National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Guidelines for Public Comment Sessions

What is the NEJAC’s Authority to Hold Public Comment Sessions?

The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) is a federal advisory committee that was established by charter on September 30, 1993. Under this charter and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) regulations, the NEJAC is authorized to conduct public comment sessions to obtain formal input from individuals or representatives of organizations concerned about environmental justice issues.

What is the Purpose of the NEJAC’s Public Comment Sessions?

The purpose of the public comment sessions is to establish a forum for open dialogue, allowing members of the public the opportunity to speak directly to the NEJAC about environmental justice issues, ideas, and concerns. Through this process, the NEJAC hopes to gain a better understanding of the problems and issues deemed important to the public  The process also provides additional information for the NEJAC to consider as it provides advice and recommendations to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  

Who Can Give Public Comment?

Any member of the public can give public comment to the NEJAC.  Public commenters can file a written statement with the NEJAC or speak during the public comment sessions at NEJAC meetings. The NEJAC has established that it will NOT receive comments from representatives of the EPA.

If you would like to only submit your public comment in writing please complete the public comment form and email additional materials to nejac@epa.gov with the subject line "NEJAC 2021 Meeting Public Comments"

How is the Public Comment Process Conducted?

The NEJAC takes its responsibility to listen and learn from the public very seriously and it tries to implement an open, fair, respectful, and equitable public comment process. For each public comment session, the Chair of the NEJAC will call on the commenters in the order of the speakers list, whenever possible. Advanced sign up is the only way to present comments at the meeting. An additional opportunity to speak may come only after all registered commenters have spoken.  The Chair may open the floor for additional comments, if time allows.

To be respectful of everyone and to accommodate the large number of people who want to address the NEJAC, public comments are limited to three (3) minutes during virtual meetings. 

How is the Order of Speakers Determined?

The following criteria are considered in determining the order of speakers for each public comment session:

1. Time of request: Public commenters will be called in the order from the list provide in the confirmation email, those not present may miss their place in line and will have to wait until the end of the first pass of the list to speak, if time is remaining.
2. Affiliation: One representative from an organization versus multiple representatives from the same organization.

How Can I Bring Issues to the Council if I Don’t Want to Speak or I Can’t Attend the Meeting?

For participants who choose not to make verbal comments or who cannot attend the meetings, a written statement can be submitted to be added to the record.

If you would like to only submit your public comment in writing please submit the public comment form and email additional materials to nejac@epa.gov with the subject line "NEJAC 2022 Meeting Public Comments"