By: EJ News Today | January 3, 2023
Federal regulators spent much of 2022 focusing on addressing environmental justice issues through spending decisions, permitting processes, compliance measures and enforcement activities. To that end, in late December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Air & Radiation (OAR) issued a guidance memorandum outlining principles to assist each EPA regional office to promote environmental justice and equity through air permitting programs. OAR has also asked its ten regional offices to cooperate with state and local partners who have previously expressed concerns about the matter.
Best practices are outlined in the guiding principles and include actions such as early detection of possible EJ issues and continuous interaction. Below is a summary of OAR’s EJ permitting guide principles:
1) Identify communities with potential environmental justice concerns;
2) Engage early in the permitting process to promote meaningful participation and fair treatment;
3) Enhance public involvement throughout the permitting process;
4) Conduct “fit for purpose” environmental justice analysis;
5) Minimize and mitigate disproportionately high and adverse effects associated with the permit action to promote fair treatment;
6) Provide federal support throughout the air permitting process;
7) Enhance transparency throughout the air permitting process; and
8) Build capacity to enhance the consideration of environmental justice in the air permitting process.
The EPA is hopeful these air permitting guidelines in OAR’s memo advance the directives of Executive Orders 14008, 12898, and 13985, which require that federal agencies make achieving environmental justice and equity a part of their mission.
It should be noted, however, that the permitting document issued by OAR is distinct from the eagerly awaited guidelines from the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice & External Civil Rights on taking cumulative effects into account in permits to avoid discriminatory consequences. Cumulative impacts assessments are a useful tool for evaluating compounding issues from multiple sources of air pollution.
