I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2200

To require Federal agencies to develop and implement policies and practices 

that promote environmental justice, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2003

Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Ms. SOLIS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 

in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To require Federal agencies to develop and implement policies and practices that promote environmental 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; PURPOSES. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Environmental Justice Act of 2003’’. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to focus Federal agency attention on the en2 vironmental and human health conditions in minor3 ity, low-income, and Native American communities; 

4 (2) to ensure that all Federal agencies develop 

5 practices that promote environmental justice; 

6 (3) to increase cooperation and coordination 

7 among Federal agencies as they seek to achieve envi8 ronmental justice; 

9 (4) to provide minority, low-income, and Native 

10 American communities greater access to public in11 formation and opportunity for participation in deci12 sionmaking affecting human health and the environ13 ment; 

14 (5) to mitigate the inequitable distribution of 

15 the burdens and benefits of Federal programs hav16 ing significant impact on human health and the en17 vironment; and 

18 (6) to hold Federal agencies accountable for the 

19 effects of their projects and programs on all commu20 nities. 

21 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

22 For purposes of this Act: 

23 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—(A) The term 

24 ‘‘environmental justice’’ means the fair treatment of 

25 people of all races, cultures, and socioeconomic 
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1 groups with respect to the development, adoption, 

2 implementation, and enforcement of laws, regula3 tions, and policies affecting the environment. 

4 (B) The term ‘‘fair treatment’’ means policies 

5 and practices that will minimize the likelihood that 

6 a minority, low-income, or Native American commu7 nity will bear a disproportionate share of the adverse 

8 environmental consequences, or be denied reasonable 

9 access to the environmental benefits, resulting from 

10 implementation of a Federal program or policy. 

11 (2) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

12 agency’’ means—

13 (A) each Federal entity represented on the 

14 Working Group; 

15 (B) any other entity that conducts any 

16 Federal program or activity that substantially 

17 affects human health or the environment; and 

18 (C) each Federal agency that implements 

19 any program, policy, or activity applicable to 

20 Native Americans. 

21 (3) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 

22 Group’’ means the interagency working group estab23 lished by section 4. 
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1 (4) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘the Ad2 visory Committee’’ means the advisory committee es3 tablished by section 6. 

4 SEC. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RESPONSIBILITIES OF 

5 FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

6 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MISSION.—To the 

7 greatest extent practicable, the head of each Federal agen8 cy shall make achieving environmental justice part of its 

9 mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, dis10 proportionately high and adverse human health or envi11 ronmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities 

12 on minority, low-income, and Native American populations 

13 in the United States and its territories and possessions, 

14 including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

15 Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of the Mariana Is16 lands. 

17 (b) NONDISCRIMINATION.—Each Federal agency 

18 shall conduct its programs, policies, and activities in a 

19 manner that ensures that such programs, policies, and ac20 tivities do not have the effect of excluding any person or 

21 group from participation in, denying any person or group 

22 the benefits of, or subjecting any person or group to dis23 crimination under, such programs, policies, and activities, 

24 because of race, color, national origin, or income. 
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1 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES.—(1) Each analysis 

2 of environmental effects of Federal actions required by the 

3 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4 321 et seq.) shall include analysis of the effects of such 

5 action on human health and any economic and social ef6 fects on minority, low-income, and Native American com7 munities. 

8 (2) So far as feasible, any environmental assessment, 

9 environmental impact statement, or record of decision pre10 pared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act 

11 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 321 et seq.) shall include measures 

12 to mitigate any significant and adverse environmental ef13 fects of proposed Federal actions on minority, low-income, 

14 and Native American communities. 

15 (3) Each Federal agency shall provide opportunities 

16 for community input in processes under the National En17 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), 

18 including identifying potential effects and mitigation 

19 measures in consultation with affected communities and 

20 improving the accessibility of meetings, crucial documents, 

21 and notices. 

22 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE WORK23 ING GROUP. 

24 (a) CREATION AND COMPOSITION.—There is hereby 

25 established the Interagency Working Group on Environ-
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1 mental Justice, comprising the heads of the following exec2 utive agencies and offices, or their designees: 

3 (1) The Department of Defense. 

4 (2) The Department of Health and Human 

5 Services. 

6 (3) The Department of Housing and Urban De7 velopment. 

8 (4) The Department of Labor. 

9 (5) The Department of Agriculture. 

10 (6) The Department of Transportation. 

11 (7) The Department of Justice; 

12 (8) The Department of the Interior. 

13 (9) The Department of Commerce. 

14 (10) The Department of Energy. 

15 (11) The Environmental Protection Agency. 

16 (12) The Office of Management and Budget. 

17 (13) The Office of Science and Technology Pol18 icy. 

19 (14) The Office of the Deputy Assistant to the 

20 President for Environmental Policy. 

21 (15) The Office of the Assistant to the Presi22 dent for Domestic Policy. 

23 (16) The National Economic Council. 

24 (17) The Council of Economic Advisers. 
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1 (18) Any other official of the United States 

2 that the President may designate. 

3 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Working Group shall—

4 (1) provide guidance to Federal agencies on cri5 teria for identifying disproportionately high and ad6 verse human health or environmental effects on mi7 nority, low-income, and Native American popu8 lations; 

9 (2) coordinate with, provide guidance to, and 

10 serve as a clearinghouse for, each Federal agency as 

11 it develops or revises an environmental justice strat12 egy as required by this Act, in order to ensure that 

13 the administration, interpretation and enforcement 

14 of programs, activities, and policies are undertaken 

15 in a consistent manner; 

16 (3) assist in coordinating research by, and stim17 ulating cooperation among, the Environmental Pro18 tection Agency, the Department of Health and 

19 Human Services, the Department of Housing and 

20 Urban Development, and other Federal agencies 

21 conducting research or other activities in accordance 

22 with section 7; 

23 (4) assist in coordinating data collection, main24 tenance, and analysis required by this Act; 
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1 (5) examine existing data and studies on envi2 ronmental justice; 

3 (6) hold public meetings and otherwise solicit 

4 public participation and consider complaints as re5 quired under subsection (c); 

6 (7) develop interagency model projects on envi7 ronmental justice that evidence cooperation among 

8 Federal agencies; and 

9 (8) in coordination with the Department of the 

10 Interior and after consultation with tribal leaders, 

11 coordinate steps to be taken pursuant to this Act 

12 that affect or involve federally-recognized Indian 

13 Tribes. 

14 (c) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Working Group 

15 shall—

16 (1) hold public meetings and otherwise solicit 

17 public participation, as appropriate, for the purpose 

18 of fact-finding with regard to implementation of this 

19 Act, and prepare for public review a summary of the 

20 comments and recommendations provided; and 

21 (2) receive, consider, and in appropriate in22 stances conduct inquiries concerning complaints re23 garding environmental justice and the implementa24 tion of this Act by Federal agencies. 
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1 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—(1) Each fiscal year fol2 lowing enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall 

3 submit to the President, through the Office of the Deputy 

4 Assistant to the President for Environmental Policy and 

5 the Office of the Assistant to the President for Domestic 

6 Policy, a report that describes the implementation of this 

7 Act, including, but not limited to, a report of the final 

8 environmental justice strategies described in section 6 of 

9 this Act and annual progress made in implementing those 

10 strategies. 

11 (2) The President shall transmit to the Speaker of 

12 the House of Representatives and the President of the 

13 Senate a copy of each report submitted to the President 

14 pursuant to paragraph (1). 

15 (e) CONFORMING CHANGE.—The Interagency Work16 ing Group on Environmental Justice established under 

17 Executive Order No. 12898, dated February 11, 1994, is 

18 abolished. 

19 SEC. 5. FEDERAL AGENCY STRATEGIES. 

20 (a) AGENCY-WIDE STRATEGIES.—Each Federal 

21 agency shall develop an agency-wide environmental justice 

22 strategy that identifies and addresses disproportionally 

23 high and adverse human health or environmental effects 

24 or disproportionally low benefits of its programs, policies, 
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1 and activities with respect to minority, low-income, and 

2 Native American populations. 

3 (b) REVISIONS.—Each strategy developed pursuant 

4 to subsection (a) shall identify programs, policies, plan5 ning, and public participation processes, rulemaking, and 

6 enforcement activities related to human health or the envi7 ronment that should be revised to—

8 (1) promote enforcement of all health and envi9 ronmental statutes in areas with minority, low-in10 come, or Native American populations; 

11 (2) ensure greater public participation; 

12 (3) improve research and data collection relat13 ing to the health of and environment of minority, 

14 low-income, and Native American populations; and 

15 (4) identify differential patterns of use of nat16 ural resources among minority, low-income, and Na17 tive American populations. 

18 (c) TIMETABLES.—Each strategy developed pursuant 

19 to subsection (a) shall include, where appropriate, a time20 table for undertaking revisions identified pursuant to sub21 section (b). 
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1 SEC. 6. FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY 

2 COMMITTEE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com4 mittee to be known as the ‘‘Federal Environmental Justice 

5 Advisory Committee’’. 

6 (b) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall provide 

7 independent advice and recommendations to the Environ8 mental Protection Agency and the Working Group on 

9 areas relating to environmental justice, which may include 

10 any of the following: 

11 (1) Advice on Federal agencies’ framework de12 velopment for integrating socioeconomic programs 

13 into strategic planning, annual planning, and man14 agement accountability for achieving environmental 

15 justice results agency-wide. 

16 (2) Advice on measuring and evaluating agen17 cies’ progress, quality, and adequacy in planning, de18 veloping, and implementing environmental justice 

19 strategies, projects, and programs. 

20 (3) Advice on agencies’ existing and future in21 formation management systems, technologies, and 

22 data collection, and the conduct of analyses that 

23 support and strengthen environmental justice pro24 grams in administrative and scientific areas. 

25 (4) Advice to help develop, facilitate, and con26 duct reviews of the direction, criteria, scope, and 
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1 adequacy of the Federal agencies’ scientific research 

2 and demonstration projects relating to environ3 mental justice. 

4 (5) Advice for improving how the environmental 

5 protection agency and others participate, cooperate, 

6 and communicate within that agency and between 

7 other Federal agencies, State or local governments, 

8 federally recognized Tribes, environmental justice 

9 leaders, interest groups, and the public. 

10 (6) Advice regarding the Environmental Protec11 tion Agency’s administration of grant programs re12 lating to environmental justice assistance (not to in13 clude the review or recommendations of individual 

14 grant proposals or awards). 

15 (7) Advice regarding agencies’ awareness, edu16 cation, training, and other outreach activities involv17 ing environmental justice. 

18 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Advisory Com19 mittee shall be considered an advisory committee within 

20 the meaning of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

21 U.S.C. App.). 

22 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall be 

23 composed of at least 25 members appointed by the Presi24 dent. Members shall include representatives of—

25 (1) community-based groups; 
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1 (2) industry and business; 

2 (3) academic and educational institutions; 

3 (4) State and local governments, federally rec4 ognized tribes, and indigenous groups; and 

5 (5) nongovernmental and environmental groups. 

6 (e) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall meet 

7 at least twice annually. Meetings shall occur as needed and 

8 approved by the Director of the Office of Environmental 

9 Justice of the Environmental Protection Agency, who shall 

10 serve as the officer required to be appointed under section 

11 10(e) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

12 App.) with respect to the Committee (in this subsection 

13 referred to as the ‘‘Designated Federal Officer’’). The Ad14 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may 

15 pay travel and per diem expenses of members of the Advi16 sory Committee when determined necessary and appro17 priate. The Designated Federal Officer or a designee of 

18 such Officer shall be present at all meetings, and each 

19 meeting will be conducted in accordance with an agenda 

20 approved in advance by such Officer. The Designated Fed21 eral Officer may adjourn any meeting when the Des22 ignated Federal Officer determines it is in the public inter23 est to do so. As required by the Federal Advisory Com24 mittee Act, meetings of the Advisory Committee shall be 

25 open to the public unless the President determines that 
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1 a meeting or a portion of a meeting may be closed to the 

2 public in accordance with subsection (c) of section 552b 

3 of title 5, United States Code. Unless a meeting or portion 

4 thereof is closed to the public, the Designated Federal Of5 ficer shall provide an opportunity for interested persons 

6 to file comments before or after such meeting or to make 

7 statements to the extent that time permits. 

8 (f) DURATION.—The Advisory Committee shall re9 main in existence until otherwise provided by law. 

10 SEC. 7. HUMAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, 

11 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS. 

12 (a) DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT.—To the extent per13 mitted by other applicable law, including section 552a of 

14 title 5, United States Code, popularly known as the Pri15 vacy Act of 1974, the Administrator of the Environmental 

16 Protection Agency, or the head of such other Federal 

17 agency as the President may direct, shall collect, maintain, 

18 and analyze information assessing and comparing environ19 mental and human health risks borne by populations iden20 tified by race, national origin, or income. To the extent 

21 practical and appropriate, Federal agencies shall use this 

22 information to determine whether their programs, policies, 

23 and activities have disproportionally high and adverse 

24 human health or environmental effects on, or 
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1 disproportionally low benefits for, minority, low-income, 

2 and Native American populations. 

3 (b) INFORMATION RELATED TO NON-FEDERAL FA4 CILITIES.—In connection with the development and imple5 mentation of agency strategies in section 4, the Adminis6 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or the 

7 head of such other Federal agency as the President may 

8 direct, shall collect, maintain, and analyze information on 

9 the race, national origin, and income level, and other read10 ily accessible and appropriate information, for areas sur11 rounding facilities or sites expected to have a substantial 

12 environmental, human health, or economic effect on the 

13 surrounding populations, if such facilities or sites become 

14 the subject of a substantial Federal environmental admin15 istrative or judicial action. 

16 (c) IMPACT FROM FEDERAL FACILITIES.—The Ad17 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or 

18 the head of such other Federal agency as the President 

19 may direct, shall collect, maintain, and analyze informa20 tion on the race, national origin, and income level, and 

21 other readily accessible and appropriate information, for 

22 areas surrounding Federal facilities that are—

23 (1) subject to the reporting requirements under 

24 the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
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1 Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq.) as mandated 

2 in Executive Order No. 12856; and 

3 (2) expected to have a substantial environ4 mental, human health, or economic effect on sur5 rounding populations. 

6 (d) INFORMATION SHARING.—(1) In carrying out the 

7 responsibilities in this section, each Federal agency, to the 

8 extent practicable and appropriate, shall share informa9 tion and eliminate unnecessary duplication of efforts 

10 through the use of existing data systems and cooperative 

11 agreements among Federal agencies and with State, local, 

12 and tribal governments. 

13 (2) Except as prohibited by other applicable law, in14 formation collected or maintained pursuant to this section 

15 shall be made available to the public. 

16 (e) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Federal agencies shall pro17 vide minority, low-income, and Native American popu18 lations the opportunity to participate in the development, 

19 design, and conduct of activities undertaken pursuant to 

20 this section.

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