Orange County NC Website
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency <br />communities access to public information and public participation in matters relating to <br />human health and the environment. The Presidential Memorandum accompanying the order <br />underscores certain provisions of existing law that can help ensure that all communities and <br />persons across the nation live in a safe and healthy environment. <br />The executive order established an Interagency Working Group (IWG) on environmental <br />justice chaired by the EPA Administrator and comprised of the heads of 11 departments or <br />agencies and several White House offices. These include the EPA, the Departments of <br />Justice, Defense, Energy, Labor, Interior, Transportation, Agriculture, Housing and Urban <br />Development, Commerce, and Health and Human Services, the Council on Environmental <br />Quality, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, <br />the Domestic Policy Council, and the Council of Economic Advisors. The IWG meets on a <br />monthly basis to continue the collaborative projects. Fifteen demonstration projects, along <br />with additional projects to be selected each year, have been chosen to depict the provision. <br />The statutes that EPA implements provide the Agency with authority to consider and <br />address environmental justice concerns. These laws encompass the breadth of the Agency's <br />activities including setting standards, permitting facilities, making grants, issuing licenses or <br />regulations, and reviewing proposed actions of other federal agencies. These laws often <br />require the Agency to consider a variety of factors that generally include one or more of the <br />following: public health; cumulative impacts; social costs; and welfare impacts. Moreover, <br />some statutory provisions, such as under the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA), <br />explicitly direct the Agency to target low- income populations for assistance. Other statutes <br />direct the Agency to consider vulnerable populations in setting standards. In all cases, the <br />way in which the Agency chooses to implement and enforce its authority can have <br />substantial effects on the achievement of environmental justice for all communities. <br />Since OEJ was created, there have been significant efforts across EPA to integrate <br />environmental justice into the Agency's day -to -day operations. Information on these <br />activities can be found throughout the Agency. Every regional and headquarter office has an <br />environmental justice coordinator to serve as a focal point within the organization. This <br />network of individuals provides outreach and educational opportunities to external as well as <br />internal individuals and organizations. <br />http: / /www.epa.gov /environmentaljustice /basics /ejbackground.html <br />