EPA and Recent Environmental Justice Developments: NEPA, Changing State Laws, Title VI

Description

Historically, NEPA is one of the most frequently litigated environmental statutes. NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental and related social and economic effects of proposed actions before making decisions on permits, federal land management actions, infrastructure, and publicly owned facilities. NEPA also requires federal agencies to prepare detailed environmental assessments and environmental impact statements assessing environmental impacts and alternatives to significant federal actions.

Under NEPA's policies and procedures, all state, county, and local government entities as a best practice should have written and published policies for effective public participation consistent with Title VI and EPA's public participation guidance. NEPA also has critical relevancy to the private sector as it applies to federal permits, grants, rights-of-way, leases, and other necessary actions.

The current administration has continually refocused the EPA and federal agency enforcement priorities to address climate change and EJ in particularly disadvantaged communities. Recently to better advance EJ and enforce civil rights laws in overburdened communities, the EPA launched its new national EJ office with more than 200 EPA staff members across all 10 regions. Additionally, the EPA's OGC released its new "Interim Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting Frequently Asked Questions" (EJ FAQs) and an updated version of the agency's "Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice" (Legal Tools). The EJ FAQs covers over 20 pages of guidance materials and demonstrates how the EPA will consider EJ in permitting decisions and the interplay of civil rights compliance. EPA's Legal Tools is an expanded compilation of legal authorities that pinpoints the environmental and civil rights statutes EPA uses to ensure EJ and equity agendas are integrated across the agency's policies, programs, and activities. Also, the EPA recently announced updates to its EJSCREEN mapping tool including "supplemental indexes" that offer a different perspective and greater flexibility in the ways that data can be considered within EJSCREEN.

Listen as our authoritative panel of environmental attorneys highlights recent EJ trends at the federal, state, and regulatory level--particularly how EJ concerns must be addressed in the permitting process. The panel will also offer guidance on project timelines and best practices for evaluating a community's health, social, and economic demographics for securing a meaningful EJ analysis.