The Environmental Protection Agency has committed to improving environmental enforcement and compliance in overburdened communities. As described in the 2014 Environmental Justice Plan:
The need for this approach is well documented. For example, the 2012 study Uneven Magnitude of Disparities in Cancer Risks from Air Toxics showed that “cancer risk of air toxics not only disproportionately affects socioeconomically disadvantaged and racial minority communities, but there is a gradient effect within these groups with poorer and higher minority concentrated segments being more affected than their counterparts.”
This month, the EPA Inspector General kicked off an evaluation to determine how well the agency is incorporating EJ into its air toxics enforcement. The memo below describes their evaluation plans, and indicates they will interview stakeholder groups, including NEJAC.
Interested organizations might want review the 2014 EJ plan, consider how EPA enforcement and compliance actions could be improved in their community, and ask to provide input into this study.