External Civil Rights Guidance
OECRC and our historical predecessor office within the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) have issued several key guidance documents aimed at audiences including both recipients of EPA financial assistance and members of the public. Below are the documents which are officially maintained as Guidance Documents managed by OEJECR.
- Guidance to Environmental Protection Agency Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons (2004) (PDF)
- This guidance provides a general framework that recipients of EPA assistance may use to provide meaningful access to their programs and activities for limited English proficient persons. The guidance is in accordance with Executive Order 13166-Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency and guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (2006)(PDF)
- This guidance is for EPA recipients that administer environmental permitting programs and discusses various approaches and suggests tools that recipients may use to help enhance the public involvement aspects of their current permitting programs and address potential issues related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Roles of Complaints and Recipients in the Title VI Complaints and Resolution Process (2015)(PDF)
- The purpose of this document is to explain EPA’s position on the participatory roles of the complainant and recipient during ECRCO’s complaint investigation and resolution processes.
- Chapter 1 of the U.S. EPA's External Civil Rights Compliance Office Compliance Toolkit: Chapter 1, transmittal letter, and FAQ's (2017)(PDF)
- The Toolkit Chapter 1 provides technical assistance to recipients of EPA financial assistance (EPA recipients) by identifying existing law and policy to promote and support EPA recipients’ compliance with federal civil rights laws when investigating and resolving discrimination complaints, including those that involve allegations related to human health and the environment, and other non-health harms. The companion Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document assists with responding to potential questions addressed in Chapter
- Procedural Safeguards Checklist for Recipients: Federal Non-Discrimination Obligations and Best Practices (2020)(PDF)
- The Checklist provides technical assistance for EPA financial assistance recipients in establishing the foundational aspects of their nondiscrimination programs as required by federal civil rights laws and EPA’s non-discrimination regulation at 40 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 7.
- Disability Nondiscrimination Plan Sample (2020)(PDF)
- The sample disability policy provides technical assistance to EPA recipients, by way of an example, on how to develop a policy that ensures that individuals with disabilities are provided the opportunity for full participation in a recipient’s programs and activities as required by federal civil rights law and EPA’s nondiscrimination regulation at 40 C.F.R. Part 7.