Policy Overview

Section 1

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Terry Wesley
Environmental Justice Coordinator
(212) 637-5027

Tasha Frazier
Environmental Justice Assistant
(212) 637-3861

1.0 Policy Overview

1.1 Purpose and Framework of the Interim Policy Statement
1.2 Scope of the Interim Policy Statement
1.3 Environmental Justice Terms and Definitions
1.4 The Environmental Justice Analysis
1.5 Program Guidelines
1.6 Conclusion
Footnotes

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1.0 POLICY OVERVIEW

1.1 Purpose and Framework of the Interim Policy
The mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment -- air, water, and land -- upon which life depends. As part of its mission, EPA's purpose is to ensure that:

All people are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work.
Federal laws protecting human health and the environment are enforced fairly and effectively.
All parts of society-communities, individuals, industry, state and local governments, tribal governments-have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks.
Environmental protection contributes to making our communities and ecosystems diverse, sustainable and economically productive.

EPA Region 2 is committed to providing equal protection to all communities we serve. Accordingly, Region 2 is incorporating Environmental Justice (EJ) in its technical and management decisions and actions. In accordance with the President's Executive Order 12898 (" EO")¹, this Region 2 Interim Environmental Justice Policy (Interim Policy) has been developed to assist in the achievement of this goal.

It is the Region's intent to use the Interim Policy to ensure that we can identify, target, and be responsive to those communities that experience disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental burdens. Further, the Region is committed to ensuring that all the communities and stakeholders we serve have environmental protection and liveable, sustainable communities.

The Region believed it was essential for the Region to solicit input from our stakeholders in the development of this policy. In this regard, the initial draft Interim Policy was subjected to internal/external peer review and public comment. Further, input from those reviews has been used to shape this revised policy.

It is not Region 2's intention to pre-designate environmental justice communities or areas. Instead, the Region intends to respond to community concerns and to be able to identify communities where EJ concerns may arise (i.e., potential EJ communities or areas) to ensure that our core program activities are resulting in equitable treatment. Therefore, it is essential for Regional managers and staff to understand and become aware of the situations and instances in which environmental justice issues may arise. In this regard, it is important to note that environmental justice issues often surface in a multi-media, multi-source and socio-economic context or scenario as opposed to a single media scenario. For instance, it is more the exception than the norm to have an environmental justice complaint or issue that is limited to a single problem, such as a community's drinking water. In this regard, the Interim Policy provides for analyses of both single and multi-media issues.

The following Guiding Principles and Concepts have served to shape the Region's Environmental Justice Program and initiatives:

Equal Protection is the objective;
"Early and Meaningful" involvement of the affected community is essential;
A community's "perception" is its reality;
Solutions require all stakeholders to participate at the table;
Meetings must be convenient for the affected community;
Look at existing environmental regulations, statutes, policies to incorporate and consider EJ; and
"Environmental Justice is a Matter of Fairness" - - Jeanne M. Fox, Regional Administrator.

In addition to this interim policy, EPA's Office of Environmental Justice is working towards the development of a national Environmental Justice guidance which may supersede or supplement this policy. Until, the Agency issues final guidance in this area, the Region believes the Interim Policy will enable our staff to more fairly and effectively carry out Region 2's programs and initiatives consistent with the EO. Lastly, the Region considers this Interim Policy to be a "living document," and as such, we will periodically gauge the scope of the document based on the progress of its implementation.

1.2 Scope of the Interim Policy

This Interim Policy delineates the approach and methodology Region 2 will use to evaluate and assess environmental justice (EJ) communities and their concerns. Specifically, the Interim Policy includes the Region's Environmental Justice Policy Statement and our guidance with respect to the following areas: Permitting, Enforcement, Community Involvement, and the Superfund program. Throughout the development of this Interim Policy, it has been the Region's expectation that such guidelines will provide the steps and tools Regional managers and staff can utilize toward conducting EJ analyses to determine potential and actual EJ communities or areas. As the Region proceeds along in the implementation of this Interim Policy, further considerations may be given to broaden the scope to include additional program guidance.

1.3 Environmental Justice Terms and Definitions

What is Environmental Justice? The Office of Environmental Justice in EPA

Headquarters (OEJ) has issued the following interim EJ definition:

Environmental Justice is 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. Fair treatment means that no group of people, including a racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic group, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal programs and policies.²

The EO specifically addresses situations where minority or low-income communities bear a disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental burden. In addition, it directs federal agencies to take steps to prevent, as a result of federal programs, policies, and activities, "disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects...on minority populations and low-income populations."

This Interim Policy uses terms³ and definitions that may not be the preferred usage or terminology for many of our stakeholders, but which the Region uses in order to be consistent with other federal government agencies and the EO. In addition, Region 2 uses the terms "EJ Area" or "EJ Community" interchangeably to describe a community that satisfies the intent of the EO. Also, the Region uses the term "Community of Concern (COC)" to refer to a community that is the subject of an EJ analysis. For a listing of the most commonly used terms (including definitions) in this Interim Policy, refer to Appendix 3 (Glossary of Terms).

1.4 The Environmental Justice Analysis

The Guidelines for Conducting Environmental Justice Analyses (Section 2.0 of the Interim Policy) describes a process for conducting consistent evaluations of potential and actual environmental justice communities. This process includes two steps:

conducting demographic screening to identify potential EJ areas that warrant further consideration; and
conducting site-specific analyses to identify an EJ community to address its concerns.

The guidelines advance the concept of an environmental load profile (ELP), and the use of a geographic information system (GIS)-based demographic mapping tool to conduct site-specific EJ analyses. The GIS provides for the comparison of three factors between the COC and a statistical reference area: their respective levels of (1) minority representation, (2) low-income representation, and (3) environmental burden. Statistical criteria offer guidance for determining whether the levels of minority or low-income residents and the environmental burden are significantly greater and disproportionately high and adverse in the COC. The environmental load profile (ELP) serves as a representation of the environmental burden in the COC. It also provides a consistent basis for comparison of the COC to the statistical reference area.

The Procedure (Section 2.2) provides the methodology for identifying the COC, evaluating whether it is a minority and/or low income community, and assessing whether its environmental burden is disproportionately high and adverse. In general, at the conclusion of an EJ analysis, a decision document⁴ will be generated which includes the following:

boundaries of the Community of Concern, and rational for its selection;
identification of the statistical reference area used;
results for each factor: minority, low-income, and environmental burden;
comparison of the results for each factor between the COC to the reference area;
any additional factors that were considered (Sec. 2.3); and
conclusion of the analysis, incorporating all three factors.

1.5 Program Guidelines

The Guidelines were created to provide Region 2 management and staff with a systematic and consistent approach when an EJ area evaluation is made, or where initial screening indicates the potential for an EJ area identification. The Guidelines articulate responsive measures for the Region's activities of permitting, enforcement, community involvement, and the Superfund program.

It is important to note that the identification of a disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effect on a minority population or low-income population does not preclude a proposed agency action from going forward. Rather, at a minimum, the identification of such an effect should heighten the Region's attention to increased community awareness and communication, alternative mitigation strategies, monitoring needs, and preferences expressed by the affected community.

Guidelines for Conducting Environmental Justice Analyses: These Guidelines for Conducting Environmental Justice Analyses provide guidance and procedures, and identify sources of data for conducting EJ analyses, to evaluate if a community is an EJ community. They provide the Region's managers and staff a consistent, fair and systematic methodology for conducting EJ analyses in conjunction with existing regulations and program protocols.
Environmental Justice and Permitting Guidelines: The Environmental Justice and Permitting Guidelines provide permitting staff with guidance on how to consider EJ in the context of significant permitting decisions. For purposes of this interim policy, permitting decisions include new major permits, significant permit modifications (except administrative modifications), and major permit renewals.
Environmental Justice and Enforcement Guidelines: These guidelines are applicable to civil regulatory enforcement. They are intended to assist the Region's enforcement staff to (i) identify EJ communities; (ii) recognize and determine when EJ issues may arise in a particular civil regulatory enforcement matter; and (iii) consider other options in addition to enhanced public participation to address EJ in the initiation, prosecution, and resolution of a civil enforcement matter.
Environmental Justice and Community Involvement Guidelines: These Guidelines outline measures to involve the potentially affected community. They provide suggestions and resources available for regional staff to use to solicit meaningful involvement on the part of our stakeholders early in the public participation process, to keep them appropriately informed on issues, and to assist communities in acquiring and accessing information relevant to them.
Environmental Justice and the EPA Superfund Program Guidelines: These guidelines provide EPA staff with guidance specific to conduct EJ analyses for new and active sites on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

1.6 Conclusion

Region 2 believes that a robust EJ program should result in early resolution of EJ concerns in affected communities and fewer formal administrative Title VI⁵ complaints being filed. It is also the Region's goal that the implementation of this policy will result in equal environmental protection and liveable, sustainable communities.

Footnotes

Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations," issued by President William J. Clinton on February 11, 1994.
Definition of Environmental Justice used in the EPA Office of Federal Activities "Guidance for Incorporating Environmental Justice Concerns in EPA's NEPA Compliance Analysis," (April 1998, p. 2).
This policy uses the term "minority" rather than "people of color" in order to be consistent with the Executive Order, but the Region is mindful and sensitive to many communities' desire to be identified as "people of color." In addition, the policy uses the term "American Indian" in referring to all indigenous populations within the Region, regardless of their affiliation with a federally-recognized Tribe. However, EPA staff recognize various terminology preferences and will strive to respect and utilize appropriate language on a case-by-case basis.
It is recognized that not all issues will require a full analysis to address the concerns of the community. In those instances, a letter or memorandum may suffice to adequately document the Region's actions.
Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

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