Region 5 Environmental Justice Action Plan FY 2009

Region 5 Environmental Justice Action Plan
FY 2009

Program Structure

Region 5's Environmental Justice (EJ) program is managed by the Deputy Director, Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). Region 5's Environmental Justice Steering
Committee (EJSC) consists of management representatives from the Office of Regional Counsel and
the program offices, and is chaired by the EJ program manager. The EJSC provides direction and
coordination. Region 5 Divisions and Offices implement priorities set by the EJSC.

The EJ program is directly accountable to Region 5's Deputy Regional Administrator, who is a
member of the EPA-wide EJ Executive Steering Committee. Region 5's EJ program also works
directly with EPA's Office of Environmental Justice and EJ coordinators in the other Regions and
National Program Offices.

Program Objective

EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment. Executive Order 12898, "Federal
Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,"
directs each Federal Agency to "make achieving environmental justice part of its mission."

We recognize that minority and/or low-income communities may be disproportionately exposed to
environmental harms and risks. EPA works to protect these and other communities from adverse
human health and environmental effects. Ensuring environmental justice means not only protecting
human health and the environment for everyone, but also ensuring that all people are treated fairly and
are given the opportunity to participate meaningfully in the development, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

EPA has made transparent, measurable, and accountable environmental justice commitments and
targets in all five goals of EPA's Strategic Plan for 2006-2011. In addition, EPA has identified eight
national environmental justice priorities. These are:

Reduce asthma attacks;

Reduce exposure to air toxics;

Reduce incidences of elevated blood lead levels;

Ensure that companies meet environmental laws;

Ensure that fish and shellfish are safe to eat;

Ensure water is safe to drink;

Revitalize brownfields and contaminated sites; and
Foster collaborative problem-solving.

The objective of Region 5's environmental justice program is to support the ongoing integration of
environmental justice into Region 5's work, taking into account national and regional priorities. The
purpose of this EJ Action Plan is to provide a prospective planning document that sets out measurable
and achievable commitments to meet this objective. It does not require duplicative tracking of
program activities that already provide integrated EJ benefits. Instead, the EJ Program will report on
these benefits in coordination with program-specific reporting deadlines.

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Stakeholder engagement

The EJ program has points of contact at each State environmental agency within Region 5, and
regularly communicates with community groups and individuals throughout the Region who raise
environmental justice concerns. The EJ program also provides case-specific advice to program
offices on stakeholder engagement approaches.

Region 5 invites comments from stakeholders on this EJ Action Plan.

Strategic Plan

Region 5 makes these EJ Action Plan commitments in the context of a strategic plan for the EJ
program. This strategic plan focuses on three areas for FY09:

1. Defining the problem. Region 5 will implement a standard EJ screening approach to identify
"potential EJ areas of concern" and promote more consistent understanding of potential EJ concerns.
This approach will include indicators of potential disproportionate impact, population vulnerability,
and barriers to effective public participation. As a screening approach, it will be supplemented by
additional information as needed to support action. This approach was tested during FY08, and will
be deployed in FY09.

2. Developing concrete responses. Region 5 will initiate at least one "demonstration" multi-media
project in a geographical area. This project will identify high-priority disproportionate environmental
burdens using the EJ screening approach and other relevant data; and will address these burdens using
all available tools, working with co-regulators and other partners. This is Region 5's "FY09 Robust-
Results Oriented Activity" in the EJ Action Plan (see below, page 3).

> We invite comments, in particular, on possible demonstration projects.

3. Improving EJ integration through program evaluation. Region 5 will track the benefits of
integrated EJ work by the programs, and will report on these benefits in coordination with program
reporting deadlines. Region 5 will also identify specific program areas where further actions to
identify and address EJ concerns can contribute to the Agency's mission.

In response to the EPA's Office of Inspector General report, EPA Needs to Conduct Environmental
Justice Reviews of Its Programs, Policies, and Activities (Sept. 18, 2006), EPA has developed
protocols for conducting EJ reviews. An EJ review of a program, policy, or activity asks a series of
questions, with two main objectives. The first is to identify the measures already in place to identify
and address EJ concerns. The second is to identify opportunities to develop and implement more
effective measures. Using these standard protocols, Region 5 will initiate and complete two EJ
reviews during FY 2009. These reviews will focus on:

1. Identifying and addressing EJ concerns in air enforcement; and

2. Identifying and addressing EJ concerns in RCRA permitting.

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Region 5 Environmental Justice Action Plan
FY09 Robust-Results Oriented Activity
Description: Multi-media burden reduction projects

Region 5 will initiate at least one multi-media project, focused on a geographical area with EJ concerns related to multiple, disproportionate
environmental and health burdens, to identify and address disproportionate environmental burdens. This project will demonstrate coordination across
programs: enforcement; permitting; site remediation; and voluntary programs. It will also take a multi-media approach, addressing priority impacts
on air, water and land so that risks are reduced across all exposure pathways. Finally, it will demonstrate coordination between Regions and the
NPMs to make the full range of tools and expertise available, bolstered by partnership with state/local/tribal regulators, community groups, and other
relevant stakeholders.

Specific workplans will be developed, and this Action Plan amended to include this additional information in the format below, as each project is
selected.

Activities/ Output Applicable Outcome Measure Point of
Resources/ Contact

/Partners

Short-term Intermediate Long-term

(awareness) (behavior) (condition)

1.	Identify
stakeholders
(partners).

2.	Set priorities
(using readily-
available data
and stakeholder
input)

3.	Identify targets
for enforcement

1.	Roster of
partners;
mailing list for
interested
parties.

2.	Listing of
priorities

3.	Activities in
workplan

4.	Activities in
workplan

Understanding of
the environmental
and human health
issues;

understanding of
how to

comprehensively
approach these
issues through
resource
coordination

Effective, replicable
approaches to
fostering
collaboration are
identified

Effective, replicable
program actions to
address EJ
concerns are

Measures of
environmental
improvement TBD,
based on priorities
and actions

Name/Org: Alan
Walts, OECA
Tel: (312) 353-
8894
E-mail:

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Activities/ Output Applicable Outcome Measure Point of
Resources/ Contact

/Partners

Short-term Intermediate Long-term

(awareness) (behavior) (condition)

and compliance
assurance.

4.	Identify
activities for
relevant
voluntary
programs

5.	Identify pending
permits, site
remediation
actions, and
other public
participation
opportunities

5. Activities in
workplan



identified





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