Environmental Justice Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2236 To require Federal agencies to address environmental justice, to require consideration of cumulative impacts in certain permitting decisions, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2019 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. UDALL, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To require Federal agencies to address environmental justice, to require consideration of cumulative impacts in certain permitting decisions, 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 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 6 The purposes of this Act are— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2236 IS (1) to require Federal agencies to address and 1 eliminate the disproportionate environmental and 2 human health impacts on populations of color, com- 3 munities of color, indigenous communities, and low- 4 income communities; 5 (2) to ensure that all Federal agencies develop 6 and enforce rules, regulations, guidance, standards, 7 policies, plans, and practices that promote environ- 8 mental justice; 9 (3) to increase cooperation and require coordi- 10 nation among Federal agencies in achieving environ- 11 mental justice; 12 (4) to provide to communities of color, indige- 13 nous communities, and low-income communities 14 meaningful access to public information and oppor- 15 tunities for participation in decision making affect- 16 ing human health and the environment; 17 (5) to mitigate the inequitable distribution of 18 the burdens and benefits of Federal programs hav- 19 ing significant impacts on human health and the en- 20 vironment; 21 (6) to require consideration of cumulative im- 22 pacts in permitting decisions; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2236 IS (7) to clarify congressional intent to afford 1 rights of action pursuant to certain statutes and 2 common law claims; and 3 (8) to allow a private right of action under title 4 VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d 5 et seq.) to challenge discriminatory practices. 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) COMMUNITY OF COLOR.—The term ‘‘com- 12 munity of color’’ means any geographically distinct 13 area the population of color of which is higher than 14 the average population of color of the State in which 15 the community is located. 16 (3) COMMUNITY-BASED SCIENCE.—The term 17 ‘‘community-based science’’ means voluntary public 18 participation in the scientific process and the incor- 19 poration of data and information generated outside 20 of traditional institutional boundaries to address 21 real-world problems in ways that may include formu- 22 lating research questions, conducting scientific ex- 23 periments, collecting and analyzing data, inter- 24 preting results, making new discoveries, developing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2236 IS technologies and applications, and solving complex 1 problems, with an emphasis on the democratization 2 of science and the engagement of diverse people and 3 communities. 4 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en- 5 vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 6 meaningful involvement of all individuals, regardless 7 of race, color, national origin, educational level, or 8 income, with respect to the development, implemen- 9 tation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regu- 10 lations, and policies to ensure that— 11 (A) populations of color, communities of 12 color, indigenous communities, and low-income 13 communities have access to public information 14 and opportunities for meaningful public partici- 15 pation relating to human health and environ- 16 mental planning, regulations, and enforcement; 17 (B) no population of color or community of 18 color, indigenous community, or low-income 19 community shall be exposed to a dispropor- 20 tionate burden of the negative human health 21 and environmental impacts of pollution or other 22 environmental hazards; and 23 (C) the 17 Principles of Environmental 24 Justice written and adopted at the First Na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2236 IS tional People of Color Environmental Leader- 1 ship Summit held on October 24 through 27, 2 1991, in Washington, DC, are upheld. 3 (5) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 4 agency’’ means— 5 (A) each Federal agency represented on 6 the Working Group; and 7 (B) any other Federal agency that carries 8 out a Federal program or activity that substan- 9 tially affects human health or the environment, 10 as determined by the President. 11 (6) FENCELINE COMMUNITY.—The term 12 ‘‘fenceline community’’ means a population living in 13 close proximity to a source of pollution. 14 (7) INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘in- 15 digenous community’’ means— 16 (A) a federally recognized Indian Tribe; 17 (B) a State-recognized Indian Tribe; 18 (C) an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian 19 community or organization; and 20 (D) any other community of indigenous 21 people, including communities in other coun- 22 tries. 23 (8) INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term ‘‘infrastruc- 24 ture’’ means any system for safe drinking water, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2236 IS sewer collection, solid waste disposal, electricity gen- 1 eration, communication, or transportation access (in- 2 cluding highways, airports, marine terminals, rail 3 systems, and residential roads) that is used to effec- 4 tively and safely support— 5 (A) housing; 6 (B) an educational facility; 7 (C) a medical provider; 8 (D) a park or recreational facility; or 9 (E) a local businesses. 10 (9) LOW INCOME.—The term ‘‘low income’’ 11 means an annual household income equal to, or less 12 than, the greater of— 13 (A) an amount equal to 80 percent of the 14 median income of the area in which the house- 15 hold is located, as reported by the Department 16 of Housing and Urban Development; and 17 (B) 200 percent of the Federal poverty 18 line. 19 (10) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term 20 ‘‘low-income community’’ means any census block 21 group in which 30 percent or more of the population 22 are individuals with low income. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2236 IS (11) MEANINGFUL.—The term ‘‘meaningful’’, 1 with respect to involvement by the public in a deter- 2 mination by a Federal agency, means that— 3 (A) potentially affected residents of a com- 4 munity have an appropriate opportunity to par- 5 ticipate in decisions regarding a proposed activ- 6 ity that will affect the environment or public 7 health of the community; 8 (B) the public contribution can influence 9 the determination by the Federal agency; 10 (C) the concerns of all participants in- 11 volved are taken into consideration in the deci- 12 sion-making process; and 13 (D) the Federal agency— 14 (i) provides to potentially affected 15 members of the public accurate informa- 16 tion; and 17 (ii) facilitates the involvement of po- 18 tentially affected members of the public. 19 (12) POPULATION OF COLOR.—The term ‘‘pop- 20 ulation of color’’ means a population of individuals 21 who identify as— 22 (A) Black; 23 (B) African American; 24 (C) Asian; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2236 IS (D) Pacific Islander; 1 (E) another nonWhite race; 2 (F) Hispanic; 3 (G) Latino; or 4 (H) linguistically isolated. 5 (13) PUBLISH.—The term ‘‘publish’’ means to 6 make publicly available in a form that is— 7 (A) generally accessible, including on the 8 internet and in public libraries; and 9 (B) accessible for— 10 (i) individuals who are limited in 11 English proficiency, in accordance with Ex- 12 ecutive Order 13166 (65 Fed. Reg. 50121 13 (August 16, 2000)); and 14 (ii) individuals with disabilities. 15 (14) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 16 Group’’ means the interagency Federal Working 17 Group on Environmental Justice convened under 18 section 1–102 of Executive Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. 19 4321 note), as amended by Executive Order 12948 20 (60 Fed. Reg. 6381 (January 30, 1995)) and modi- 21 fied by section 4. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2236 IS SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY FEDERAL WORKING GROUP ON EN- 1 VIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 3 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall con- 4 vene, as appropriate to carry out this section, the Working 5 Group. 6 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 7 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Working Group shall 8 be comprised of the following (or a designee): 9 (A) The Secretary of Agriculture. 10 (B) The Secretary of Commerce. 11 (C) The Secretary of Defense. 12 (D) The Secretary of Energy. 13 (E) The Secretary of Health and Human 14 Services. 15 (F) The Secretary of Homeland Security. 16 (G) The Secretary of Housing and Urban 17 Development. 18 (H) The Secretary of the Interior. 19 (I) The Secretary of Labor. 20 (J) The Secretary of Transportation. 21 (K) The Attorney General. 22 (L) The Administrator. 23 (M) The Director of the Office of Environ- 24 mental Justice. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2236 IS (N) The Chairman of the Consumer Prod- 1 uct Safety Commission. 2 (O) The Chairperson of the Chemical Safe- 3 ty Board. 4 (P) The Director of the Office of Manage- 5 ment and Budget. 6 (Q) The Director of the Office of Science 7 and Technology Policy. 8 (R) The Chair of the Council on Environ- 9 mental Quality. 10 (S) The Assistant to the President for Do- 11 mestic Policy. 12 (T) The Director of the National Economic 13 Council. 14 (U) The Chairman of the Council of Eco- 15 nomic Advisers. 16 (V) Such other Federal officials as the 17 President may designate. 18 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Working Group shall— 19 (A) report to the President through the 20 Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality 21 and the Assistant to the President for Domestic 22 Policy; 23 (B) provide guidance to Federal agencies 24 regarding criteria for identifying disproportion- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2236 IS ately high and adverse human health or envi- 1 ronmental effects— 2 (i) on populations of color, commu- 3 nities of color, indigenous communities, 4 and low-income communities; and 5 (ii) on the basis of race, color, na- 6 tional origin, or income; 7 (C) coordinate with, provide guidance to, 8 and serve as a clearinghouse for, each Federal 9 agency with respect to the implementation and 10 updating of an environmental justice strategy 11 required under this Act, in order to ensure that 12 the administration, interpretation, and enforce- 13 ment of programs, activities, and policies are 14 carried out in a consistent manner; 15 (D) assist in coordinating research by, and 16 stimulating cooperation among, the Environ- 17 mental Protection Agency, the Department of 18 Health and Human Services, the Department of 19 Housing and Urban Development, and other 20 Federal agencies conducting research or other 21 activities in accordance with this Act; 22 (E) identify, based in part on public rec- 23 ommendations contained in Federal agency 24 progress reports, important areas for Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2236 IS agencies to take into consideration and address, 1 as appropriate, in environmental justice strate- 2 gies and other efforts; 3 (F) assist in coordinating data collection 4 and maintaining and updating appropriate 5 databases, as required by this Act; 6 (G) examine existing data and studies re- 7 lating to environmental justice; 8 (H) hold public meetings and otherwise so- 9 licit public participation under paragraph (3); 10 and 11 (I) develop interagency model projects re- 12 lating to environmental justice that demonstrate 13 cooperation among Federal agencies. 14 (3) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Working 15 Group shall— 16 (A) hold public meetings or otherwise so- 17 licit public participation and community-based 18 science for the purpose of fact-finding with re- 19 spect to the implementation of this Act; and 20 (B) prepare for public review and publish 21 a summary of any comments and recommenda- 22 tions provided. 23 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW AND RIGHTS OF ACTION.— 24 Any person may commence a civil action— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2236.IS S2236 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2236 IS (1) to seek relief from, or to compel, an agency 1 action under this section (including regulations pro- 2 mulgated pursuant to this section); or 3 (2) otherwise to ensure compliance with this 4 section (including regulations promulgated pursuant 5 to this section). 6 SEC. 5. FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS TO ADDRESS ENVIRON- 7 MENTAL JUSTICE. 8 (a) FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.— 9 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MISSION.—To 10 the maximum extent practicable and permitted by 11 applicable law, each Federal agency shall make 12 achieving environmental justice part of the mission 13 of the Federal agency by identifying, addressing, 14 and mitigating disproportionately high and adverse 15 human health or environmental effects of the pro- 16 grams, policies, and activities of the Federal agency 17 on populations of color, communities of c [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]