Environmental Justice Coalition

SEC. 5. MANDATORY INSPECTIONS.

To ensure that facilities with the highest potential for release of toxic chemicals into the environment are operating in compliance with all applicable environmental, health and safety standards, the Administrator, and the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, shall conduct compliance inspections or reviews of all toxic chemical facilities in Environmental High Impact Areas subject to the jurisdiction of such individuals within 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than every 2 years thereafter.

SEC. 6. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Subject to appropriations, and in accordance with rules promulgated by the Secretary in consultation with the Administrator, the Secretary may award a grant to any individual or group of individuals who may be affected by a release or threatened release from any toxic chemical facility in an Environmental High Impact Area.

(b) GRANT REQUIREMENTS-

(1) IN GENERAL- A grant awarded under this section shall--

(A) be designed to facilitate access by representatives of Environmental High Impact Areas to the activities that involve public participation under this Act and any other related law;

(B) be used to obtain technical assistance relating to the inspection and review authorities described in section 5 and the study described in section 8; and

(2) COST-SHARING- Each grant recipient shall be required, as a condition of the grant, to pay a non-Federal share equal to 20 percent of the grant amount, unless the grant recipient demonstrates financial need to the satisfaction of the Secretary. Not more than one grant may be made with respect to each Environmental High Impact Area for the period of a grant (as determined by the Secretary). At the end of the grant period, a grant may be renewed if the Administrator determines that the renewal is necessary to facilitate public participation.

SEC. 7. FUNDING.

Within one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations establishing a system of user fees or assessments on toxic chemical facilities in Environmental High Impact Areas that shall be placed in a special fund to fully fund the community grant program established under section 6. There shall be transferred from such special fund to the Secretary such amounts as are necessary to carry out the community grant program. In establishing the fees or assessments, the Administrator shall take into account the volume adjustments provided in section 4(b).

SEC. 8. STUDY BY THE SECRETARY.

Within 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, the Secretary of Labor, and the Commissioners of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, shall issue for public comment a report identifying the nature and extent, if any, of acute and chronic impacts on human health in Environmental High Impact Areas, as compared to other counties. Such impacts shall include incidents of cancer, birth deformities, infant mortality rates, and respiratory diseases. The report shall be coordinated by the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry of the Department of Health and Human Services, and in coordinating the report, the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry shall seek to--

(1) isolate the impacts of environmental pollution;

(2) segregate the effects of other factors such as health care availability or substance abuse;

(3) rank the relative risks posed by the toxic chemicals present in Environmental High Impact Areas and by the varied sources of toxic chemicals, both individually and cumulatively;

(4) take into account the need to remedy the impacts of pollution in high population density areas;

(5) evaluate the levels below which release of toxic chemicals, either individually or cumulatively, must be reduced to avoid adverse impacts on human health; and

(6) determine the impacts of uncontrolled releases.

SEC. 9. LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE.

If the report under section 8 identifies significant adverse impacts of environmental pollution on human health in Environmental High Impact Areas as a group, the President shall submit to Congress within one year after publication of the report, proposed legislation to remedy and prevent such impacts. Such legislation shall include--

(1) expansion of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 to require additional facilities or chemicals to be subject to reporting requirements under such Act, or a reduction in threshold quantities of chemicals that trigger reporting requirements under such Act;

(2) a means to redress regulatory loopholes (such as recycling and industrial wastes exempt from regulation under subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) and wastes subject to reductions in regulatory requirements); and

(3) measures such as taxes on uncontrolled or controlled emissions, or restrictions on toxic chemical releasing activities within an Environmental High Impact Area to induce source reduction in such area, regardless of whether facilities are in compliance with other existing laws.

SEC. 10. MORATORIUM.

(a) IN GENERAL- If the report under section 8 identifies significant adverse impacts of environmental pollution on human health in Environmental High Impact Areas, there shall be a moratorium on the siting or permitting of any new toxic chemical facility in any Environmental High Impact Area demonstrated to emit toxic chemicals in quantities determined to cause significant adverse impacts on human health.

(b) EXCEPTION- A new toxic chemical facility may be sited or receive a permit in an Environmental High Impact Area during this period only if--

(1) the need for the activity is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Secretary; and

(2) the owner or operator of the facility demonstrates that the facility will minimize uncontrolled releases into the environment.

(c) DURATION- With respect to any Environmental High Impact Area, a moratorium under this section shall continue in effect until such time as the Administrator determines, on the petition of any interested party, that the health-based levels identified pursuant to section 8(5) have been attained at the Environmental High Impact Area.