Environmental Justice Mapping and Data Collection Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 101 To establish the Environmental Justice Mapping Committee, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To establish the Environmental Justice Mapping Committee, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Environmental Justice 4 Mapping and Data Collection Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) environmental hazards causing adverse 8 health outcomes have disproportionately affected en- 9 vironmental justice communities as a result of sys- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 101 IS temic injustices relating to factors that include race 1 and income; 2 (2) environmental justice communities have in- 3 creased vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate 4 change and need significant investment to face cur- 5 rent and future environmental hazards; 6 (3) the Federal Government has lacked a cohe- 7 sive and consistent strategy to carry out the respon- 8 sibilities of Federal agencies described in Executive 9 Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to Fed- 10 eral actions to address environmental justice in mi- 11 nority populations and low-income populations); 12 (4) it is necessary that the Federal Government 13 meaningfully engage environmental justice commu- 14 nities in the process of developing a robust strategy 15 to address environmental justice, including high lev- 16 els of review, input, and consent; 17 (5) there is a lack of nationwide high-quality 18 data relating to environmental justice concerns, such 19 as socioeconomic factors, air pollution, water pollu- 20 tion, soil pollution, and public health, and a failure 21 to update the existing data with adequate frequency; 22 (6) there is no nationally consistent method to 23 identify environmental justice communities based on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 101 IS the cumulative effects of socioeconomic factors, pol- 1 lution burden, and public health; 2 (7) a method described in paragraph (6) is 3 needed to correct for racist and unjust practices 4 leading to historical and current environmental in- 5 justices through the targeted investment in environ- 6 mental justice communities of at least 40 percent of 7 the funds provided for a clean energy transition and 8 other related investments, including transportation 9 infrastructure, housing infrastructure, and water 10 quality infrastructure; 11 (8) funds targeted for environmental justice 12 communities should include set-asides for technical 13 assistance and capacity building for environmental 14 justice communities to access the funds; 15 (9) particular oversight and care are necessary 16 when investing in environmental justice communities 17 to ensure that existing issues are not exacerbated 18 and new issues are not created, particularly issues 19 relating to pollution burden and the displacement of 20 residents; 21 (10) several States, academic institutions, and 22 nonprofit organizations have engaged in cumulative 23 impact environmental justice mapping efforts that 24 can serve as references for a Federal mapping effort; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 101 IS (11) many environmental justice communities, 1 such as communities in ‘‘Cancer Alley’’ in the State 2 of Louisiana, have been clearly affected by extreme 3 environmental hazards such that the communities— 4 (A) are identifiable before the establish- 5 ment of the tool under subsection (b) of section 6 5 and the completion of the data gap audit 7 under subsection (d) of that section; and 8 (B) should be eligible for programs tar- 9 geted toward environmental justice communities 10 that have faced extreme environmental hazards 11 before the establishment of that tool and the 12 completion of that audit; 13 (12) in addition to investment in environmental 14 justice communities, pollution reduction is essential 15 to achieving equitable access to a healthy and clean 16 environment and an equitable energy system; and 17 (13) specific policy and permitting decisions 18 and investments may rely on different combinations 19 of data sets and indicators relating to environmental 20 justice, and race alone may be considered a criterion 21 when assessing the susceptibility of a community to 22 environmental injustice. 23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 24 In this Act: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 101 IS (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 2 mental Protection Agency. 3 (2) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘advisory 4 council’’ means the advisory council established 5 under section 4(d)(2)(A). 6 (3) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 7 means the Environmental Justice Mapping Com- 8 mittee established by section 4(a). 9 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en- 10 vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 11 meaningful involvement of all people regardless of 12 race, color, culture, national origin, or income, with 13 respect to the development, implementation, and en- 14 forcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 15 policies to ensure that each person enjoys— 16 (A) the same degree of protection from en- 17 vironmental and health hazards; and 18 (B) equal access to any Federal agency ac- 19 tion relating to the development, implementa- 20 tion, and enforcement of environmental laws, 21 regulations, and policies for the purpose of hav- 22 ing a healthy environment in which to live, 23 learn, work, and recreate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 101 IS (5) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 1 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 2 a community with significant representation of com- 3 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 4 and indigenous communities, that experiences, or is 5 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 6 human health or environmental effects, as compared 7 to other communities. 8 (6) GROUND-TRUTHING.—The term ‘‘ground- 9 truthing’’ means a community fact-finding process 10 by which residents of a community supplement tech- 11 nical information with local knowledge for the pur- 12 pose of better informing policy and project decisions. 13 (7) RELEVANT STAKEHOLDER.—The term ‘‘rel- 14 evant stakeholder’’ means— 15 (A) a representative of a regional, State, 16 Tribal, or local government agency; 17 (B) a representative of a nongovernmental 18 organization with experience in areas that may 19 include Tribal relations, environmental con- 20 servation, city and regional planning, and public 21 health; 22 (C) a representative of a labor union; 23 (D) a representative or member of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 101 IS (i) an environmental justice commu- 1 nity; or 2 (ii) a community-based organization 3 for an environmental justice community; 4 (E) an individual with expertise in cumu- 5 lative impacts, geospatial data, and environ- 6 mental justice, particularly such an individual 7 from an academic or research institution; and 8 (F) an advocate with experience in envi- 9 ronmental justice who represents an environ- 10 mental justice community. 11 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a committee, 13 to be known as the ‘‘Environmental Justice Mapping 14 Committee’’. 15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall be 17 composed of not fewer than 1 representative of each 18 of the following: 19 (A) Of the Environmental Protection 20 Agency— 21 (i) the Office of Air and Radiation; 22 (ii) the Office of Chemical Safety and 23 Pollution Prevention; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 101 IS (iii) the Office of International and 1 Tribal Affairs; 2 (iv) the Office of Land and Emer- 3 gency Management; 4 (v) the Office of Water; 5 (vi) the Office of Environmental Jus- 6 tice; 7 (vii) the Office of Research and Devel- 8 opment; and 9 (viii) the Office of Public Engagement 10 and Environmental Education. 11 (B) The Council on Environmental Qual- 12 ity. 13 (C) Of the Department of Commerce— 14 (i) the Office of Oceanic and Atmos- 15 pheric Research, including not fewer than 16 1 representative of the Climate Program 17 Office; 18 (ii) the Economics and Statistics Ad- 19 ministration, including not fewer than 1 20 representative of the Bureau of Economic 21 Analysis; and 22 (iii) the National Institute of Stand- 23 ards and Technology. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 101 IS (D) Of the Department of Health and 1 Human Services— 2 (i) the Centers for Disease Control 3 and Prevention, not including the Agency 4 for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; 5 (ii) the Agency for Toxic Substances 6 and Disease Registry; 7 (iii) the Administration for Children 8 and Families; 9 (iv) of the National Institutes of 10 Health— 11 (I) the National Institute of En- 12 vironmental Health Sciences; 13 (II) the National Institute of 14 Mental Health; and 15 (III) the National Institute on 16 Minority Health and Health Dispari- 17 ties; and 18 (v) the Office for Civil Rights. 19 (E) Of the Department of the Interior— 20 (i) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 21 (ii) the Office of Civil Rights; and 22 (iii) the United States Geological Sur- 23 vey. 24 (F) The Forest Service. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 101 IS (G) The Department of Housing and 1 Urban Development. 2 (H) The Department of Energy. 3 (I) The Department of Transportation. 4 (J) The Department of Justice. 5 (K) The Federal Energy Regulatory Com- 6 mission. 7 (L) The Department of the Treasury. 8 (M) Such other Federal departments, 9 agencies, and offices as the Administrator de- 10 termines to be appropriate, particularly offices 11 relating to public engagement. 12 (2) SELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The 13 head of a department or agency described in para- 14 graph (1) shall, in appointing to the Committee a 15 representative of the department or agency, select a 16 representative— 17 (A) of a component of the department or 18 agency that is among the components that are 19 the most relevant to the responsibilities of the 20 Committee; or 21 (B) who has expertise in areas relevant to 22 those responsibilities, such as demographic indi- 23 cators relating to socioeconomic hardship, envi- 24 ronmental justice, public engagement, public 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 101 IS health, exposure to pollution, future climate and 1 extreme weather mapping, affordable energy, 2 sustainable transportation, and access to water, 3 food, and green space. 4 (3) CO-CHAIRS.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The members of the 6 Committee shall select 3 members to serve as 7 co-chairs of the Committee— 8 (i) 1 of whom shall be a representa- 9 tive of the Environmental Protection Agen- 10 cy; 11 (ii) 1 of whom shall be a representa- 12 tive of the Council on Environmental Qual- 13 ity; and 14 (iii) 1 of whom shall have substantial 15 experience in public engagement. 16 (B) TERMS.—Each co-chair shall serve for 17 a term of not more than 3 years. 18 (C) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CO-CHAIRS.— 19 The co-chairs of the Committee shall— 20 (i) determine the agenda of the Com- 21 mittee, in consultation with other members 22 of the Committee; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 101 IS (ii) direct the work of the Committee, 1 including the oversight of a meaningful 2 public engagement process; and 3 (iii) convene meetings of the Com- 4 mittee not less frequently than once each 5 fiscal quarter. 6 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pro- 8 vide technical and administrative support to the 9 Committee. 10 (2) FUNDING.—The Administrator may carry 11 out paragraph (1) using, in addition to any amounts 12 made available under section 7, amounts authorized 13 to be appropriated to the Administrator before the 14 date of enactment of this Act and available for obli- 15 gation as of that date of enactment. 16 (d) CONSULTATION.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties of 18 the Committee, the Committee shall consult with rel- 19 evant stakeholders. 20 (2) ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 22 establish an advisory council composed of a bal- 23 anced proportion of relevant stakeholders, at 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S101.IS S101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 101 IS least 1⁄2 of whom shall represent environmental 1 justice communities. 2 (B) CHAIR.—The advisory council shall be 3 chaired by an environmental justice advocate or 4 other relevant stakeholder with substantial ex- 5 perience in environmental justice. 6 (C) REQUIREMENTS.—Consultation de- 7 scribed in paragraph (1) shall include— 8 (i) early and regular engagement with 9 the advisory council, including in carrying 10 out public engagement under paragraph 11 (3); and 12 (ii) consideration of the recommenda- 13 tions of the advisory council. 14 (D) RECOMMENDATIONS NOT USED.—If 15 the Committee does not use a recommendation 16 of the advisory council, not later than 60 days 17 after the date on which the Committee receives 18 notice of the recommendation, the Committee 19 shall— 20 (i) make available to the public on an 21 internet [Text truncated for display. 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