[CPEO-BIF] "Now Is the Time" environmental justice report released

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Press Release
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
June 9, 2010

Lawyers' Committee Releases Environmental Justice Report



As the nation continues to grapple with the recent disastrous Gulf Coast 
oil well leak, the largest environmental disaster in the history of the 
U.S., the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, in 
collaboration with numerous environmental justice advocates, is 
preparing to officially release its report, "Now is the Time: 
Environmental Injustice in the U.S. and Recommendations for Eliminating 
Disparities." The purpose of the report, presented to the Obama 
Administration and its various agencies, including the Environmental 
Protection Agency and the Department of Justice, outlines 
recommendations on how the Administration can effectively utilize 
existing law to eliminate disparities in environmental protection and 
the agencies can fulfill their responsibilities under Executive Order 
12898, "Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice In Minority 
Populations And Low-Income Populations."

The report is far-reaching and incorporates the work of the 
environmental justice community over the past 10 years. The Lawyers' 
Committee and the environmental justice community view the report as an 
important step in an ongoing dialogue with the Administration, federal 
agencies and members of Congress to effect necessary environmental 
policy changes, especially in communities of color and low-income and 
indigenous communities disproportionately burdened by environmental 
hazards nationwide.

Key recommendations include:

* The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should emphatically and 
resolutely embrace a strong definition of environmental justice grounded 
in the central tenet that environmental justice is the prevention, 
reduction and elimination of the known disproportionate environmental 
burdens primarily on people of color, indigenous, and low-income 
communities.

* EPA should make full use of existing legal authority to address 
environmental assaults on people of color, indigenous, and low-income 
communities.

* DOJ should develop guidelines for Title VI compliance in the context 
of emergency preparedness and emergency response for recipients of 
federal funding.

* Reinstatement of the superfund tax on chemical and petrochemical 
manufacturers through congressional reauthorization of the Superfund tax.

* The Administration should ensure that any carbon trading market is 
properly regulated to address and redress co-pollutant issues that are 
known to co-exist with the establishment of carbon markets and should 
prepare climate change disaster mitigation programs specifically for 
residents of urban, indigenous, low-income and environmental justice 
communities.

* EPA should set federal guidelines for state and local schools agencies 
on indoor air quality in schools, integrated pest management, school 
chemical cleanouts, drinking water, school design, asbestos, PCBs in 
caulking, molds, comprehensive building inspections, and how pediatric 
environmental health specialty units (PEHSUs) can work with state health 
agencies on on-site investigations.

* The Department of Education should endorse the EPA Model School Siting 
Guidelines and require all recipients of federal assistance to comply 
with it.

* Eighty percent of the funding from the Surface Transportation 
Authorization Act should be committed to public transit, 20 percent to 
highway and road maintenance rather than new road construction. Under 
the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009/10, a minimum of 50 
percent of the entire Act's allocation for transit should be dedicated 
to operating purposes, with at least half of that restricted to bus 
operations.

* Strengthen regulation of emissions from concentrated animal feeding 
operations, such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic 
compounds emissions. The Administration should ensure that rural areas 
are provided with adequate water and sewer services by working with 
local agencies and ensuring vigorous enforcement of the Safe Drinking 
Water Act in rural and semi-urban communities.

For the original release, go to
http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/newsroom/clips?id=0153


To download the full report, go to
http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/admin/site/documents/files/Final-Environmental-Justice-Report-6-9-10.pdf 



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