II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5081 

To establish an Office of Environmental Justice within the Department of 

Justice, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2022 

Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish an Office of Environmental Justice within the 

Department of Justice, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering and En5 forcing Environmental Justice Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 31 of title 28, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 5081 IS

1 ‘‘§ 530E. Environmental Justice 

2 ‘‘(a) OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

4 after the date of enactment of the Empowering and 

5 Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2022, the 

6 Attorney General shall establish the Office of Envi7 ronmental Justice (hereinafter known as the ‘Of8 fice’) within the Environment and Natural Re9 sources Division of the Department of Justice. 

10 ‘‘(2) PERSONNEL AND FUNDING.—The Attor11 ney General shall provide to the Office such per12 sonnel and funds as are necessary to establish the 

13 Office under paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP.—The Office shall be headed 

15 by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Attor16 ney General. 

17 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The Director shall: 

18 ‘‘(A) Develop, and update every 5 years 

19 thereafter, the environmental justice strategy 

20 for the Department, in accordance with Execu21 tive Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. 4321 note; relat22 ing to Federal actions to address environmental 

23 justice in minority populations and low-income 

24 populations). 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 5081 IS

1 ‘‘(B) Coordinate environmental justice 

2 matters that arise at the Department and 

3 United States Attorneys’ offices. 

4 ‘‘(C) Administer the grant program estab5 lished under section 3 of the Empowering and 

6 Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2022. 

7 ‘‘(D) Promote and protect the right of the 

8 public to participate meaningfully in the deci9 sion-making process on environmental justice 

10 matters and design communications efforts with 

11 the goal of maximizing community under12 standing of how to participate in environmental 

13 justice matters, including how to file adminis14 trative complaints with Federal agencies. 

15 ‘‘(E) Counsel and assist State, local, and 

16 Tribal governments on how to coordinate their 

17 actions with the Federal Government with re18 spect to environmental justice matters and 

19 counsel and assist State, local, and Tribal gov20 ernments and Indigenous populations or com21 munities in providing equal environmental pro22 tection for all individuals. 

23 ‘‘(F) Provide support for State and local 

24 environmental enforcement training in environ25 mental justice communities. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 5081 IS

1 ‘‘(G) Work with the Community Relations 

2 Service to facilitate a working relationship be3 tween parties involved in environmental justice 

4 matters, including regulated industry, State, 

5 local, and Tribal decision-makers and minority 

6 or low-income communities. 

7 ‘‘(H) Coordinate with the Council on Envi8 ronmental Quality and the White House Envi9 ronmental Justice Advisory Council, established 

10 under Executive Order 14008 (86 Fed. Reg. 

11 7619), with respect to implementation of the 

12 Justice40 Initiative. 

13 ‘‘(I) Organize, at minimum, bimonthly 

14 calls or meetings with environmental justice or15 ganizations and environmental justice commu16 nities. 

17 ‘‘(J) Manage the Senior Advisory Council 

18 established under paragraph (5). 

19 ‘‘(K) Make recommendations to Federal 

20 agencies on community participation in the de21 velopment of administrative settlement agree22 ments relating to environmental justice matters. 

23 ‘‘(5) SENIOR ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

24 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab25 lished a Senior Advisory Council (hereinafter 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 5081 IS

1 referred to as the ‘Council’) to advise the As2 sistant Attorney General of the Environment 

3 and Natural Resources Division on matters of 

4 environmental justice and recommend policy 

5 and initiatives with respect to environmental 

6 justice matters. 

7 ‘‘(B) CO-CHAIR.—The Co-chairs of the 

8 Council shall be the Assistant Attorney General 

9 of the Environment and Natural Resources Di10 vision and the Director of the Office. 

11 ‘‘(C) MEMBERS.—The Council shall be 

12 composed of: 

13 ‘‘(i) The Assistant Attorney General 

14 of the Environment and Natural Resources 

15 Division. 

16 ‘‘(ii) The Director of the Office. 

17 ‘‘(iii) One representative of the Office 

18 of the Deputy Attorney General. 

19 ‘‘(iv) One representative of the Office 

20 of the Associate Attorney General. 

21 ‘‘(v) One representative from the En22 vironmental Enforcement Section of the 

23 Environmental and Natural Resources Di24 vision. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 5081 IS

1 ‘‘(vi) One representative from the En2 vironmental Defense Section of the Envi3 ronment and Natural Resources Division. 

4 ‘‘(vii) One representative of the Civil 

5 Rights Division. 

6 ‘‘(viii) One representative of the Civil 

7 Division. 

8 ‘‘(ix) One representative of the Fed9 eral Bureau of Investigation. 

10 ‘‘(x) One representative of the Bureau 

11 of Prisons. 

12 ‘‘(xi) One representative of the Com13 munity Relations Service. 

14 ‘‘(xii) One representative of the Office 

15 for Access to Justice. 

16 ‘‘(xiii) One representative of the Of17 fice of Legal Policy. 

18 ‘‘(xiv) One representative of the Office 

19 of Legislative Affairs. 

20 ‘‘(xv) One representative of the Office 

21 of Tribal Justice. 

22 ‘‘(xvi) Two representatives from the 

23 Executive Office for United States Attor24 neys. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 5081 IS

1 ‘‘(xvii) The Section Chief of the Envi2 ronmental Justice Section. 

3 ‘‘(D) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not 

4 later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

5 of the Empowering and Enforcing Environ6 mental Justice Act of 2022, and annually there7 after, each member of the Council shall submit 

8 to the Director a report on the implementation 

9 of the progress of the component of which the 

10 member is a representative in implementing the 

11 environmental justice strategy of the Depart12 ment and any proposed revisions to the environ13 mental justice strategy of that component. The 

14 Director may also request a report or briefing 

15 from the head of any component not a member 

16 of the Council explaining how the component 

17 may facilitate the efforts of the Department in 

18 meeting the obligations of the Department 

19 under the environmental justice strategy. 

20 ‘‘(E) ADMINISTRATION.—The Director 

21 shall coordinate and support the work of the 

22 Council. The Director shall convene the Council 

23 not later than 90 days after the date of enact24 ment of the Empowering and Enforcing Envi25 ronmental Justice Act of 2022 and shall conVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:09 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5081.IS S5081

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 5081 IS

1 vene the Council not less than 4 times annually 

2 thereafter. 

3 ‘‘(F) GUIDANCE FOR DEPARTMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

5 180 days after the date of enactment of 

6 the Empowering and Enforcing Environ7 mental Justice Act of 2022, the Council 

8 shall develop guidance with respect to envi9 ronmental justice and provide such guid10 ance to Department personnel, including 

11 provisions for identifying, tracking, and 

12 addressing environmental justice matters. 

13 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW AND UPDATE.—Not 

14 later than 3 years after the development of 

15 the guidance under clause (i), and every 3 

16 years thereafter, the Department shall re17 view and update such guidance. 

18 ‘‘(b) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SECTION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 

20 days after the date of enactment of the Empowering 

21 and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2022, 

22 the Attorney General shall establish a section within 

23 the Environment and Natural Resources Division of 

24 the Department that shall be known as the ‘Envi25 ronmental Justice Section’ (hereinafter known as the 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 5081 IS

1 ‘Section’) with the responsibility to litigate environ2 mental justice matters. 

3 ‘‘(2) GENERAL OBJECTIVES.—The Section 

4 shall: 

5 ‘‘(A) Initiate legal action to enforce envi6 ronmental justice, civil rights, and criminal and 

7 civil laws with respect to environmental justice 

8 matters to achieve fair environmental and 

9 human health protection in all communities. 

10 ‘‘(B) Collaborate with State, local, and 

11 Tribal governments to pursue litigation with re12 spect to environmental justice to hold persons 

13 accountable for actions and inactions that have 

14 or will contribute to the climate crisis. 

15 ‘‘(C) Ensure the enforcement of title VI of 

16 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d 

17 et seq.) by coordinating with Federal agencies 

18 to effectively investigate civil rights complaints. 

19 ‘‘(D) Facilitate the collection and analysis 

20 of data that will assist the Department in law 

21 enforcement, mediation, and counseling efforts 

22 involving environmental justice matters. 

23 ‘‘(E) Provide technical assistance to other 

24 Federal agencies on creating permits and perVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:09 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5081.IS S5081

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 5081 IS

1 mitting processes that are enforceable by the 

2 agencies and the Department. 

3 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION AND INVESTIGATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) CONSULTATION ON PRIORITIES.—Not 

5 later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

6 of the Empowering and Enforcing Environ7 mental Justice Act of 2022, the Section shall 

8 consult with United States Attorneys’ Offices, 

9 the Environmental Protection Agency, and 

10 other Federal agencies, as appropriate, to de11 velop a list of environmental justice enforce12 ment priorities and a strategy for addressing 

13 these priorities. 

14 ‘‘(B) REFERRAL GUIDANCE.—The Section 

15 shall provide guidance to other Federal agencies 

16 on appropriate actions with respect to environ17 mental justice matters and whether such mat18 ters should be transferred to the Department 

19 for further investigation or action. 

20 ‘‘(4) LITIGATION ACTIVITIES.—The Section 

21 shall coordinate with other litigating components of 

22 the Department, with the United States Attorneys’ 

23 Offices to conduct investigations, and with other 

24 Federal agencies with respect to court cases raising 

25 environmental justice matters, including by— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 5081 IS

1 ‘‘(A) initiating legal action to enforce envi2 ronmental justice matters, civil rights, and 

3 criminal and civil laws with respect to environ4 mental and criminal justice to achieve fair envi5 ronmental and human health protection in all 

6 communities; 

7 ‘‘(B) intervening in pending litigation or 

8 filing amicus curiae briefs to serve the interests 

9 of Federal agencies that address environmental 

10 justice matters; 

11 ‘‘(C) coordinating with other Department 

12 components, and other Federal agencies, on ap13 propriate action with respect to environmental 

14 justice matters; and 

15 ‘‘(D) providing technical assistance to 

16 other Federal agencies to address environ17 mental justice matters. 

18 ‘‘(5) EDUCATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Section shall pro20 vide training and education with respect to— 

21 ‘‘(i) how to identify environmental jus22 tice matters; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the contexts in which environ24 mental justice matters may arise; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 5081 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) the ways in which recognition of 

2 potential environmental justice matters 

3 may affect the work of the Department, 

4 Department personnel, and other Federal 

5 agencies; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) the implementation of Executive 

7 Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. 4321 note; relat8 ing to Federal actions to address environ9 mental justice in minority populations and 

10 low-income populations), including the en11 vironmental justice strategy developed by 

12 The Office and guidance developed by the 

13 Council pursuant to subsection (a)(5)(F). 

14 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT.—The Section shall 

15 develop— 

16 ‘‘(i) instructional videos and other ma17 terials for Department personnel to provide 

18 an overview of the scope of environmental 

19 justice matters and procedures for identi20 fying and reporting such matters; 

21 ‘‘(ii) education programs for environ22 mental attorneys about criminal, civil, and 

23 civil rights laws; 

24 ‘‘(iii) education programs for civil, 

25 criminal, and civil rights attorneys about 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 5081 IS

1 environmental laws for the purpose of 

2 identifying and effectively addressing envi3 ronmental justice matters; 

4 ‘‘(iv) an email address that Depart5 ment attorneys and other Department per6 sonnel may contact that enables Depart7 ment attorneys and other Department per8 sonnel to seek information and guidance 

9 on environmental justice matters; 

10 ‘‘(v) joint education and training ac11 tivities, where appropriate, with Federal 

12 agencies and State, local, and Tribal legal 

13 offices; 

14 ‘‘(vi) a continuing legal education 

15 course on environmental justice matters, 

16 developed in coordination with the Office 

17 of Legal Education and the Environmental 

18 Protection Agency; and 

19 ‘‘(vii) training programs with respect 

20 to environmental justice for individuals 

21 participating in the Attorney General’s 

22 Honors Program. 

23 ‘‘(6) DATA ASSESSMENT.—The Section shall co24 ordinate with all relevant components within the De25 partment to develop and maintain an appropriate 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 5081 IS

1 system for tracking and assessing cases that raise 

2 environmental justice matters. 

3 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 

5 means the Department of Justice. 

6 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

7 The term ‘environmental justice community’ means 

8 a community with significant representation of com9 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 

10 and Indigenous communities, that experiences, or is 

11 at risk of experiencing higher or more adverse 

12 human health or environmental effects. 

13 ‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MATTER.—The 

14 term ‘environmental justice matter’ includes any 

15 civil or criminal matter where the conduct or action 

16 at issue may involve a disproportionate and adverse 

17 environmental or human health effect on an identifi18 able low-income, minority, Tribal, or Indigenous 

19 population or community in the United States. 

20 ‘‘(4) INDIGENOUS POPULATION OR COMMU21 NITY.—The term ‘Indigenous population or commu22 nity’ includes populations or communities of Amer23 ican Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. 

24 ‘‘(5) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term 

25 ‘low-income community’ means any census block 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 5081 IS

1 group in which 30 percent or more of the population 

2 are individuals with an annual household income 

3 equal to, or less than, the greater of— 

4 ‘‘(A) an amount equal to 80 percent of the 

5 median income of the area in which the house6 hold is located, as reported by the Department 

7 of Housing and Urban Development; and 

8 ‘‘(B) 200 percent of the Federal poverty 

9 line. 

10 ‘‘(6) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

11 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

12 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is13 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common14 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 

15 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

16 for chapter 31 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘530E. Environmental justice.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MATTERS ENFORCE19 MENT GRANTS. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) CERTAIN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

22 The term ‘‘certain congressional committees’’ 

23 means— 

24 (A) the Committee on Energy and Com25 merce of the House of Representatives; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 5081 IS

1 (B) the Committee on Environment and 

2 Public Works of the Senate; and 

3 (C) the Committees on the Judiciary of the 

4 House of Representatives and the Senate. 

5 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

6 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 

7 a community with significant representation of com8 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 

9 and Indigenous communities, that experiences, or is 

10 at risk of experiencing higher or more adverse 

11 human health or environmental effects. 

12 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MATTER.—The 

13 term ‘‘environmental justice matter’’ includes any 

14 civil or criminal matter where the conduct or action 

15 at issue may involve a disproportionate and adverse 

16 environmental or human health effect on an identifi17 able low-income, minority, Tribal, or Indigenous 

18 population or community in the United States. 

19 (4) INDIGENOUS POPULATION OR COMMU20 NITY.—The term ‘‘Indigenous population or commu21 nity’’ includes populations or communities of Amer22 ican Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. 

23 (5) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low24 income community’’ means any census block group 

25 in which 30 percent or more of the population are 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 5081 IS

1 individuals with an annual household income equal 

2 to, or less than, the greater of— 

3 (A) an amount equal to 80 percent of the 

4 median income of the area in which the house5 hold is located, as reported by the Department 

6 of Housing and Urban Development; and 

7 (B) 200 percent of the Federal poverty 

8 line. 

9 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 

10 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

11 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is12 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common13 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

14 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 

16 establish a grant program (in this section referred to as 

17 the ‘‘Program’’) within the Office of Environmental Jus18 tice to improve the capacity of State, local, and Tribal gov19 ernments to enforce environmental laws involving environ20 mental justice matters. 

21 (c) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the Pro22 gram, the Assistant Attorney General may award a grant 

23 on competitive basis to an eligible recipient. 

24 (d) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—The Assistant Attorney 

25 General may award a grant under the Program to a State, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 5081 IS

1 local, or Tribal government determined by the Assistant 

2 Attorney General to be capable of carrying out a project 

3 pursuant to subsection (e). 

4 (e) GRANT FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under the 

5 Program, shall only be used to— 

6 (1) train State, local, and Tribal agencies re7 sponsible for prosecuting and enforcing laws involv8 ing environmental justice matters; 

9 (2) hire staff to assist in the investigation, 

10 prosecution, and enforcement of laws involving envi11 ronmental justice matters; or 

12 (3) establish collaborative programs to provide 

13 technical and legal assistance to help environmental 

14 justice communities participate in decisions impact15 ing the environment, health, and safety of those en16 vironmental justice communities. 

17 (f) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant under 

18 the Program, an eligible recipient shall submit to the As19 sistant Attorney General an application in such form, at 

20 such time, and containing such information as the Assist21 ant Attorney General determines to be appropriate. 

22 (g) LIMITATIONS ON GRANT AMOUNTS.—Subject to 

23 the availability of appropriations under subsection (j), 

24 each grant made under this section shall be for an amount 

25 not less than $50,000 and not greater than $1,000,000. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 5081 IS

1 (h) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of a 

2 project under the Program shall not exceed 80 percent, 

3 unless the Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, this 

4 requirement. 

5 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there7 after, the Attorney General shall submit a report to cer8 tain congressional committees on the grant program es9 tablished under this section, including a description of the 

10 grantees and activities for which grantees used grants 

11 awarded under this section. 

12 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2023 through 

15 2032. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS