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
------- |