I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1648 

To require Executive Order 12898 to remain in force until changed by 

law, to expand the definition of environmental justice, to direct each 

Federal agency to establish an Environmental Justice Office, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2005 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. OWENS, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. 

SERRANO, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. NADLER, 

Ms. LEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. SANDERS, 

Mr. HONDA, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. PAYNE, 

Mr. MARKEY, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. STARK, Mr. JACKSON

of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. KUCINICH, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Mr. MEEK of Florida) 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 Executive Order 12898 to remain in force until 

changed by law, to expand the definition of environmental justice, to direct each Federal agency to establish 

an Environmental Justice Office, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. EXECUTIVE ORDER 12898. 

2 The provisions of Executive Order 12898, dated Feb3 ruary 11, 1994, pertaining to Federal actions to address 

4 environmental justice in minority populations and low-in5 come populations, shall remain in force until changed by 

6 law. In carrying out such executive order, the provisions 

7 of this Act shall apply. 

8 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO ENVIRON9 MENTAL JUSTICE. 

10 (a) DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—For 

11 purposes of Executive Order 12898, environmental justice 

12 is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all 

13 people regardless of race, color, national origin, edu14 cational level, or income with respect to the development, 

15 implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, 

16 regulations, and policies. Environmental justice seeks to 

17 ensure that minority and low-income communities have 

18 adequate access to public information relating to human 

19 health and environmental planning, regulations, and en20 forcement. Environmental justice ensures that no popu21 lation, especially the elderly and children, are forced to 

22 shoulder a disproportionate burden of the negative human 

23 health and environmental impacts of pollution or other en24 vironmental hazard. 

25 (b) IDENTIFICATION AND PRIORITIZATION OF ENVI26 RONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES.—For purposes of 
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1 Executive Order 12898, criteria for defining an environ2 mental justice community shall include demographic char3 acteristics, such as percentages of minority and low-in4 come residents within an area, as well as— 

5 (1) health vulnerabilities, such as cancer mor6 tality and incidence rate, infant mortality, low birth 

7 weight, asthma, and childhood lead poisoning; and 

8 (2) environmental conditions, such as facility 

9 density and proximity to Corrective Action/Super10 fund Sites, Enforcement Data (percent and number 

11 of uninspected facilities, percent and number of 

12 unaddressed violations, average and total penalty 

13 and air nonattainment status), emissions, attain14 ment status, indoor air issues, 305b stream data, 

15 fish advisories, beach closings, and truck traffic. 

16 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICES OF ENVIRON17 MENTAL JUSTICE.—For purposes of Executive Order 

18 12898, each of the following shall establish an Office of 

19 Environmental Justice: 

20 (1) Department of Defense. 

21 (2) Department of Justice. 

22 (3) Department of the Interior. 

23 (4) Department of Agriculture. 

24 (5) Department of Commerce. 

25 (6) Department of Labor. 
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1 (7) Department of Health and Human Services. 

2 (8) Department of Housing and Urban Devel3 opment. 

4 (9) Department of Transportation. 

5 (10) Department of Energy. 

6 (11) Department of Homeland Security 

7 (12) Environmental Protection Agency. 

8 (13) Office of Management and Budget. 

9 (14) Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

10 (15) Office of the Deputy Assistant to the 

11 President for Environmental Policy. 

12 (16) Office of the Assistant to the President for 

13 Domestic Policy. 

14 (17) National Economic Council. 

15 (18) Council of Economic Advisers. 

16 (19) Such other Government officials as the 

17 President may designate. 

18 (d) INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

19 POLICIES IN AGENCY ACTIONS.—For purposes of the en20 vironmental justice strategies developed by agencies under 

21 Executive Order 12898, each agency shall integrate the 

22 strategy into the operation and mission of the agency and 

23 explicitly address compliance with this Act, including in 

24 the following activities: 

25 (1) Future rulemaking activities. 
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1 (2) The development of any future guidance, 

2 environmental reviews (including NEPA, CAA, Fed3 eral Land Policy Act), regulation, or procedures for 

4 Federal agency programs, policies, or activities that 

5 affect human health or the environment. 

6 (e) INTERAGENCY FEDERAL WORKING GROUP CO7 ORDINATION AND GUIDANCE.—The interagency Federal 

8 Working Group on Environmental Justice (in this section 

9 referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’) shall— 

10 (1) coordinate an integrated environmental jus11 tice training plan for the Federal agencies and of12 fices listed in subsection (c); 

13 (2) formalize public participation efforts; 

14 (3) survey the Federal agencies and offices to 

15 determine what is effective and how to best facilitate 

16 outreach without duplicating efforts; 

17 (4) develop a strategy for allocating responsibil18 ities and ensuring participation, even when faced 

19 with competing agency priorities; and 

20 (5) coordinate plans to communicate research 

21 results so reporting and outreach activities produce 

22 more useful and timely information. 

23 (f) AGENCY PUBLIC PARTICIPATION EFFORTS.— 

24 (1) OUTREACH EFFORTS.—Each Federal agen25 cy listed in subsection (c) shall carry out and report 
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1 outreach activities to the Working Group, including 

2 the following: 

3 (A) Respond directly to inquiries from the 

4 public and other stakeholders. 

5 (B) Maintain websites and listservers. 

6 (C) Produce and distribute hardcopy docu7 ments and multimedia products. 

8 (D) Conduct or sponsor briefings, lectures, 

9 and press conferences. 

10 (E) Testify before Congress or other gov11 ernment bodies. 

12 (F) Finance scholarships, fellowships, and 

13 internships. 

14 (G) Support museum exhibits and other 

15 public displays. 

16 (H) Sponsor, participate, or otherwise con17 tribute to meetings attended by stakeholders. 

18 (I) Provide scientifically-sound content for 

19 K–12 education activities; and 

20 (J) fund outreach efforts managed outside 

21 the Federal Government. 

22 (2) STAKEHOLDERS.—To ensure their active 

23 public participation and to provide input early in en24 vironmental decision-making, Federal agencies along 

25 with the Working Group shall develop ways to en-
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1 hance partnerships and coordination with stake2 holders, including affected communities, Federal, 

3 Tribal, State, and local governments, environmental 

4 organizations, nonprofit organizations, academic in5 stitutions (including Historically Black Colleges and 

6 Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions 

7 (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges), and business and in8 dustry. 

9 (g) COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTERS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal agencies shall fund 

11 community technology centers to assist with tech12 nical assistance issues in the environmental justice 

13 area. 

14 (2) DESCRIPTION.—In this subsection, the term 

15 ‘‘community technology center’’ (CTC) refers to pro16 grams with the goal of providing at least 10 hours 

17 of open access a week for anyone in a community, 

18 especially youth and adults in low-income urban and 

19 rural communities, for purposes of providing tech20 nical assistance to communities experiencing issues 

21 of environmental hazards. 

22 (3) LOCATION.—A community technology cen23 ter may be located in places such as libraries, com24 munity centers, schools, churches, social service 

25 agencies, low-income residential housing complexes, 
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1 and Minority Academic Institutions (such as His2 torically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic 

3 Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges). 

4 (4) ACTIVITIES OF COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY

5 CENTER.—A community technology center funded 

6 under this section shall— 

7 (A) assist community members in becom8 ing active participants in cleanup and environ9 mental development activities; 

10 (B) provide independent and credible tech11 nical assistance to communities affected by haz12 ardous waste contamination; 

13 (C) review and interpret technical docu14 ments and other materials; 

15 (D) sponsor workshops, short courses, and 

16 other learning experiences to explain basic 

17 science and environmental policy; 

18 (E) inform community members about ex19 isting technical assistance materials, such as 

20 publications, videos, and web sites; 

21 (F) offer training to community leaders in 

22 facilitation and conflict resolution among stake23 holders; and 
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1 (G) create technical assistance materials 

2 tailored to the identified needs of a community. 

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