I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2105

To establish a program to assure nondiscriminatory compliance with all environmental, health and safety laws and to assure equal protection of

the public health.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 12, 1993

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois,

Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. STOKES, Ms.

WATERS, Miss COLLINS of Michigan, Ms. NORTON, Mr.

HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. EDWARDS of California, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr.

DELLUMS, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mrs. MINK, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. WASHINGTON, Mr. THOMPSON, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. CLAY, and Mr. PAYNE of New

Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Energy and Commerce, Public Works and Transportation,

Education and Labor, and Agriculture

DECEMBER 17, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FROST, Mr. TORRES,

Mr. ENGEL, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. DIXON, Mr.

OWENS, Mr. OLVER, and Mr. WYNN

A BILL

To establish a program to assure nondiscriminatory compliance with all environmental, health and safety laws and

to assure equal protection of the public health.

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. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Environmental Justice

3 Act of 1992’’.

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES AND POLICIES.

5 The purposes of this Act are—

6 (1) to require the collection of data on environ7 mental health effects so that impacts on different in8 dividuals or groups can be understood;

9 (2) to identify those areas which are subject to

10 the highest loadings of toxic chemicals, through all

11 media;

12 (3) to assess the health effects that may be

13 caused by emissions in those areas of highest

14 impact;

15 (4) to ensure that groups or individuals residing

16 within those areas of highest impact have the oppor17 tunity and the resources to participate in the tech18 nical process which will determine the possible exist19 ence of adverse health impacts;

20 (5) to require that actions be taken by author21 ized Federal agencies to curtail those activities

22 found to be having significant adverse impacts on

23 human health in those areas of highest impact; and

24 (6) to ensure that significant adverse health im25 pacts that may be associated with environmental pol-
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1 lution in the United States are not distributed

2 inequitably.

3 TITLE I—IDENTIFICATION OF

4 ENVIRONMENTAL HIGH IM5 PACT AREAS

6 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

7 For the purposes of this Act:

8 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United

10 States Environmental Protection Agency.

11 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL HIGH IMPACT AREAS.—

12 The terms ‘‘Environmental High Impact Areas’’ and

13 ‘‘EHIA’’ mean the 100 counties or appropriate geo14 graphic units with the highest total weight of toxic

15 chemicals present during the course of the most re16 cent 5-year period for which data is available, as cal17 culated pursuant to section 102.

18 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

19 the Secretary of the United States Department of

20 Health and Human Services.

21 (4) TOXIC CHEMICALS.—The term ‘‘toxic

22 chemicals’’ includes all substances as defined in sec23 tion 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental

24 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980;

25 any hazardous waste listed or identified pursuant to
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1 the Solid Waste Disposal Act; any pollutant for

2 which air quality standards have been issued pursu3 ant to the Clean Air Act; any pollutant for which

4 water quality standards have been issued pursuant

5 to the Clean Water Act; all materials registered pur6 suant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and

7 Rodenticide Act; and all substances and chemicals

8 subject to reporting obligations pursuant to the

9 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know

10 Act.

11 (5) TOXIC CHEMICAL FACILITIES.—The term

12 ‘‘toxic chemical facilities’’ includes all facilities in13 cluding Federal facilities subject to a permit, inspec14 tion or review, or registration requirement pursuant

15 to the authority of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the

16 Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Federal In17 secticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act; and the

18 OSHA Hazard Communication Standard; as well as

19 any facility subject to reporting obligations pursuant

20 to the Emergency Planning and Community Right21 to-Know Act.

22 SEC. 102. IDENTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HIGH IM23 PACT AREAS.

24 (a) DETERMINATION OF IMPACTED AREAS.—Within

25 6 months after the date of enactment, the Administrator
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1 of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,

2 in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agen3 cy, the National Institute for Environmental Health

4 Sciences, the National Center for Health Statistics and

5 the Bureau of the Census, shall determine the basis for

6 designation of Environmental High Impact Areas, either

7 counties or another appropriate geographic unit.

8 (b) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—Within 12 months of en9 actment, the Administrator shall publish a list, in rank

10 order, of the total weight of toxic chemicals present in

11 each county or such appropriate geographic unit in the

12 United States during the most recent five-year period for

13 which data are available. The 100 counties or other appro14 priate geographic unit with the highest total weight shall

15 be designated as Environmental High Impact Areas.

16 (c) COMPILATION OF LIST.—In compiling the list

17 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall—

18 (1) calculate with the best data available the

19 total weight of toxic chemicals present in each coun20 ty by multiplying the total volume of substances con21 taining toxic chemicals (whether waste, process or

22 other material) by the concentration of toxic chemi23 cals contained in these substances;
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1 (2) adjust the weights calculated under para2 graph (1) to account for the relative toxicity of the

3 toxic chemicals;

4 (3) determine, with the best available data, the

5 actual and potential exposures, and toxicity of the

6 toxic chemicals present in each impacted area;

7 (4) consider and utilize all appropriate data

8 compiled pursuant to any environmental regulatory

9 authority and other sources, including but not lim10 ited to available data on lead-based paint and the ex11 istence of pollutants from mobile sources; and

12 (5) distinguish between toxic chemicals which

13 are (A) in a contained, controlled environment such

14 as barrels, factories, warehouses, or lined landfills

15 for any period of time during the 5-year period; and

16 (B) released into the air, water, soil or groundwater

17 of the area during the 5-year period as a result of

18 authorized or unauthorized activities.

19 (d) METHODS.—Within 6 months after the enact20 ment of this Act, the Administrator in consultation with

21 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

22 shall publish for public comment the methods to be used

23 to calculate the total weight of toxic chemicals in waste,

24 process, or other materials, including the assumptions to

25 be used when the precise concentrations of toxic chemicals
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1 are not known and the criteria used to account for relative

2 toxicity, as required by subsection (b)(2).

3 (e) REVISION AND REPUBLICATION.—The Adminis4 trator shall revise and republish the list described in sub5 section (a) of this section not less than every 5 years,

6 using data compiled for that 5-year period.

7 TITLE II—ENFORCEMENT

8 INITIATIVES

9 SEC. 201. MANDATORY INSPECTIONS.

10 To assure that facilities with the highest potential for

11 release of toxic chemicals into the environment are operat12 ing in compliance with all applicable environmental, health

13 and safety standards, the Administrator, and the Assist14 ant Secretary of the Occupational Safety and Health Ad15 ministration shall conduct compliance inspections or re16 views of all toxic chemical facilities in Environmental High

17 Impact Areas subject to their respective jurisdictions with18 in 2 years after the enactment of this Act, and not less

19 than every 2 years thereafter.

20 TITLE III—COMMUNITY

21 PARTICIPATION

22 SEC. 301. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

23 Subject to such amounts as may be appropriated and

24 in accordance with rules promulgated by the Secretary in

25 consultation with the Administrator, the Secretary may
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1 make grants available to any individual or group of indi2 viduals who may be affected by a release or threatened

3 release from any toxic chemical facility in an EHIA. Such

4 grants shall—

5 (1) be designed to facilitate access by represent6 atives of EHIAs to the public participation provi7 sions of this Act and other law;

8 (2) be used to obtain technical assistance relat9 ing to the inspection and review authorities listed in

10 section 201 of this Act and the Secretarial study de11 scribed in section 401 of this Act; and

12 (3) not exceed $50,000 for a single grant recipi13 ent.

14 Each grant recipient shall be required, as a condition of

15 the grant, to contribute 20 percent of the total cost of

16 the grant requested unless the grant recipient dem17 onstrates financial need. Not more than one grant may

18 be made with respect to each EHIA, but the grant may

19 be renewed to facilitate public participation where nec20 essary.

21 SEC. 302. FUNDING.

22 Within one year after the enactment of this Act, the

23 Administrator shall promulgate regulations establishing a

24 system of fees or assessments on toxic chemical facilities

25 in EHIAs to substitute for appropriations as the funding
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1 mechanism for the community grant program established

2 in section 301. The fees or assessments shall take into

3 account the volume adjustments provided in section

4 102(c).

5 TITLE IV—IDENTIFICATION AND

6 PREVENTION OF HEALTH IM7 PACTS

8 SEC. 401. SECRETARIAL STUDY.

9 Within 24 months after the enactment of this Act,

10 the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, the

11 Secretary of the Department of Labor, the Bureau of In12 dian Affairs, and the Commissioners of the United States

13 Commission on Civil Rights, shall issue for public com14 ment a report identifying the nature and extent, if any,

15 of acute and chronic impacts on human health in EHIAs

16 as compared to other counties. Such impacts shall include

17 but not be limited to cancer, birth deformities, infant mor18 tality rates, and respiratory diseases. The report shall be

19 coordinated by the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic

20 Substances Disease Registry, who shall work closely with

21 the Directors of the National Institute for Environmental

22 Health Sciences, the National Center for Health Statis23 tics, and the Center for Disease Control, and shall seek

24 to—
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1 (1) isolate the impacts of environmental pollu2 tion;

3 (2) segregate the effects of other factors such

4 as health care availability or substance abuse or diet;

5 (3) rank the relative risks posed by the toxic

6 chemicals present in EHIAs and by the varied

7 sources of toxic chemicals, both individually and cu8 mulatively;

9 (4) take into account the need to remedy the

10 impacts of pollution in high population density

11 areas;

12 (5) evaluate the levels below which release of

13 toxic chemicals, either individually or cumulatively,

14 must be reduced to avoid adverse impacts on human

15 health; and

16 (6) determine the impacts of uncontrolled re17 leases.

18 As a result of the report in communities where the Admin19 istrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Reg20 istry has determined that adverse health impacts exist, the

21 agency shall also make this information readily available

22 to members of the community by providing information

23 directly to the affected communities and tribal govern24 ments in the Environmental High Impact Areas about the
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1 release of toxic chemicals and the potential effects of such

2 exposure.

3 SEC. 402. LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE.

4 (a) REPORT.—If the report under section 401 identi5 fies significant adverse impacts of environmental pollution

6 on human health in EHIAs as a group, the President shall

7 submit to Congress within one year after publication of

8 the report, proposed legislation to remedy and prevent

9 such impacts. Such legislation shall include—

10 (1) expansion of EPCRA to include additional

11 facilities, additional chemicals, or reduced quantities

12 of chemicals triggering reporting obligations;

13 (2) means to redress regulatory loopholes (such

14 as recycling and industrial wastes exempt from regu15 lation under subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal

16 Act and wastes subject to lessened regulatory re17 quirements); and

18 (3) measures such as taxes on uncontrolled or

19 controlled emissions, or restrictions on toxic chemi20 cal releasing activities within an EHIA to induce

21 source reduction in EHIAs, regardless of whether

22 facilities are in compliance with existing law.

23 (b) REPORT ON CHANGES AND RECOMMENDA24 TIONS.—Within 2 years after publication of the report, the

25 Administrator shall provide a report to the Congress which
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1 identifies all of the changes made or recommended to be

2 made to the Environmental Protection Agency’s existing

3 regulations, the purpose for each change and the goals to

4 be achieved as a result of the substantive changes. The

5 Administrator shall also advise Congress of the regulatory

6 changes that were not made because of the presence of

7 conflicting statutory mandates or the lack of statutory

8 authority.

9 (c) PROPOSED LEGISLATION.—Within 3 years after

10 publication of the health impact study, the President shall

11 submit to Congress proposed legislation to remedy the

12 problems of conflicting statutory mandates or the lack of

13 statutory authority identified in the report to Congress

14 pursuant to subsection (b).

15 SEC. 403. MORATORIUM.

16 If the report under section 401 finds significant ad17 verse impacts of environmental pollution on human health

18 in EHIAs, there shall be a moratorium on the siting or

19 permitting of any new toxic chemical facility in any EHIA

20 shown to emit toxic chemicals in quantities found to cause

21 significant adverse impacts on human health. A new toxic

22 chemical facility may be cited or permitted in such an

23 EHIA during this period only if—

24 (1) the need for the activity is shown to the

25 Secretary;
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1 (2) the owner or operator of the facility dem2 onstrates that the facility will develop a plan and

3 maintain a comprehensive pollution prevention pro4 gram; and

5 (3) the facility demonstrates that it will mini6 mize uncontrolled releases into the environment.

7 The moratorium shall continue in effect in such an EHIA

8 until the Administrator determines, upon petition of any

9 interested party, that the health-based levels identified

10 pursuant to section 401(5) have been attained at the

11 EHIA.

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