contaminants in child care environments and the relationship between school facilities, children's health, and student performance (by March 2011). The RFPs are on hold pending approval of the Agency policy on the ethical conduct of exposure studies. 5. Use children's health indicators to target community- based efforts and support priority community-based projects across EPA (Supports Principles 2 and 5). Incorporate a focus on children's environmental health, including training as a ranking factor, in grant solicitations under Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE), Environmental Justice, Brownfields, Environmental Education, and Tribal grant programs (by September 2011). EPA has issued guidance and a model solicitation clause that encourages program offices to include environmental justice considerations in applicable competitive grant solicitations which could include those involving children's health protection. 6. Increase interagency efforts to address the environmental, social, and economic burdens that impact children's health (Supports Principle 6). FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 2: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete Issue final voluntary guidelines for where to site school facilities (Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) Sec. 502) and draft voluntary guidelines for state school environmental health programs (EISA Sec. 504) (by September 2011). Guidelines finalized on September 30, 2011. State school environmental health guidelines will be drafted by December 2011. pi *_/gi cm 13 \i_u/-\ _>d,. *J\J*TI \*-'y JcjjLd 11uci £-\j j. j.y. Publish the inter-agency healthy homes strategy (by January 2011). Publication of the inter-agency healthy homes strategy has been delayed to address extensive comments. New date for finalizing strategy is November 2011. • Launch healthy homes training for housing intervention training programs, including weatherization and lead related renovation and repair (by September 2011). Healthy homes training was successfully launched with over 25 training sessions held throughout the U.S. in FY2011. Environmental Justice 1. Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking: Develop and implement guidance to support continuing consideration of environmental justice (EJ) in rulemakings (Supports Principle 1). • Draft a framework for technical guidance on how to incorporate EJ in rulemakings (August 2011). Schedule for early guidance was revised to enable time for the development of methods for incorporating EJ in rulemaking. 2. Ensure Environmental Justice Concerns in EPA's Permitting Process: Identify and develop tools to support the consideration of environmental justice during implementation of permitting programs and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews (Supports Principle 1). Convene a cross-agency workgroup on the consideration of EJ in federal EPA permits and review at a minimum three federal permits with EJ considerations (by September 2011). Accelerating Compliance and Enforcement Initiatives: Target specific compliance strategies and enforcement actions to address problems that affect overburdened communities and seek remedies in enforcement actions that benefit overburdened communities affected by the non-compliance (Supports Principle 1). FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 2: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete • Develop guidance on how to consider EJ in targeting, case development and prosecution, including addressing overburdened communities in fashioning remedies, mitigating the environmental and public health impacts caused by the noncompliance, and encouraging community-centered projects that benefit the overburdened communities. • Report to the public on the distribution and benefits of enforcement actions with respect to EJ concerns (by September 2011). EPA is in the process of identifying, developing, and implementing appropriate technical/programming requirements for the Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS) database to support Agency-wide reporting to the public on distribution and benefits of enforcement actions in EJ areas. The ICIS data field requirements have been finalized and the database changes will be completed by December 2011. 4. Supporting Community-Based Action Programs: Focus on environmental issues that matter to communities by empowering citizens and community groups to take action to improve their health and environment, by providing targeted technical assistance and resources, and by piloting tool development efforts in these project areas (Supports Principles 3 and 5). • EPA will deliver a pollution prevention strategy which will include the consideration of concerns of overburdened communities (May 2011). The strategy is under review by Agency senior leadership. • For Showcase Communities, document and report out on successes and lessons learned to help guide the design and implementation of environmental justice projects and help EPA increase its ability to address local environmental challenges in more effective, efficient, and sustainable ways (by September 2011). By the end of calendar year 2011, three Showcase projects will be completed and will document successes and lessons learned. The remaining seven projects need additional time to complete their work and document success stories and lessons learned (estimated for February 2012). Fostering Administration-Wide Action on Environmental Justice: Increase Administration-wide action on Environmental Justice to address the environmental, social, and economic burdens that impact communities and to protect children's health (Supports Principle 6). FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 2: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete • Convene White House Forum on environmental justice and conduct at least one listening session with community stakeholders in each often EPA Regions. EPA, in conjunction with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and other federal partners, convened a White House forum December 15, 2010. Over 150 community leaders from across the country participated. EPA, in conjunction with its federal partners, has conducted 13 Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group community dialogues (which is three more than anticipated), with two additional sessions scheduled for this fall, thus achieving full coverage in all ten EPA Regions . 6. Tools Development—Science: Develop methods to characterize and assess cumulative impacts building upon work from the Science of Disproportionate Impacts Analysis Symposium (March 17-19, 2010) and the Environmental Justice Regulatory Analysis Technical Workshop (Supports Principle 4). Publish peer reviewed papers on factors that can be used to identify and address disproportionate impacts (by September 2011). Papers to be published in December 2011. 7. Tools Development—Law: Work with the Office of General Counsel and the Regions to identify opportunities to utilize EPA's statutory authorities to advance environmental justice (Supports Principle 1). EPA expects to complete the EJ Legal Tools document in December 2011. 8. Tools Development—Information: Develop a common mapping platform and tools to enhance EJ analysis and decision making (Supports Principle 4). Production release of the GeoPlatform will be available in late 2011, and a working prototype of the screening tool in early 2012. 9. Tools Development—Resources: Coordinate multiple Agency grant programs for simple access to grant resources by the community (Supports Principle 5). The goal is to create a single website for all community based grant programs. • Grants have been inventoried. • Mock web page has been created. Decision is pending on location for the Web page. 10. Program Initiatives: Each NPM will identify at least one existing Strategic Plan measure that can be used as is or enhanced so that it describes the measurable human health and environmental outcomes resulting from programmatic actions that benefit overburdened communities (Supports Principle 2). FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health ------- FY 2011 Performance Summary Strategy 2: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health FY 2011 Action Plan Activity Status/Explanation = Activity complete • Each National Program Manager will identify and/or enhance or develop at least one annual performance measure to reflect environmental justice progress (by March 2011) that can be used in the FY 2013 OMB Budget Submission (by September 2011). Four of the five major program offices have identified annual budget measures. Final FY2012 National Program Manager Guidance will include Regional performance expectations surrounding the implementation of environmental justice programs, including annual commitments and baselines (if applicable) (by April 2011). FY 2011 Annual Progress Report: Working for Environmental Justice and Children's Health ------- |