I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1602 

To ensure environmental justice in the areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina 

and Rita. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2007 

Mr. JEFFERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

Natural 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 ensure environmental justice in the areas affected by 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

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 ‘‘Hurricanes Katrina 

5 and Rita Environmental Justice Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In June 2005, the Administration an9 nounced that it was removing race and class from 


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1 special consideration in its definition of environ2 mental justice, departing from President Clinton’s 

3 1994 Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Jus4 tice which mandated that all Federal agencies gen5 erate agency-specific strategies to address the dis6 proportionate pollution experienced by minority com7 munities. 

8 (2) Years before Hurricane Katrina, environ9 mental justice activists were anticipating the racially 

10 disproportionate effects of climate change, in terms 

11 of coastal flooding and the health effects of heat 

12 waves, through the Environmental Justice and Cli13 mate Change Initiative (EJCC). As their 2002 fact 

14 sheet stated: ‘‘People of color are concentrated in 

15 urban centers in the South, coastal regions, and 

16 areas with substandard air quality. New Orleans, 

17 which is 62 percent African-American and 2 feet 

18 below sea level, exemplifies the severe and dispropor19 tionate impacts of climate change in the United 

20 States. 

21 (3) Numerous studies have concluded that 

22 many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, asth23 ma, birth defects, behavioral disorders, infertility, 

24 and obesity, are caused or exacerbated by environ25 mental hazards. 


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1 (4) Of the chemicals produced in the United 

2 States annually in quantities greater than 10,000 

3 pounds, only 43 percent of such chemicals have been 

4 tested for their potential human toxicity and only 7 

5 percent have been studied to assess effects on 

6 human development. 

7 (5) Approximately 126,000,000 people in the 

8 United States live in areas of non-attainment for 

9 pollutants that have health-based standards. 

10 (6) In the United States, air pollution is esti11 mated to be associated with 50,000 premature 

12 deaths and with $50,000,000,000 in health-related 

13 costs annually. 

14 (7) In children, environmental toxins are esti15 mated to cause up to 35 percent of asthma cases, 

16 up to 10 percent of cancer cases, and up to 20 per17 cent of neurobehavioral disorders. 

18 (8) People of color are almost three times more 

19 likely than Caucasians to be hospitalized or die from 

20 asthma and other respiratory illnesses linked to air 

21 pollution. Asthma accounts for 10 million lost school 

22 days, 1.2 million emergency room visits, 15 million 

23 outpatient visits, and over 500,000 hospitalizations 

24 each year in the United States. 


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1 (9) Consequently, the people who live in these 

2 communities are inundated with significant environ3 mental and health hazards related to toxic waste 

4 sites, mining operations, incinerators, oil exploration, 

5 and other harmful developments. In the United 

6 States, approximately 60 percent of African Ameri7 cans live in communities with uncontrolled toxic 

8 waste sites. Three out of five of the largest haz9 ardous waste landfills in the United States are lo10 cated in predominantly African American or Latino 

11 communities. 

12 (10) Hurricane Katrina struck a region that is 

13 disproportionately African American and poor. Afri14 can Americans make up twelve percent of the United 

15 States population. Nearly 68 percent of the popu16 lation of New Orleans is African American. The Af17 rican American population in the Coastal Mississippi 

18 counties where Hurricane Katrina struck ranged 

19 from 25 percent to 87 percent. Twenty-eight percent 

20 of New Orleans residents live below the poverty level 

21 and more than 80 percent of those are African 

22 American. Fifty percent of all New Orleans children 

23 live in poverty. The poverty rate was 17.7 percent in 

24 Gulfport, Mississippi and 21.2 percent in Mobile, 

25 Alabama in 2000. Nationally, in 2000, 11.3 percent 


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1 of people in the United States and 22.1 percent of 

2 African Americans were living below the poverty 

3 line. 

4 (11) New Orleans is prototypical of environ5 mental justice issues in the Gulf Coast region. Be6 fore Hurricane Katrina, the City of New Orleans 

7 was struggling with a wide range of environmental 

8 justice issues and concerns. Its location along the 

9 Mississippi River Chemical Corridor increased its 

10 vulnerability to environmental threats. The City of 

11 New Orleans had an extremely high childhood envi12 ronmental lead poisoning problem. There were ongo13 ing air quality impacts and resulting high asthma 

14 and respiratory disease rates and frequent visits to 

15 emergency rooms for treatment by both children and 

16 adults. Environmental health problems and issues 

17 related to environmental exposure was a grave issue 

18 of concern for New Orleans residents. 

19 (12) New Orleans and outlying areas suffered 

20 severe environmental damage during Hurricane 

21 Katrina, the extent to which has yet to be deter22 mined. The post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans 

23 has been described as a ‘‘cesspool’’ of toxic chemi24 cals, human waste, decomposing flesh, and surprises 

25 that remain to be uncovered in the sediments. MasVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:11 Mar 23, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1602.IH H1602

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1 sive amounts of toxic chemicals were used and 

2 stored along the Gulf Coast before the storm. Lit3 erally thousands of sites in the storm’s path used or 

4 stored hazardous chemicals, from the local dry clean5 er and auto repair shops to Superfund sites and oil 

6 refineries in Chalmette and Meraux, Louisiana, 

7 where there are enormous stores of ultra-hazardous 

8 hydrofluoric acid. In the aftermath of the storm 

9 some sites were damaged and leaked. Residents 

10 across the Gulf Coast and the media reported oil 

11 spills, obvious leaks from plants, storage tankards 

12 turned on end, and massive fumes. 

13 (13) Short-term rebuilding objectives must not 

14 outweigh long-term public health protection for all 

15 people in the United States and the environment on 

16 which such people depend. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 For purposes of this Act: 

19 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi20 sory Committee’’ means the advisory committee es21 tablished by section 6. 

22 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘environ24 mental 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, adop2 tion, implementation, and enforcement of laws, 

3 regulations, and policies affecting the environ4 ment. 

5 (B) FAIR TREATMENT.—The term ‘‘fair 

6 treatment’’ means policies and practices that 

7 will minimize the likelihood that a minority, 

8 low-income community that is rural or urban 

9 will bear a disproportionate share of the adverse 

10 environmental consequences, or be denied rea11 sonable access to the environmental benefits, re12 sulting from implementation of a Federal pro13 gram or policy in the Hurricanes Katrina and 

14 Rita affected area. 

15 (3) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

16 agency’’ means— 

17 (A) each Federal entity represented on the 

18 Working Group; 

19 (B) any other entity that conducts any 

20 Federal program or activity that substantially 

21 affects human health or the environment; and 

22 (C) each Federal agency that implements 

23 any program, policy, or activity applicable to 

24 Native Americans. 


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1 (4) HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA AFFECTED

2 AREA.—The term ‘‘Hurricanes Katrina and Rita af3 fected area’’ means the area for which the President 

4 has declared the existence of a major disaster, in ac5 cordance with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 

6 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 5170), as a consequence of Hurricanes 

8 Katrina and Rita. 

9 (5) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 

10 Group’’ means the interagency working group estab11 lished by section 4. 

12 SEC. 4. HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA ENVIRONMENTAL 

13 JUSTICE RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL 

14 AGENCIES. 

15 (a) HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA ENVIRON16 MENTAL JUSTICE MISSION.—To the greatest extent prac17 ticable, the head of each Federal agency shall make 

18 achieving environmental justice part of its mission by iden19 tifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately 

20 high and adverse human health or environmental effects 

21 of its programs, policies, and activities on minority, low22 income populations that are rural or urban in the Hurri23 canes Katrina and Rita affected area. 

24 (b) NONDISCRIMINATION.—Each Federal agency 

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


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1 manner that ensures that such programs, policies, and ac2 tivities do not have the effect of excluding any person or 

3 group from participation in, denying any person or group 

4 the benefits of, or subjecting any person or group to dis5 crimination under, such programs, policies, and activities, 

6 because of race, color, national origin, or income. 

7 SEC. 5. HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA INTERAGENCY 

8 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE WORKING GROUP. 

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

10 established the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Interagency 

11 Working Group on Environmental Justice, to be com12 prised of the following: 

13 (1) The heads of the following executive agen14 cies and offices (or their designees): 

15 (A) The Department of Defense. 

16 (B) The Department of Health and 

17 Human Services. 

18 (C) The Department of Housing and 

19 Urban Development. 

20 (D) The Department of Homeland Secu21 rity. 

22 (E) The Department of Labor. 

23 (F) The Department of Agriculture. 

24 (G) The Department of Transportation. 

25 (H) The Department of Justice. 


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1 (I) The Department of the Interior. 

2 (J) The Department of Commerce. 

3 (K) The Department of Energy. 

4 (L) The Environmental Protection Agency. 

5 (M) The Office of Management and Budg6 et. 

7 (2) Not more than 4 representatives of commu8 nity-based and local nonprofit organizations, des9 ignated by the Governors of the States in the Hurri10 canes Katrina and Rita affected area acting jointly. 

11 (3) Not more than 4 State and local civic lead12 ers, designated by the Governors of the States in the 

13 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected area acting 

14 jointly. 

15 (4) Not more than 4 elected officials, des16 ignated by the Governors of the States in the Hurri17 canes Katrina and Rita affected area acting jointly. 

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

19 (1) provide guidance to Federal and State agen20 cies on criteria for identifying disproportionately 

21 high and adverse human health or environmental ef22 fects on minority, low-income populations that are 

23 rural or urban; 

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

25 serve as a clearinghouse for, Federal and State 


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1 agencies as Federal agencies develop or revise an en2 vironmental justice strategy under section 5, in 

3 order to ensure that the administration, interpreta4 tion, and enforcement of programs, policies, and ac5 tivities are undertaken in a consistent manner; 

6 (3) assist in coordinating research by, and stim7 ulating cooperation among, the Environmental Pro8 tection Agency, the Department of Health and 

9 Human Services, the Department of Housing and 

10 Urban Development, and other Federal agencies 

11 conducting research or other activities in accordance 

12 with strategies under section 5; 

13 (4) assist in coordinating data collection, main14 tenance, and analysis required by this Act; 

15 (5) examine existing data and studies on envi16 ronmental justice within the Hurricanes Katrina and 

17 Rita affected area; 

18 (6) hold public meetings and otherwise solicit 

19 public participation and consider complaints as re20 quired under subsection (c); and 

21 (7) develop interagency model projects on envi22 ronmental justice that evidence cooperation among 

23 Federal and State agencies. 

24 (c) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Working Group 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) hold public meetings and otherwise solicit 

2 public participation, as appropriate, for the purpose 

3 of fact-finding with regard to implementation of this 

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

5 comments and recommendations provided; and 

6 (2) receive, consider, and in appropriate in7 stances conduct inquiries concerning complaints re8 garding environmental justice and the implementa9 tion of this Act by Federal and State agencies. 

10 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year following 

12 enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall sub13 mit to the President, through the Office of the Dep14 uty Assistant to the President for Environmental 

15 Policy and the Office of the Assistant to the Presi16 dent for Domestic Policy, a report that describes the 

17 implementation of this Act, including a report on the 

18 final environmental justice strategies described in 

19 section 5 and annual progress made in implementing 

20 those strategies. 

21 (2) COPY OF REPORT.—The President shall 

22 transmit a copy of each report submitted to the 

23 President under paragraph (1) to the Speaker of the 

24 House of Representatives, the President of the SenVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:11 Mar 23, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1602.IH H1602

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1 ate, and the Governor of each State in the Hurri2 canes Katrina and Rita affected area. 

3 SEC. 6. FEDERAL AGENCY STRATEGIES. 

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

5 agency shall develop an agency-wide environmental justice 

6 strategy that identifies and addresses disproportionally 

7 high and adverse human health or environmental effects 

8 or disproportionally low benefits of its programs, policies, 

9 and activities with respect to minority, low-income popu10 lations that are rural or urban. 

11 (b) REVISIONS.—Each strategy developed pursuant 

12 to subsection (a) shall identify programs, policies, plan13 ning, and public participation processes, rulemaking, and 

14 enforcement activities related to human health or the envi15 ronment that should be revised to— 

16 (1) promote enforcement of all health and envi17 ronmental statutes in areas with minority, low-in18 come populations that are rural or urban; 

19 (2) ensure greater public participation; 

20 (3) improve research and data collection relat21 ing to the health and environment of minority, low22 income populations that are rural or urban; and 

23 (4) identify differential patterns of use of nat24 ural resources among minority, low-income popu25 lations that are rural or urban. 


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1 (c) TIMETABLES.—Each strategy developed pursuant 

2 to subsection (a) shall include a timetable for undertaking 

3 revisions identified pursuant to subsection (b). 

4 SEC. 7. FEDERAL HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA ENVI5 RONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COM6 MITTEE. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com8 mittee to be known as the Federal Hurricanes Katrina 

9 and Rita Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. 

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

11 independent advice and recommendations to the Environ12 mental Protection Agency and the Working Group on 

13 areas relating to environmental justice, which may include 

14 any of the following: 

15 (1) Advice on Federal and State agencies’ 

16 framework development for integrating socio17 economic programs into strategic planning, annual 

18 planning, and management accountability for achiev19 ing environmental justice results agency-wide. 

20 (2) Advice on measuring and evaluating agen21 cies’ progress, quality, and adequacy in planning, de22 veloping, and implementing environmental justice 

23 strategies, projects, and programs. 

24 (3) Advice on agencies’ existing and future in25 formation management systems, technologies, and 


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1 data collection, and the conduct of analyses that 

2 support and strengthen environmental justice pro3 grams in administrative and scientific areas. 

4 (4) Advice to help develop, facilitate, and con5 duct reviews of the direction, criteria, scope, and 

6 adequacy of the Federal agencies’ scientific research 

7 and demonstration projects relating to environ8 mental justice. 

9 (5) Advice for improving how the Environ10 mental Protection Agency and others participate, co11 operate, and communicate within that agency and 

12 between other Federal agencies, State and local gov13 ernments, environmental justice leaders, interest 

14 groups, and the public. 

15 (6) Advice regarding the Environmental Protec16 tion Agency’s administration of grant programs re17 lating to environmental justice assistance (not to in18 clude the review or recommendations of individual 

19 grant proposals or awards). 

20 (7) Advice regarding agencies’ awareness, edu21 cation, training, and other outreach activities involv22 ing environmental justice. 

23 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Advisory Com24 mittee shall be considered an advisory committee within 


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1 the meaning of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

2 U.S.C. App.). 

3 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

5 shall be composed of 21 members to be appointed in 

6 accordance with paragraph (2). Members shall in7 clude representatives of— 

8 (A) community-based groups; 

9 (B) industry and business; 

10 (C) academic and educational institutions; 

11 (D) minority health organizations; 

12 (E) State and local governments, federally 

13 recognized tribes, and indigenous groups; and 

14 (F) nongovernmental and environmental 

15 groups. 

16 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members of the 

17 Advisory Committee— 

18 (A) three members shall be appointed by 

19 the majority leader of the Senate; 

20 (B) three members shall be appointed by 

21 the minority leader of the Senate; 

22 (C) three members shall be appointed by 

23 the Speaker of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (D) three members shall be appointed by 

2 the minority leader of the House of Representa3 tives; 

4 (E) two members shall be appointed by the 

5 President; and 

6 (F) for each State in the Hurricanes 

7 Katrina and Rita affected area, one member 

8 shall be appointed by the Governor of such 

9 State. 

10 (e) MEETINGS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

12 shall meet at least twice annually. Meetings shall 

13 occur as needed and approved by the Director of the 

14 Office of Environmental Justice of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency, who shall serve as the of16 ficer required to be appointed under section 10(e) of 

17 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

18 App.) with respect to the Committee (in this sub19 section referred to as the ‘‘Designated Federal Offi20 cer’’). 

21 (2) TRAVEL AND PER DIEM EXPENSES.—The 

22 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

23 Agency may pay travel and per diem expenses of 

24 members of the Advisory Committee when deter25 mined necessary and appropriate. 


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1 (3) AGENDA.—The Designated Federal Officer 

2 or a designee of such Officer shall be present at all 

3 meetings, and each meeting shall be conducted in ac4 cordance with an agenda approved in advance by 

5 such Officer. 

6 (4) ADJOURNMENT.—The Designated Federal 

7 Officer may adjourn any meeting when the Des8 ignated Federal Officer determines it is in the public 

9 interest to do so. 

10 (5) OPEN TO PUBLIC.—As required by the Fed11 eral Advisory Committee Act, meetings of the Advi12 sory Committee shall be open to the public unless 

13 the President determines that a meeting or a portion 

14 of a meeting may be closed to the public in accord15 ance with subsection (c) of section 552b of title 5, 

16 United States Code. 

17 (6) COMMENTS.—Unless a meeting or portion 

18 thereof is closed to the public (in accordance with 

19 paragraph (5)), the Designated Federal Officer shall 

20 provide an opportunity for interested persons to file 

21 comments before or after such meeting or to make 

22 statements to the extent that time permits. 

Æ 


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