A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to continue to carry out certain programs relating to environmental justice, and for other purposes.

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3680 To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to continue to carry out certain programs relating to environmental justice, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2020 Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. CARPER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on En- vironment and Public Works A BILL To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protec- tion Agency to continue to carry out certain programs relating to environmental justice, 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. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds that— 4 (1) communities of color, low-income commu- 5 nities, Tribal and indigenous communities, fossil 6 fuel-dependent communities, and other vulnerable 7 populations, such as persons with disabilities, chil- 8 dren, and the elderly, are disproportionately bur- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3680.IS S3680 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3680 IS dened by environmental hazards that include expo- 1 sure to polluted air, waterways, and landscapes; 2 (2) environmental justice disparities are also ex- 3 hibited through a lack of equitable access to infor- 4 mation and data on potential exposure to environ- 5 mental hazards; 6 (3) communities experiencing environmental in- 7 justice have been subjected to systemic racial, social, 8 and economic injustices and face a disproportionate 9 burden of adverse human health or environmental 10 effects, a higher risk of intentional, unconscious, or 11 structural discrimination, and disproportionate en- 12 ergy burdens; 13 (4) those disproportionate burdens are being ex- 14 asperated by the COVID–19 pandemic; 15 (5) the Environmental Protection Agency has 16 announced a nonenforcement policy under all envi- 17 ronmental laws during the COVID–19 pandemic for 18 monitoring and recordkeeping requirements; 19 (6) that policy is likely to increase the pollution 20 burden in environmental justice communities and de- 21 crease access to monitoring data and information; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3680.IS S3680 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3680 IS (7) citizen science will be essential for environ- 1 mental justice communities to protect themselves 2 during the COVID–19 pandemic. 3 SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANT PROGRAMS. 4 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANTS.—The Ad- 5 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 6 continue to carry out— 7 (1) the Environmental Justice Small Grants 8 Program and the Environmental Justice Collabo- 9 rative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Pro- 10 gram, as those programs are in existence on the date 11 of enactment of this Act; and 12 (2) the Community Action for a Renewed Envi- 13 ronment grant programs I and II, as those programs 14 were in existence on January 1, 2012. 15 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR GRANTS IN RESPONSE TO 16 COVID–19 EMERGENCY.— 17 (1) DISTRIBUTION.—Not later than 30 days 18 after amounts are made available pursuant to sub- 19 section (c), the Administrator of the Environmental 20 Protection Agency shall award grants under each of 21 the programs described in subsection (a). 22 (2) PRIORITY FOR FUNDS.—In awarding grants 23 under the programs described in subsection (a) pur- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3680.IS S3680 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3680 IS suant to this section, the Administrator shall 1 prioritize projects that will— 2 (A) monitor pollution in or near environ- 3 mental justice communities; or 4 (B) investigate or address the dispropor- 5 tionate impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic in 6 environmental justice communities. 7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out the programs 9 described in subsection (a) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 10 2020. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3680.IS S3680 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS