EPA emailed a call for comments on the draft Federal Interagency Strategic Plan for Environmental Justice late yesterday afternoon. If you work in EJ, this is an important opportunity to influence how it works in the Federal government, so mark your calendar for September 1 or 16.
And don’t miss the blog post by Mustafa Ali, Senior Advisor to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization:
Your Voice Matters! Help Shape How Federal Agencies Move Forward on Environmental Justice
Call for Comments: Help Shape the Federal Interagency Strategic Plan for Environmental Justice
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as convener of the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG), is asking for public comment on the draft FY 2016-2018 Action Agenda Framework. The Framework is the EJ IWG’s three year strategic plan to advance environmental justice. Stakeholders and the general public can review the Framework and submit comments, starting today through September 25 by visiting https://www.epa.gov/
The EJ IWG plays a central role in creating healthy and sustainable communities by bringing together the federal family to address critical environmental justice issues. Established by President Clinton’s Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, the EJ IWG provides a forum for federal agencies to collectively advance environmental justice principles. The EJ IWG works as a federal family to increase local community capacity to promote and implement innovative and comprehensive solutions to environmental justice concerns.
“Engaging community and stakeholder input is critical to agency decision-making,” said Mustafa Santiago Ali, Senior Advisor to Administrator Gina McCarthy on Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization. “Your voices, experiences and expertise can help shape a strategy designed to collaboratively support holistic community-based solutions to address the needs of overburdened communities and provide opportunities to enhance their ability to be healthier, more sustainable, and economically viable places to live, work, play and pray.” Read today’s blog more about how the Framework is defining new goals for the coming years.
The goals of the Framework are to:
- Enhance communication and coordination to improve the health, quality-of-life, and economic opportunities in overburdened communities;
- Enhance multi-agency support of holistic community-based solutions to solve environmental justice issues, and
- Advance interagency strategies to identify and address environmental justice concerns in agency programs, policies and activities.
During the public comment period for the Framework, EPA will conduct two national webinars
- Tuesday, September 1, 1:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m. (Eastern)
- Wednesday, September 16, 3:00 p.m. — 4:00 p.m. (Eastern)
Each webinar will provide the same information. Audiences are encouraged to participate and may request additional informational sessions if needed. For more information about the Framework, or webinar registration, visit https://www.epa.gov/
Environmental justice is defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA‘s goal is to provide an environment where all people enjoy equal access to the environmental decision-making process to maintain a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. EPA‘s environmental justice work is an outgrowth of Executive Order 12898, signed by President Clinton in 1994, that requires federal agencies to address the disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs on minority and low-income populations.
For more information about the EJ IWG, visit: https://www.epa.gov/
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If you are not already a member, the Office of Environmental Justice would like to invite you to join the EJ ListServ. The purpose of this information tool is to notify individuals about activities at EPA in the field of environmental justice. By subscribing to this list, you will receive information about EPA‘s activities, programs, projects, grants, and about environmental justice activities at other agencies. Noteworthy news items, national meeting announcements, and new publication notices also will be distributed. Postings can only be made by the Office of Environmental Justice. To request an item to be posted, send your information to environmental-justice@epa.gov and indicate in the subject “Request to Post to EPA-EJ ListServ”
To join the list serve go to: https://lists.epa.gov/read/