Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Working Together for
Environmental
Making a Visible Difference in Overburdened Communities
Action Agenda Framework
Fiscal Years 2016 - 2018
DRAFT
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Background: Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice 3
Action Agenda Framework Goals 4
I. Enhance communication and coordination to improve the health, quality-of-life, and economic
opportunities in overburdened communities 5
II. Enhance multi-agency support of holistic community-based solutions to solve environmental justice
issues 5
III. Advance interagency strategies to identify and address environmental justice concerns in agency
programs, policies, and activities 5
Appendix A: Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice Governance Structure 6
Appendix B: Action Agenda Framework Fiscal Year 2016 Priorities 8
Appendix C: Annual Progress Report for the Action Agenda Framework 10
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 2
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Introduction
The Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG) plays a central role in
creating healthy and sustainable communities by bringing together the federal family to address critical
environmental justice issues. The EJ IWG provides leadership, guidance, and support to federal agencies
on the following key areas:
• Coordinating a focused and concerted effort by federal agencies to directly address the
environmental, social, economic, and public health burdens in minority, low-income, indigenous
and tribal communities;
• Implementing policies that have measurable impacts on environmental justice; and
• Focusing federal agency resources and technical assistance to address disproportionate health
and environmental impacts.
The EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework (Framework) is a strategic plan to define new goals for the next
three years and advance greater federal agency collaboration to improve the quality of life and expand
economic opportunity in overburdened1 and under-resourced communities. Increased coordination and
cooperation among federal agencies will promote holistic community-based solutions to environmental
justice issues and ensure that the public has meaningful opportunities for participation in the decision-
making process.
Background: Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental
Justice
The EJ IWG facilitates the active involvement of all federal agencies to implement President Clinton's
Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations," (Order)2. The Order states that federal agencies must identify and address,
as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their
programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations.
Established by the Order, the EJ IWG provides a forum for federal agencies collectively to advance
environmental justice principles. The EJ IWG works as a federal family to assist communities in building
the capacity to promote and implement innovative and comprehensive solutions to address
environmental justice issues.
1 http://compliance.supportportal.com/link/portal/23002/23009/Article/34316/What-is-the-definition-
of-overburdened-communitv-that-is-relevant-for-EPA-Actions-and-Promising-Practices
Executive Order No. 12898, 59 F.R. 7629 (1994):
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/resources/policv/exec order 12898.pdf
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 3
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
The EJ IWG is chaired by the EPA Administrator and includes federal agencies and White House offices.
The EJ IWG has standing committees and other committees established as necessary to carry out
responsibilities outlined by the Order. The EJ IWG consists of senior leadership representatives, senior
staff representatives, and other persons designated by a federal agency. Additional information on the
EJ IWG's governance structure can be found in Appendix A of this document.
In 2011, the EJ IWG agencies took a landmark step to support environmental justice by signing a
Memorandum of Understanding3 on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898 (MOU) and
adopting a Charter. The MOU serves as a formal agreement among federal agencies to recommit to
addressing environmental justice through a more collaborative, comprehensive, and efficient process.
The Charter, revised in late 2014,4 outlines the EJ IWG's governance structure which includes the
following standing (permanent) committees:
• Public Participation
• Regional Interagency Working Groups
• Strategy and Implementation Progress Reports
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
In addition, consistent with the Presidential Memorandum5 issued with the Order, and based on public
recommendations, every three years the EJ IWG determines if there are additional focus areas for
federal agencies to consider and address. During fiscal years 2016 - 2018, the EJ IWG will maintain
committees to address the following five focus areas:
• Native Americans/Indigenous Peoples
• Rural Communities
• Impacts from Climate Change
• Impacts from Commercial Transportation (Goods Movement)
• National Environmental Policy Act
Action Agenda Framework Goals
The EJ IWG developed this Action Agenda Framework, which builds on decades of environmental justice
work, to focus the collective efforts of the federal agencies on three strategic goals for fiscal years 2016-
2018:
3 MOU: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaliustice/resources/publications/interagencv/ei-mou-2011-
08.pdf
4 Charter: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaliustice/resources/publications/interagencv/iwg-charter-
2014.pdf
5 Presidential Memorandum:
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/resources/policv/clinton memo 12898.pdf
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 4
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
I. Enhance communication and coordination to improve the health, quality-of-life, and
economic opportunities in overburdened communities;
II. Enhance multi-agency support of holistic community-based solutions to solve environmental
justice issues; and
III. Advance interagency strategies to identify and address environmental justice concerns in
agency programs, policies, and activities.
Outlined below are a few ways the EJ IWG committees will work to achieve the goals over the next three
fiscal years.
I. Enhance communication and coordination to improve the health, quality-of-life, and
economic opportunities in overburdened communities
• Enhance community outreach to provide greater public access to federal information, resources,
and training;
• Maximize opportunities for federal agency leadership to consider stakeholder feedback; and
• Facilitate opportunities for EJ IWG senior leadership to share updates on EJ implementation with
advisory boards (e.g., National Environmental Justice Action Council, site specific advisory
boards) and community leaders.
II. Enhance multi-agency support of holistic community-based solutions to solve
environmental justice issues
• Enhance community capacity building through sharing of lessons learned, promising practices,
and resources;
• Identify and leverage federal resources to address environmental challenges and build
sustainable community infrastructure; and
• Foster federal interagency collaboration on a regional, state, tribal, and local level.
III. Advance interagency strategies to identify and address environmental justice concerns
in agency programs, policies, and activities
• Increase community awareness of federal agency environmental justice strategies and goals to
get feedback that assists the federal family in implementation;
• Identify opportunities to highlight interagency community solutions to help advance
implementation of federal EJ policies and guidance; and
• Improve implementation of federal environmental justice policies and guidance.
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 5
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Appendix A: Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Governance Structure
The EJ IWG's responsibilities and authority to act on environmental justice issues are established by
Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations/' with two accompanying documents: 1) the Memorandum of Understanding
on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898 and 2) The Charter for the Interagency Working
Group on Environmental Justice. Each of these documents can be found on the EJ IWG webpage:
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/interagencv/.
EJ IWG Governance Chart FY 2016 - 2018
txecut -e urder
12898
Interagency
| Working Group on
Environmental
Justice (IWG)
IWG Charter
IWG MOU
Public
Participation
Committee
Regional IWGs
Committee
I Native Americans/
Indigenous
Peoples
Committee
Rural
Communities
Committee
Chart Key
Permanent IWG Committees
Ad Hoc IWG Committees
Strategy and
Implementation
Progress Report
Committee
Impacts from
Climate Change
Committee
Commercial
Transportation
"Goods
Movement
Committee
| Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act
Committee
National
Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA)
Committee
August 20, 2015
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 6
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
EJ IWG STANDING COMMITTEES
(PERMANENT, Displayed in green on the Governance Chart)
COMMITTEE NAME
PURPOSE OF COMMITTEE
Public Participation
Develops listening sessions and opportunities for public input.
Facilitates collaboration and public participation with federal
agencies and external stakeholders. Utilizes social media and
other means of communication to build participation. Helps
coordinate responses to public input.
Regional Interagency Working
Groups
Provides targeted and coordinated technical assistance; develops
relationships between federal field and regional staff; and
develops best practices for prioritizing EJ concerns.
Strategy and Implementation
Progress Report
Serves as a resource for federal agencies as they review, update,
or develop their environmental justice strategy, and the annual
implementation progress reports. Works with agencies to help
coordinate programs, policies, and activities. Coordinates EJ IWG
Senior Leadership meetings. Manages implementation of the EJ
IWG Action Agenda Framework and Standard Operating
Procedures.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
Serves as a resource to help agencies connect their civil rights
enforcement responsibilities with their other efforts to achieve
environmental justice.
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 7
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
EJ IWG AD HOC COMMITTEES (AD HOC, Displayed in light blue on the Governance Chart)
COMMITTEE NAME
PURPOSE OF COMMITTEE
Native Americans/Indigenous
Peoples
Facilitates effective coordination and collaboration of federal
agencies in identifying and addressing issues of environmental
justice that are of concern to federally recognized tribes,
indigenous peoples (including state recognized tribes, tribal
members, indigenous community-based organizations, native
Hawaiians, native Alaskans and individual Native Americans), and
others living in Indian country.
Rural Communities
Supports efforts to: ensure collaboration between federal
agencies and rural environmental justice communities, create
prosperity so rural environmental justice communities are self-
sustaining and economically thriving, and coordinate federal
agency investments to further holistic community-based
solutions that solve environmental justice issues.
Impacts from Climate Change
Supports collaboration across federal agencies and with
communities with environmental justice concerns around climate
change-related issues including ensuring vulnerable populations
are considered in agencies' climate adaptation activities;
providing information, services, and data to help make
communities more resilient; providing relevant tools, systems,
and policies to communities and businesses needs to mitigate
impacts on natural resources and human health due to climate
change; and ensuring two way communication around climate-
change related issues. Implements the Educate, Motivate &
Innovate (EMI) Project.
Impacts from Commercial
Transportation
"Goods Movement"
Serves as a resource to coordinate with other federal agencies on
reducing environmental and health effects of commercial
transportation and supporting infrastructure ("goods
movement") that impact low-income, minority and tribal
populations (overburdened communities )". Ensures that
overburdened communities have greater opportunities to benefit
from federal efforts related to goods movement.
National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA)
Improves effective, efficient and consistent consideration of EJ
principles in the NEPA process through sharing of promising
practices and lessons learned developed by federal departments
and agencies.
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 8
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Appendix B: Action Agenda Framework Fiscal Year 2016 Priorities
The Action Agenda Framework spans a three-year timeframe. The FY 2016 priorities are a snapshot of
the activities planned for implementation by the end of October 2016. The EJ IWG will produce an
annual Action Agenda Framework Progress Report.
Collaboration
• Identify and highlight successful community-based models that leverage federal investments,
technical assistance, and community-based resources on the EJ IWG website
• Increase collaboration and leveraging of resources for capacity building, economic investments,
and research (e.g., climate, traditional cultural resources) in rural communities
• Issue Draft Report of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Committee on Promising
Practices for EJ Methodologies in NEPA Reviews
Community Resources
• Issue and post on the EJ IWG home page, a memorandum to federal funding recipients on how
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, applies to federally funded activities that
have an impact on the environment and human health
• Update and post on the EJ IWG home page the August 2011 Community-Based Federal
Environmental Justice Resource Guide and Directory
• Post on the EJ IWG home page, Annual Action Agenda Framework Progress Report and Agency
EJ Accomplishments Reports
External Communications and Outreach
• Select EJ IWG Committees will conduct trainings, webinars, or presentations on EJ IWG focus
areas to inform and educate communities
• The Public Participation Committee will Identify opportunities to increase public access to EJ
IWG Senior Leadership through community visits and public dialogue sessions to solicit feedback
from key stakeholders, including state, tribal, local governments and communities with
environmental justice concerns, on tools and resources needed to achieve solutions
• The Public Participation Committee will Increase social media presence to communicate and
share EJ IWG activities with the public
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 9
-------
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Appendix C: Annual Progress Report for the Action Agenda Framework
The EJ IWG will post annual progress reports (i.e., 2016, 2017, and 2018) on the EJ IWG webpage
(www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/interagency). to provide a concise report on progress during the
previous fiscal year in implementing the Action Agenda. In addition, each federal agency will include
relevant Action Agenda highlights within their annual Environmental Justice Progress Reports posted in
accordance with the MOU.
Send Comments to ejstrategy@epa.gov
Draft FY 2016-2018 EJ IWG Action Agenda Framework
Page 10
------- |