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1 1 (August 29, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbawq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: -I Congressional Research Service hIfo rm ng te Veslat've debate since 1914 0 Updated August 29, 2019 Role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Environmental Justice Executive Order 12898 The role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in environmental justice is rooted in Executive Order (E.O.) 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, signed by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1994. E.O. 12898 directs each executive department and agency, including EPA, to make achieving environmental justice part of its mission. The consideration of environmental justice across federal programs and activities is not mandated in statute. E.O. 12898 more generally directs executive departments and agencies to integrate environmental justice into their respective missions to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. Some departments and agencies have incorporated the consideration of environmental justice into their respective regulations to carry out the E.O. E.O. 12898 itself does not establish federal law but is a presidential directive for the management of executive departments and agencies that instructs the implementation of existing law. (See CRS Report RS20846, Executive Orders: Issuance, Modification, and Revocation, by Todd Garvey.) The E.O. is not judicially enforceable and explicitly precludes any right of judicial review involving the compliance or noncompliance of the United States, its agencies, officers, or any other person with this order. Although amended by E.O. 12948 in 1995, E.O. 12898 has not been revoked or further amended under the current or previous Administrations to date and continues to apply to executive departments and agencies. E.O. 12948 amended time frames for certain actions directed in E.O. 12898, but all other provisions have remained unchanged. Under E.O. 12898, executive departments and agencies are responsible for interpreting the statutes that authorize their respective programs and activities to determine the extent to which environmental justice may be incorporated as a facet of implementation. Some agency programs or activities may not incorporate environmental justice or may incorporate it in a more limited capacity. Although the authorizing statutes do not explicitly preclude consideration of environmental justice, some implementation criteria may be inconsistent with such considerations. For example, federal environmental laws that authorize the permitting of industrial facilities do not allow the denial of a permit solely because of proximity to a particular community based on its demographics, although, during permitting actions, certain communities may cite proximity as an environmental justice concern. From a scientific standpoint, potential health risks in such situations would depend on exposure to pollutants, not proximity alone. What Is Environmental Justice? What constitutes environmental justice has been an ongoing issue for many years. There is no definition of environmental justice in federal law. Some have interpreted the terms environmental justice (or injustice) and environmental equity (or inequity) broadly to describe the perceived disproportionate impacts of pollution across populations that possess different demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, race, national origin, occupation, income, or language). Some have also raised concerns about environmental justice in terms of access to natural resources and recreational opportunities as part of a broader focus on the environment than just pollution from anthropogenic sources. Stakeholder concerns about the consideration of environmental justice in the implementation of EPA programs and activities have generally focused on the protection of certain populations that may be disproportionately exposed to potentially hazardous or toxic substances. Economic impacts may also be cited as an environmental justice concern, such as perceived effects of the presence of pollution sources on property values. E.O. 12898 refers to environmental justice in terms of disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental impacts specifically on minority and low- income populations. In its role under E.O. 12898, EPA has generally defined environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Other federal departments and agencies may tailor their definition of environmental justice to their respective missions. EPA Implementation EPA's Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), administered within the Office of the Administrator, coordinates the implementation of E.O. 12898 within the agency to integrate environmental justice into policies and programs across the agency's headquarters and regional offices. OEJ also administers EPA environmental justice grants and may provide information and technical assistance to other federal departments and agencies in their implementation of E.O. 12898. Prior to early 2018, OEJ was managed within EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Established just prior to the E.O. on September 30, 1993, the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) has also served as a federal independent advisory htps://crsreportscorg ressgo

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