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Consistent with the Biden administration\u2019s unprecedented focus on environmental justice (EJ), equity, and civil rights, the Environmental Protection Agency has worked to place EJ at the forefront of its programs. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is no exception: The EPA has selected cleanup enforcement as a key strategy in advancing its EJ goals.<\/p>\n
The EPA defines EJ<\/a> as \u201cthe fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.\u201d<\/p>\n The EPA directs its EJ efforts toward overburdened communities<\/a>, which the agency defines as minority, \u201clow-income, tribal, or indigenous populations or geographic locations in the United States that potentially experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks.\u201d The EPA recognizes that overburdened communities experience persistent environmental health disparities due to the cumulative risks associated with the aggregation of socio-economic and environmental stressors.<\/p>\n One of the primary concerns EJ advocates raise\u2014and have raised since the advent of the EJ movement\u2014is the EPA\u2019s response to hazardous waste contamination in overburdened communities. <\/p>\n Indeed, Toxic Wastes and Race<\/a>, a seminal report documenting the proximity of minority communities to environmentally intensive land uses, was published in 1987 in response to an \u201cunprecedented national concern over the problem of hazardous wastes.\u201d According to the report, EJ advocates have long argued for site cleanups to relieve overburdened communities of the deleterious health effects of living next to contaminated property. So, naturally, CERCLA, enacted in 1980, has always played an integral role in the realization of EJ.<\/p>\n EPA\u2019s enforcement of CERCLA\u2014also known as the Superfund program\u2014drives the cleanup of contaminated sites. Historically, overburdened communities have not been prioritized for cleanup and significant barriers have inhibited access to and exchange of information such that community concerns have not been adequately considered.<\/p>\n Indeed, according to Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty<\/a>, a 2007 update from Toxics Waste and Race, the federal government has been slow to respond to environmental contamination in overburdened communities, and though \u201cmost affected, the voices of Indigenous peoples, people of color, low-income people and workers have been ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n Further, according to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 2003 report \u201cNot in My Backyard<\/a>,\u201d overburdened communities suffer from a \u201clack of access to information critical to participating in the decision making process and protecting human health.\u201d EPA has begun the process of remedying these inequities by targeting and prioritizing enforcement of site cleanups in overburdened communities.<\/p>\n Federal executive branch agencies have been charged with incorporating EJ into their work since 1994, when President Bill Clinton issued executive order 12898<\/a>. Nevertheless, overburdened communities have continued to experience disproportionate levels of environmental contamination, according to the EPA\u2019s Office of Land and Emergency Management\u2019s draft EJ action plan<\/a>, issued in January. <\/p>\n Through a series of recent actions, the Biden administration has demonstrated that CERCLA cleanup enforcement is integral to EPA\u2019s efforts to advance EJ:<\/p>\n Regulated entities can expect increased enforcement, inspections, monitoring, and scrutiny by regulators for cleanups located in overburdened communities. Accordingly, it is prudent that parties responsible for cleanups in overburdened communities work closely with stakeholders to ensure compliance and transparency to mitigate the risk of targeted, amplified enforcement.<\/p>\n This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.<\/em><\/p>\n Write for Us: Author Guidelines<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Stacey Sublett Halliday<\/em><\/a> is co-chair of Beveridge & Diamond\u2019s Environmental Justice (EJ) practice. She advises clients on environmental compliance due diligence, environmental enforcement, corporate social responsibility, non-financial reporting, and environmental justice. <\/em><\/p>\n Julius M. Redd<\/em><\/a> is co-founder and co-heads Beveridge & Diamond\u2019s EJ practice where he represents the firm\u2019s core private-sector clients while being a catalyst for societal change by advising clients on strategies to consider and address the concerns of the traditionally disenfranchised. <\/em><\/p>\n Raven Hayes<\/em><\/a> is an associate at Beveridge & Diamond and focuses her practice on site remediation, air and climate change, water, sustainability, and environmental justice and maintains an active pro bono practice focused on juvenile immigrant asylum. <\/em><\/p>\nEnvironmental Justice and CERCLA<\/h2>\n
Cleanup Enforcement as a Central Tool to Advance EJ <\/h2>\n
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Author Information<\/h3>\n