Find out more about what
our regional offices are
doing for environmental
justice in your community!
Region 1
(ME, VT, NH, MA, CN, Rl)
One Congress Street
Boston, MA 02203
Phone: 617-918-1346
Region 2 (NY, NJ, PR, VI)
290 Broadway, 26th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Phone: 212-637-5027
Region 3
(MD, DE, WV, VA, PA, DC)
841 Chestnut Building
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-814-2988
Region 4
(AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN)
61 Forsyth Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 404-562-8460
Region 5
(IL, IN, Ml, MN, OH, Wl)
77 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3507
Phone: 312-353-5614
Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX)
1445 Ross Ave, Suite 1200
Dallas, TX 75202-2733
Phone: 214-665-3138
Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NB)
726 Minnesota Ave
Kansas City, KS 66101
Phone: 913-551-7649
Region 8
(CO, MT, ND,SD, UT, WY)
999 18th Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80202-2405
Phone: 303-462-9252
Region 9
(CA, AZ, HI, NV, GM, AS)
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415-972-3795
Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA)
1200 Sixth Ave (MD-142)
Seattle, WA 98101
Phone: 206-553-2899
SEPA
EPA 300F12002
April 2012
Quarterly EJ Teleconference
These calls provide information to participants about EPA's EJ activities and maintain an open dialogue with EJ
advocates. To find out more, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/events/ej-outreach-calls
Tools for EJ Action
OEJ programs have established the following tools to promote agency action on critical environmental justice
issuses. These cross-cutting efforts aim to create consistency and clarity around how EPA identifies and addresses
EJ concerns.
EJ View
EJ View is a mapping tool that allows users to create maps and generate detailed reports based on geographic
areas and data such as demographics, health and environmental information. The tool helps users identify areas in
the US overburdened with pollution at the state, county, city and census tract level. To find out more information
about EJ View or to use the application, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/mapping
Science
OEJ is leading the effort to understand how populations of EJ concern disproportionately
experience environmental health impacts and develop guidance on considering environmental
justice concerns in rulemaking. The office hosted the Symposium on the Science of
Disproportionate Environmental Health Impacts, to examine the reasons low income and
minority communities may experience disparities in environmental health. OEJ is also working
to strengthen consideration of EJ during the National Environmental Policy Act review process.
To read about these scientific developments, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/policy
Legal
OEJ promotes the use of existing statutory and regulatory authorities to advance environmental justice and
community health. For example, the memorandum, "Improving EPA Review of Appalachian Surface Coal Mining
Operations Under the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and the Environmental Justice
Executive Order", explains how EPA can apply these authorities to address EJ concerns in Appalachia. To learn more
about OEJ's work on legal issues, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/policy
Policy
To advance the consideration of EJ in policy making, EPA develops guidance documents that
ensure that the needs of overburdened communities are factored into regulatory and policy
decision-making. EPA released an interim guide on incorporating environmental justice
into the agency's process for developing rules and regulations. EPA also released voluntary
school siting guidelines to help local school districts and community members evaluate
environmental and public health risks, (e.g. onsite contamination like chemicals in soil or offsite
risks like industrial facilities) and benefits of potential school locations (e.g. location that's close
to where students live so they can walk or bike to school) during the school siting process. To
access these guidance documents, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/policy
Training and Workshops
OEJ and the regional offices provide training courses and other workshops to educate environmental stakeholders
about the public health and environmental issues which impact communities overburdened by pollution. To date
more than 4,000 environmental stakeholders have been trained on the fundamentals of environmental justice. OEJ
has also developed an online EJ course, which explores the origins of the environmental justice movement, and
provides an overview of analytical tools to help understand, integrate, and address environmental justice issues. To
find out more, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources
For More Information
Expanding the
Conversation
To find out more about the Office of Environmental Justice, call 202-564-2515, or visit:
www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice
For a direct way to provide feedback and find answers to questions related to environmental
justice, call the EJ Hotline at 800-962-6215.
r/Eft
www.epa.gov/environmentaljustjce
Office of Environmental
Justice in Action
In January 2010, Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced the
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) top priorities: reducing
greenhouse gas emissions; improving air quality; managing chemical
risks; cleaning up hazardous waste disposal sites; protecting America's
water; expanding the conversation on environmentalist!) and working
for environmental justice, and building strong state and tribal
partnerships.
During a speech about environmental justice,
Administrator Jackson emphasized, "In the years
ahead, I want to see a full-scale revitalization
of what we do and how we think about
environmental justice. This is not an issue we can
afford to relegate to the margins. It has to be part
of our thinking in every decision we make."
To revitalize the agency's environmental justice efforts, the
Administrator directed the EPA's national programs and regional
offices to address the needs of overburdened communities by
decreasing environmental burdens, increasing environmental
benefits, and working collaboratively to build healthy, sustainable,
and green communities.
Plan EJ 2014
Plan EJ 2014
Plan EJ 2014 has been developed to support
Administrator Jackson's priority to advance
environmental justice. Plan EJ 2014 is not a
rule or regulation. It is a strategy to integrate
environmental justice into EPA's day-to-day
activities.
Implementation of Plan EJ 2014 is the responsibility of the entire
agency. Each national program and region has taken a leadership
role in Plan EJ 2014 and has developed an implementation plan to
manage their commitments. The Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ)
supports the management and communication of the plan, and in
some areas directly participates in the execution of implementation
plans.
About the Office of Environmental Justice
The Office of Environmental Justice, formerly known as the
Office of Environmental Equity, was created in 1992 and has the
primary responsibility for coordinating agency efforts to integrate
environmental justice consideration into all of EPA's policies,
programs, and activities. OEJ works to empower stakeholders to
constructively and collaboratively address environmental justice
issues. The office also establishes partnerships with local, state,
tribal, and federal governments and organizations to achieve
healthy and sustainable communities.
For the past 20 years OEJ has worked to foster public health and
sustainability in overburdened communities and to enable all
EPA Headquarters and regional offices to address environmental
justice as a part of their day-to-day activities. Under Administrator
Jackson's leadership, the EPA has expanded this concept to not
only address disproportionately adverse human health problems in
overburdened communities, but also to focus on providing access
to the environmental, public health, and economic benefits of all
federal agency programs.
To accomplish this mission, OEJ has created programs, policies, and
activities outlined in this document, to engage federal agencies to
help them understand environmental justice issues; build capacity
for community-based action programs; incorporate the voice
of communities into agency decisions; and provide tools for EJ
actions.
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D/d tyou November 2, 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of EPA's
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Agency Milestones
Environmental
Equity Work
Group formed.
1990
1991
President Clinton issues EO 12898,
Federal Actions to Address Environmental
| Justice in Minority Populations and Low-
Income Populations.
I Office of Environmental
Justice formed (formerly
Office of Environmental
Equity).
1992
National
Environmental
I Justice Advisory
Council established.
1993
1994
National Environmental
Justice Training
Collaborative formed.
EPA and the
President's Council
for Environmental
Quality convene the
1st public listening
session.
Federal Environmental
Justice Interagency
Working Group formed.
Environmental
Justice Action Plans
implementation
besins.
EPA issues memorandum,
"Statutory and Regulatory
Authorities Under Which
Environmental Justice Issues May
Be Addressed in Permitting."
Environmental Justice Smal
Grants Prosram established.
1995
1996
1997
1998
Engaging Other Agencies to Understand and Address EJ Issues
In order to support the achievement of public health and sustainability
in overburdened communities, the federal government can use a
variety of authorities and resources. To leverage these resources, EPA
engages federal agencies to help them participate in a coordinated
approach.
The Federal Interagency Working Group on
Environmental Justice (EJ IWG)
The EJ IWG was established in 1994 under Executive Order 12898. The
EJ IWG guides, supports, and enhances federal environmental justice
and community-based activities. It is comprised of 15 federal agencies
and several White House offices. The Memorandum of Understanding
on Environmental Justice is an agreement between EJ IWG agencies
to recommit to environmental justice through a collaborative effort.
Each agency released an EJ strategy in February, 2012.
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities is an excellent
illustration of how this type of inter-agency collaboration can
work. By working together, the departments of Housing and Urban
Development and Transportation, and EPA are helping to improve
access to affordable housing, provide more transportation options at
lower costs, and protect the environment in communities nationwide.
For more information about current EJ IWG activities, visit:
www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency
Building Capacity for Community-Based Action Programs
The EPA has learned that communities must be the driver for local
solutions. To build capacity in these communities, OEJ provides grants
to organizations, works with regional offices to provide technical
assistance to communities, and engages overburdened populations
to build partnerships that promote healthy communities.
Small Grants Programs
The Environmental Justice Small Grants Program provides financial
assistance to community-based organizations and local and tribal
governments working on community projects aimed at addressing
environmental and public health issues. Since 1994, the program has
awarded $24 million to 1,466 grant recipients. The goal of the EJ Small
Grants Program is to help affected communities create self-sustaining,
community-based partnerships that will continue to improve local
environments in the future. To find out more about the EJ Small
Grants Program, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/grants/
ej-smgrants
Environmental Justice Showcase Communities
The EPA provided $1 million to help alleviate environmental and
human health challenges in ten communities across the nation.
The effort brings together the collective resources and expertise of
governmental and non-governmental organizations to achieve real
results in communities. The lessons learned from the projects increase
EPA's ability to address local environmental challenges and support
community development in more effective, efficient, and sustainable
ways,. To learn more about EJ Showcase Community projects, visit:
www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/grants/ej-showcase
Youth Workshops
Young people experience the world through a different lens, allowing
them to bring innovative ideas to the table. To harness this energy, OEJ
hosts workshops to promote youth participation in the environmental
decision-making process. Local youths range between the ages of 14
and 25 years of age.
Environmental Justice Eco-Ambassadors
The EJ Eco-Ambassador program provides student career development
opportunities for graduate students. The program aims to expand
opportunities for graduate students to work collaboratively with EPA
offices to support community based programs and increase local
community's capacity to address environmental concerns; and facilitate
career development opportunities for graduate level students who
have been involved in or have a strong interest in environmental
justice. To learn more, visit: www.epa.gov/ecoambassadors/
environmentaljustice
Incorporating the Voice of Communities in Agency Decisions
OEJ is working to integrate consideration of environmental
justice concerns and incorporate EJ communities' voices into the
planning and implementation of the agencies' program strategies.
National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC)
The mission of NEJAC is to provide independent advice and
recommendations to the Administrator about broad, crosscutting
issues related to environmental justice. NEJAC also holds public
meetings to receive comments, questions, and recommendations
regarding environmental justice issues. Since 1993, the NEJAC has
developed 27 recommendation reports to better address
the needs of disadvantaged and underserved communities. To read
the NEJAC's reports, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/nejac
EJ Listserv
The listserv notifies individuals about EPA's programs, projects, grants,
public input opportunities and EJ activities at other agencies. To join
the EJ Listserv, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources
Tribal and Indigenous Stakeholder Consultation
To work more effectively with federally-recognized tribes and other
indigenous peoples on EJ issues, EPA is developing new processes to
coordinate & collaborate with tribes and indigenous stakeholders.
The NEJAC/lndigenous Peoples Work Group is providing advice and
recommendations to EPA on how to work more effectively with tribes,
indigenous stakeholders, and other federal agencies to address EJ
issues. EPA will use the input from the tribes, the NEJAC, and other
indigenous stakeholders, to develop its tribal and indigenous peoples
EJ guiding principles/policy. To learn more about OEJ's efforts on tribal
policy, visit: www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/indigenous
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