Environmental Justice Act of 2007 (Introduced in Senate/House)
S./H.R.________

January___ (legislative day, January___), 2007

Mr./Ms________________ (for himself, Ms./Mr__________________, and Mr./Ms.__________________________) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works/Committee on Energy and Commerce 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Environmental Justice Act of 2007'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that--

1. EPA does not have the authority to prevent the construction of a proposed polluting facility.  EPA does not have the authority to approve the construction of a proposed nonpolluting facility.  If subsequent to the issuance of an operating permit the EPA were to find a civil rights violation, the EPA would have no power to stop the operation or even to provide any other form of relief to the victimized community.
2. EPA's only remedy against an environmental civil rights violating state is to attempt to cut off financial assistance to the violating state.  EPA has never requested a cut-off of financial assistance to a state for such a violation.  Moreover, the cut off of such funds can only occur if the U.S. Congress does not object.
3. Courts have ruled that victims of environmental racial discrimination have no standing to privately enforce federal agency civil rights regulations.
4. A community may file a civil rights complaint with the EPA only after a state has already issued a permit to operate the facility being opposed.
5. Of the 130 environmental justice complaints filed by minority communities across the nation between 1992 and 2002, only four (4) have been fully investigated and EPA has ruled against all of those complainants.  And even if EPA ruled in favor of such complainants for an environmental civil rights violation, the agency would be powerless to provide any relief to the complaining community.
6. Although environmental and health data of toxic chemical releases are not routinely collected and analyzed by income and race, racial and ethnic minorities and lower income Americans may be disproportionately exposed to toxic chemicals in their residential and workplace environments.
7. Victims of civil rights discrimination may file a complaint with the EPA. (40 C.F.R. 7.120)
8. The EPA will accept environmental civil rights complaints but only after a State has granted an operating permit. (40 C.F.R. 7.120 (b)(2))
9. The EPA does not investigate whether State departments of environment are complying with its civil rights obligation. (40 C.F.R. 7.80)
10. The EPA cannot provide any effective relief to a civil rights complainant under its own regulations.
11. The sole relief available for victims of environmental civil rights violations is through a private action against a state if the community can prove intentional discrimination.  To date, no such action has been successful. [Examples]

SEC. 3. PURPOSES AND POLICIES.

The purposes of this Act are--

1. To provide a citizen lawsuit provision to allow potential victims of environmental race discrimination to enforce the EJA and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
2. To provide a citizen endorsement provision to allow potential beneficiaries of nonpolluting economic development to enforce the EJA and the regulations promulgated thereunder. 
3. To establish the criteria for determining potential violations and endorsements based on comparative community health statistics, comparative community pollution sources and comparative community economic development.
4. To address: a) acts of discrimination, b) existing comparative community health, c) existing comparative community pollution sources, d) existing comparative economic analyses and planned economic development and cumulative impacts.
5. To direct to accept and investigate all community complaints and recommendations related to development projects, whether filed before or after issuance of construction and operating permits.
6. To empower citizens, and EPA at the request of citizens, to obtain injunctions to prevent construction and operation of discriminatory polluting facilities and operations that violate the EJA regulations.  To empower citizens, and EPA at the request of citizens, to endorse the construction and operation of nondiscriminatory nonpolluting facilities and operations that do not violate EJA regulations.
7. To provide a definitive permitting process regarding demographics for citizens, developers, government agencies and investors. 
8. To direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop EJA regulations.
9. To establish a new EPA Office of Health Protection (OHP) to investigate community health statistics and to coordinate research and related activities with the following offices.
10. To expand the EPA Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) to provide adequate staff and resources to investigate community pollution sources.
11. To direct the EPA National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE) to investigate community economic impacts.
12. To establish the Office of Health Protection as the lead office for coordinating scientific research activities with OEJ and NCEE.  The OHP, in consultation with OEJ and NCEE, will develop criteria for establishing disparate community impacts related to proposed projects. These offices will provide appropriate outreach to the public, States, counties and cities to assure that they are aware of the availability of this service.  EPA, through the OHP, in consultation with OEJ and NCEE, will provide timely reports to communities requesting assistance in evaluating proposed facilities.
13. To rename and expand EPA's current Office of Children's Health Protection to the Office of Health Protection. the OHP would provide research and policy development to protect all vulnerable populations: children, low-income and disadvantaged minority communities and aging populations. The new OHP will also coordinate the 2002 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and EPA on developing a nationwide environmental health tracking network.  The Office of Health Protection, in addition to collecting health statistics, will research, analyze, develop and provide to the public, requesting communities and individuals, the latest science policy information and decisions that impact the environment and health of minority and disadvantaged communities. The OHP, in consultation with NCEE, will also establish and maintain information that provides an objective basis for assessment of health effects by income and race;
14. To identify those areas with the largest releases of toxic chemicals to the air, land, water, and workplace. To identify those areas that are subject to the most severe loadings of toxic chemicals, through all media.
15. To require the collection of data on environmental health effects so that impacts on different individuals or groups can be understood. To assess the health effects that may be caused by emissions in those areas of highest environmental impact;
16. To ensure that groups or individuals residing within Affected Areas have the opportunity and the resources to participate in the technical process which will determine the possible existence of adverse health impacts;
17. To identify those activities in high environmental impact areas found to have significant adverse impacts on human health;
18. To incorporate environmental equity considerations into planning and implementation of all Federal environmental programs and statutes. To require that actions be taken by authorized Federal agencies to curtail those activities found to be having significant adverse impacts on human health in those areas of highest impact; and
19. To ensure that significant adverse health impacts that may be associated with environmental pollution in the United States are not distributed inequitably.
20. To focus Federal agency attention on the environmental and human health conditions in minority and low-income communities;
21. To ensure that all Federal agencies develop practices that promote environmental justice;
22. To increase cooperation and coordination among Federal agencies as they seek to achieve environmental justice;
23. To provide minority, low-income, and Native American communities greater access to public information and opportunity for participation in decisionmaking affecting human health and the environment;
24. To mitigate the inequitable distribution of the burdens and benefits of Federal programs having significant impact on human health and the environment; and
25. To hold Federal agencies accountable for the effects of their projects and programs on all communities.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this Act:

(1) The term 'Administrator' means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) The term 'Affected Area' means any area determined by EPA, pursuant to other provisions of this Act, that suffers disproportionately from negative health, environmental or economic impacts.
(3) The term 'Protected Area' means any Affected Area protected by local community designation and supported by EPA analysis.
(4) The term 'Brownfield' means any previously developed and currently polluted area selected by local community designation and supported by EPA analysis that is targeted for redevelopment.
(5) The term 'Pollution Releasing Facility' (PRF) means any facility that is permitted on the following list: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA-Large), Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 or any dangerous undocumented source of pollution that is determined by the local community and confirmed by EPA. Specifically, any facility:
(A) subject to reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986;
(B) that generates, treats, stores or disposes of a hazardous waste as defined in section 3001 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act;
(C) subject to section 112 or 129 of the Clean Air Act;
(D) subject to sections 307 or 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);
(E) subject to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.); or
(F) subject to the requirements concerning material safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals under the Occupational and Safety and Health Act of 1970 (15 U.S.C. 615 et seq.). For the purpose of this Act the term `toxic chemical facility' shall include any facility that releases a toxic chemical.
(6) The term 'Nonpollution Releasing Facility' (NRF) means any facility that is not permitted on the following list: CERCLA, RCRA (Large), Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, FIFRA, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 or is not an undocumented source of pollution as determined by the local and confirmed by EPA.  An NRF does not  include specific items listed under Section 4, Part 5.
(7) The term `toxic chemicals' means--

(A) all hazardous substances as defined in section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(14);

(B) all materials registered pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.);

(C) all chemicals subject to section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986;

(D) all contaminants identified in the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-1);

(E) all chemicals listed by the National Toxicology Program as known or probable human carcinogens; and

(F) all materials subject to the requirements concerning material safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals under the Occupational and Safety and Health Act of 1970 (15 U.S.C. 615 et seq.).

(8) The term `release' shall have the same meaning as used in section 101(22) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1990 as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, and shall also include any release which results in exposure to persons within a workplace.

(9) The term `toxic chemical facility' means any facility means any facility listed under Pollution Releasing Facility as defined in Sec. 4 (5).

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