Environmental Justice Mapping and Data Collection Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 516 To establish the Environmental Justice Mapping Committee, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2021 Ms. BUSH (for herself, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. NADLER, Mr. JONES, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. TLAIB, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Mr. COOPER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 516 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Environmental Justice 2 Mapping and Data Collection Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds that— 5 (1) environmental hazards causing adverse 6 health outcomes have disproportionately affected en- 7 vironmental justice communities as a result of sys- 8 temic injustices relating to factors that include race 9 and income; 10 (2) environmental justice communities have in- 11 creased vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate 12 change and need significant investment to face cur- 13 rent and future environmental hazards; 14 (3) the Federal Government has lacked a cohe- 15 sive and consistent strategy to carry out the respon- 16 sibilities of Federal agencies described in Executive 17 Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to Fed- 18 eral actions to address environmental justice in mi- 19 nority populations and low-income populations); 20 (4) it is necessary that the Federal Government 21 meaningfully engage environmental justice commu- 22 nities in the process of developing a robust strategy 23 to address environmental justice, including high lev- 24 els of review, input, and consent; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 516 IH (5) there is a lack of nationwide high-quality 1 data relating to environmental justice concerns, such 2 as socioeconomic factors, air pollution, water pollu- 3 tion, soil pollution, and public health, and a failure 4 to update the existing data with adequate frequency; 5 (6) there is no nationally consistent method to 6 identify environmental justice communities based on 7 the cumulative effects of socioeconomic factors, pol- 8 lution burden, and public health; 9 (7) a method described in paragraph (6) is 10 needed to correct for racist and unjust practices 11 leading to historical and current environmental in- 12 justices through the targeted investment in environ- 13 mental justice communities of at least 40 percent of 14 the funds provided for a clean energy transition and 15 other related investments, including transportation 16 infrastructure, housing infrastructure, and water 17 quality infrastructure; 18 (8) funds targeted for environmental justice 19 communities should include set-asides for technical 20 assistance and capacity building for environmental 21 justice communities to access the funds; 22 (9) particular oversight and care are necessary 23 when investing in environmental justice communities 24 to ensure that existing issues are not exacerbated 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 516 IH and new issues are not created, particularly issues 1 relating to pollution burden and the displacement of 2 residents; 3 (10) several States, academic institutions, and 4 nonprofit organizations have engaged in cumulative 5 impact environmental justice mapping efforts that 6 can serve as references for a Federal mapping effort; 7 (11) many environmental justice communities, 8 such as communities in ‘‘Cancer Alley’’ in the State 9 of Louisiana, have been clearly affected by extreme 10 environmental hazards such that the communities— 11 (A) are identifiable before the establish- 12 ment of the tool under subsection (b) of section 13 5 and the completion of the data gap audit 14 under subsection (d) of that section; and 15 (B) should be eligible for programs tar- 16 geted toward environmental justice communities 17 that have faced extreme environmental hazards 18 before the establishment of that tool and the 19 completion of that audit; 20 (12) in addition to investment in environmental 21 justice communities, pollution reduction is essential 22 to achieving equitable access to a healthy and clean 23 environment and an equitable energy system; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 516 IH (13) specific policy and permitting decisions 1 and investments may rely on different combinations 2 of data sets and indicators relating to environmental 3 justice, and race alone may be considered a criterion 4 when assessing the susceptibility of a community to 5 environmental injustice. 6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7 In this Act: 8 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 9 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 10 mental Protection Agency. 11 (2) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘advisory 12 council’’ means the advisory council established 13 under section 4(d)(2)(A). 14 (3) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 15 means the Environmental Justice Mapping Com- 16 mittee established by section 4(a). 17 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en- 18 vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 19 meaningful involvement of all people regardless of 20 race, color, culture, national origin, or income, with 21 respect to the development, implementation, and en- 22 forcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 23 policies to ensure that each person enjoys— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 516 IH (A) the same degree of protection from en- 1 vironmental and health hazards; and 2 (B) equal access to any Federal agency ac- 3 tion relating to the development, implementa- 4 tion, and enforcement of environmental laws, 5 regulations, and policies for the purpose of hav- 6 ing a healthy environment in which to live, 7 learn, work, and recreate. 8 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 9 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 10 a community with significant representation of com- 11 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 12 and indigenous communities, that experiences, or is 13 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 14 human health or environmental effects, as compared 15 to other communities. 16 (6) GROUND-TRUTHING.—The term ‘‘ground- 17 truthing’’ means a community fact-finding process 18 by which residents of a community supplement tech- 19 nical information with local knowledge for the pur- 20 pose of better informing policy and project decisions. 21 (7) RELEVANT STAKEHOLDER.—The term ‘‘rel- 22 evant stakeholder’’ means— 23 (A) a representative of a regional, State, 24 Tribal, or local government agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 516 IH (B) a representative of a nongovernmental 1 organization with experience in areas that may 2 include Tribal relations, environmental con- 3 servation, city and regional planning, and public 4 health; 5 (C) a representative of a labor union; 6 (D) a representative or member of— 7 (i) an environmental justice commu- 8 nity; or 9 (ii) a community-based organization 10 for an environmental justice community; 11 (E) an individual with expertise in cumu- 12 lative impacts, geospatial data, and environ- 13 mental justice, particularly such an individual 14 from an academic or research institution; and 15 (F) an advocate with experience in envi- 16 ronmental justice who represents an environ- 17 mental justice community. 18 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a committee, 20 to be known as the ‘‘Environmental Justice Mapping 21 Committee’’. 22 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 516 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall be 1 composed of not fewer than 1 representative of each 2 of the following: 3 (A) Of the Environmental Protection 4 Agency— 5 (i) the Office of Air and Radiation; 6 (ii) the Office of Chemical Safety and 7 Pollution Prevention; 8 (iii) the Office of International and 9 Tribal Affairs; 10 (iv) the Office of Land and Emer- 11 gency Management; 12 (v) the Office of Water; 13 (vi) the Office of Environmental Jus- 14 tice; 15 (vii) the Office of Research and Devel- 16 opment; and 17 (viii) the Office of Public Engagement 18 and Environmental Education. 19 (B) The Council on Environmental Qual- 20 ity. 21 (C) Of the Department of Commerce— 22 (i) the Office of Oceanic and Atmos- 23 pheric Research, including not fewer than 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 516 IH 1 representative of the Climate Program 1 Office; 2 (ii) the Economics and Statistics Ad- 3 ministration, including not fewer than 1 4 representative of the Bureau of Economic 5 Analysis; and 6 (iii) the National Institute of Stand- 7 ards and Technology. 8 (D) Of the Department of Health and 9 Human Services— 10 (i) the Centers for Disease Control 11 and Prevention, not including the Agency 12 for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; 13 (ii) the Agency for Toxic Substances 14 and Disease Registry; 15 (iii) the Administration for Children 16 and Families; 17 (iv) of the National Institutes of 18 Health— 19 (I) the National Institute of En- 20 vironmental Health Sciences; 21 (II) the National Institute of 22 Mental Health; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 516 IH (III) the National Institute on 1 Minority Health and Health Dispari- 2 ties; and 3 (v) the Office for Civil Rights. 4 (E) Of the Department of the Interior— 5 (i) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 6 (ii) the Office of Civil Rights; and 7 (iii) the United States Geological Sur- 8 vey. 9 (F) The Forest Service. 10 (G) The Department of Housing and 11 Urban Development. 12 (H) The Department of Energy. 13 (I) The Department of Transportation. 14 (J) The Department of Justice. 15 (K) The Federal Energy Regulatory Com- 16 mission. 17 (L) The Department of the Treasury. 18 (M) Such other Federal departments, 19 agencies, and offices as the Administrator de- 20 termines to be appropriate, particularly offices 21 relating to public engagement. 22 (2) SELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The 23 head of a department or agency described in para- 24 graph (1) shall, in appointing to the Committee a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 516 IH representative of the department or agency, select a 1 representative— 2 (A) of a component of the department or 3 agency that is among the components that are 4 the most relevant to the responsibilities of the 5 Committee; or 6 (B) who has expertise in areas relevant to 7 those responsibilities, such as demographic indi- 8 cators relating to socioeconomic hardship, envi- 9 ronmental justice, public engagement, public 10 health, exposure to pollution, future climate and 11 extreme weather mapping, affordable energy, 12 sustainable transportation, and access to water, 13 food, and green space. 14 (3) CO-CHAIRS.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The members of the 16 Committee shall select 3 members to serve as 17 co-chairs of the Committee— 18 (i) 1 of whom shall be a representa- 19 tive of the Environmental Protection Agen- 20 cy; 21 (ii) 1 of whom shall be a representa- 22 tive of the Council on Environmental Qual- 23 ity; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 516 IH (iii) 1 of whom shall have substantial 1 experience in public engagement. 2 (B) TERMS.—Each co-chair shall serve for 3 a term of not more than 3 years. 4 (C) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CO-CHAIRS.— 5 The co-chairs of the Committee shall— 6 (i) determine the agenda of the Com- 7 mittee, in consultation with other members 8 of the Committee; 9 (ii) direct the work of the Committee, 10 including the oversight of a meaningful 11 public engagement process; and 12 (iii) convene meetings of the Com- 13 mittee not less frequently than once each 14 fiscal quarter. 15 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pro- 17 vide technical and administrative support to the 18 Committee. 19 (2) FUNDING.—The Administrator may carry 20 out paragraph (1) using, in addition to any amounts 21 made available under section 7, amounts authorized 22 to be appropriated to the Administrator before the 23 date of enactment of this Act and available for obli- 24 gation as of that date of enactment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Feb 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H516.IH H516 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 516 IH (d) CONSULTATION.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties of 2 the Committee, the Committee shall consult with rel- 3 evant stakeholders. 4 (2) ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 6 establish an advisory council composed of a bal- 7 anced proportion of relevant stakeholders, at 8 least 1⁄2 of whom shall represent environmental 9 justice communities. 10 (B) CHAIR.—The advisory council shall be 11 chaired by an environmental justic [Text truncated for display. 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