Sec. 2. Findings; statement of policy
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Congress finds the following: Communities of color, low-income communities, Tribal and Indigenous communities, fossil fuel-dependent communities, and other vulnerable populations, such as persons with disabilities, children, and the elderly, are disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards that include exposure to polluted air, waterways, and landscapes. Environmental justice disparities are also exhibited through a lack of equitable access to green spaces, public recreation opportunities, and information and data on potential exposure to environmental hazards.
Communities experiencing environmental injustice have been subjected to systemic racial, social, and economic injustices and face a disproportionate burden of adverse human health or environmental effects, a higher risk of intentional, unconscious, and structural discrimination, and disproportionate energy burdens. Environmental justice communities have been made more vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to a combination of factors, particularly the legacy of segregation and historically racist zoning codes, and often have the least resources to respond, making it a necessity for environmental justice communities to be meaningfully engaged as partners and stakeholders in government decision making as the United States builds its climate resilience.
Potential environmental and climate threats to environmental justice communities merit a higher level of engagement, review, and consent to ensure that communities are not forced to bear disproportionate environmental and health impacts. The burden of proof that a proposed action will not harm communities, including through cumulative exposure effects, should fall on polluting industries and on the Federal Government in its regulatory role, not the communities themselves. Executive Order 12898 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to Federal actions to address environmental justice in minority populations and low-income populations) directs Federal agencies to address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, but Federal agencies have been inconsistent in updating their strategic plans for environmental justice and reporting on their progress in enacting those plans.
Government action to correct environmental injustices is a moral imperative. Federal policy can and should improve public health and improve the overall well-being of all communities. All people have the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, live free of dangerous levels of toxic pollution, and share the benefits of a prosperous and vibrant pollution-free economy. A fair and just transition to a pollution-free economy is necessary to ensure that workers and communities in deindustrialized areas have access to the resources and benefits of a sustainable future.
That transition must also address the economic disparities experienced by residents living in areas contaminated by pollution or environmental degradation, including access to jobs, and members of those communities must be fully and meaningfully involved in transition planning processes. It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to seek to achieve environmental justice, health equity, and climate justice for all communities. It is the policy of Congress that each Federal agency should— seek to achieve environmental justice as part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, practices, and activities on communities of color, low-income communities, and Tribal and Indigenous communities in each State and territory of the United States; promote meaningful involvement by communities and due process in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws; provide direct guidance and technical assistance to communities experiencing environmental injustice focused on increasing shared understanding of the science, laws, regulations, and policy related to Federal agency action on environmental justice issues; cooperate with State governments, Tribal Governments, and local governments to address pollution and public health burdens in communities experiencing environmental injustice, and build healthy, sustainable, and resilient communities; and recognize the right of all people to clean air, safe and affordable drinking water, protection from climate hazards, and the sustainable preservation of the ecological integrity and aesthetic, scientific, cultural, and historical values of the natural environment.
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