I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1553 
To establish an Office of Environmental Justice within the Department of 
Justice, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2025 
Ms. BARRAGA´N (for herself, Mrs. MCIVER, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. KENNEDY of New 
York, Ms. TITUS, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. DEGETTE, and Ms. ANSARI) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary 
A BILL 
To establish an Office of Environmental Justice within the 
Department of Justice, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering and En-
forcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 31 of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘§ 530E. Environmental Justice 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means the 
Senior Advisory Council established under subsection 
(c). 
‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 
means the Department of Justice. 
‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE.—The term 
‘environmental justice’ means the just treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of 
income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, 
or disability in agency decision-making and other 
Federal activities that affect human health and the 
environment so that individuals— 
‘‘(A) are fully protected from dispropor-
tionate and adverse human health and environ-
mental effects (including risks) and hazards, in-
cluding those related to climate change, the cu-
mulative impacts of environmental and other 
burdens, and the legacy of racism or other 
structural or systemic barriers; and 
‘‘(B) have equitable access to a healthy, 
sustainable, and resilient environment in which 
to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and 
engage in cultural and subsistence practices. 
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‘‘(4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MATTER.—The 
term ‘environmental justice matter’ includes any 
civil or criminal matter in which the conduct or ac-
tion at issue may involve a disproportionate and ad-
verse environmental or human health effect on— 
‘‘(A) an identifiable low-income, Tribal, or 
Indigenous population or community in the 
United States; or 
‘‘(B) a community in the United States 
with environmental justice concerns. 
‘‘(5) INDIGENOUS
POPULATION
OR
COMMU-
NITY.—The term ‘Indigenous population or commu-
nity’ includes populations or communities of Amer-
ican Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. 
‘‘(6) LOW-INCOME
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘low-income community’ means any census block 
group in which 30 percent or more of the population 
are individuals with an annual household income 
equal to, or less than, the greater of— 
‘‘(A) an amount equal to 80 percent of the 
median income of the area in which the house-
hold is located, as reported by the Department 
of Housing and Urban Development; and 
‘‘(B) 200 percent of the Federal poverty 
line. 
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‘‘(7) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of-
fice of Environmental Justice established under sub-
section (b)(1). 
‘‘(8) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is-
lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
‘‘(b) OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 
the Office of Environmental Justice within the Envi-
ronment and Natural Resources Division of the De-
partment. 
‘‘(2) PERSONNEL AND FUNDING.—The Attor-
ney General shall provide to the Office such per-
sonnel and funds as are necessary to establish the 
Office under paragraph (1) and to carry out the du-
ties of the Office under paragraph (4). 
‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP.—The Office shall be headed 
by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Attor-
ney General. 
‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The Director shall: 
‘‘(A) Develop, and update every 5 years 
thereafter, the environmental justice strategy 
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for the Department relating to Federal actions 
to address environmental justice. 
‘‘(B) Coordinate environmental justice 
matters that arise at the Department and 
United States Attorneys’ offices, including 
building outreach and engagement capacity and 
competency among the Department’s personnel. 
‘‘(C) Administer the grant program estab-
lished under section 3 of the Empowering and 
Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025. 
‘‘(D) Promote and protect the right of the 
public to participate meaningfully in the deci-
sion-making process on environmental justice 
matters and design communications efforts with 
the goal of maximizing community under-
standing of how to participate in environmental 
justice matters, including how to file adminis-
trative complaints with Federal agencies. 
‘‘(E) Counsel and assist State, local, and 
Tribal governments on how to coordinate their 
actions with the Federal Government with re-
spect to environmental justice matters and 
counsel and assist State, local, and Tribal gov-
ernments and Indigenous populations or com-
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munities in providing equal environmental pro-
tection for all individuals. 
‘‘(F) Provide support for State and local 
environmental enforcement training in commu-
nities with environmental justice concerns. 
‘‘(G) Work with the Community Relations 
Service to facilitate a working relationship be-
tween parties involved in environmental justice 
matters, including regulated industry, State, 
local, and Tribal decision-makers, nonprofits, 
low-income communities, and Indigenous popu-
lations or communities. 
‘‘(H) Organize, at minimum, bimonthly 
calls or meetings with environmental justice or-
ganizations and communities with environ-
mental justice concerns. 
‘‘(I) Manage the Council. 
‘‘(J) Make recommendations to Federal 
agencies on community participation in the de-
velopment of administrative settlement agree-
ments relating to environmental justice matters. 
‘‘(K) Develop— 
‘‘(i) instructional videos and other ma-
terials for Department personnel to provide 
an overview of the scope of environmental 
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justice matters and procedures for identi-
fying and reporting such matters; 
‘‘(ii) education programs for environ-
mental attorneys about criminal, civil, and 
civil rights laws; 
‘‘(iii) education programs for civil, 
criminal, and civil rights attorneys about 
environmental laws for the purpose of 
identifying and effectively addressing envi-
ronmental justice matters; 
‘‘(iv) an email address that Depart-
ment attorneys and other Department per-
sonnel may contact that enables Depart-
ment attorneys and other Department per-
sonnel to seek information and guidance 
on environmental justice matters; 
‘‘(v) joint education and training ac-
tivities, where appropriate, with Federal 
agencies and State, local, and Tribal legal 
offices; 
‘‘(vi) a continuing legal education 
course on environmental justice matters, 
developed in coordination with the Office 
of Legal Education and the Environmental 
Protection Agency; and 
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‘‘(B) The Director of the Office. 
‘‘(C) One representative of the Office of 
the Deputy Attorney General. 
‘‘(D) One representative of the Office of 
the Associate Attorney General. 
‘‘(E) One representative from the Environ-
mental Enforcement Section of the Environ-
mental and Natural Resources Division. 
‘‘(F) One representative from the Environ-
mental Defense Section of the Environment and 
Natural Resources Division. 
‘‘(G) One representative of the Civil Rights 
Division. 
‘‘(H) One representative of the Civil Divi-
sion. 
‘‘(I) One representative of the Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation. 
‘‘(J) One representative of the Bureau of 
Prisons. 
‘‘(K) One representative of the Community 
Relations Service. 
‘‘(L) One representative of the Office for 
Access to Justice. 
‘‘(M) One representative of the Office of 
Legal Policy. 
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‘‘(N) One representative of the Office of 
Legislative Affairs. 
‘‘(O) One representative of the Office of 
Tribal Justice. 
‘‘(P) Two representatives from the Execu-
tive Office for United States Attorneys. 
‘‘(Q) The Section Chief of the Environ-
mental Justice Section. 
‘‘(R) Not fewer than 2 representatives 
from United States Attorneys’ offices. 
‘‘(4) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of the Empow-
ering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act 
of 2025, and annually thereafter, each member 
of the Council shall submit to the Director a re-
port on the implementation of the progress of 
the component of which the member is a rep-
resentative in implementing the environmental 
justice strategy of the Department and any pro-
posed revisions to the environmental justice 
strategy of that component. 
‘‘(B) OTHER REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.— 
In addition to the reports required under sub-
paragraph (A), the Director may also request a 
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report or briefing from the head of any compo-
nent not a member of the Council explaining 
how the component may facilitate the efforts of 
the Department in meeting the obligations of 
the Department under the environmental justice 
strategy. 
‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATION.—The Director shall co-
ordinate and support the work of the Council. The 
Director shall convene the Council not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of the Empowering 
and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025 
and shall convene the Council not less than 4 times 
annually thereafter. 
‘‘(6) GUIDANCE FOR DEPARTMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of the Empow-
ering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act 
of 2025, the Council shall develop guidance 
with respect to environmental justice and pro-
vide such guidance to Department personnel, 
including provisions for identifying, tracking, 
and addressing environmental justice matters. 
‘‘(B) REVIEW
AND
UPDATE.—Not later 
than 3 years after the development of the guid-
ance under subparagraph (A), and every 3 
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years thereafter, the Department shall review 
and update such guidance.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 31 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘530E. Environmental justice.’’. 
SEC. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MATTERS ENFORCE-
MENT GRANTS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CERTAIN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 
The 
term 
‘‘certain 
congressional 
committees’’ 
means— 
(A) the Committees on Environment and 
Public Works and the Judiciary of the Senate; 
and 
(B) the Committees on Energy and Com-
merce and the Judiciary of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
(2) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en-
vironmental justice’’ means the just treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of 
income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, 
or disability in agency decision-making and other 
Federal activities that affect human health and the 
environment so that individuals— 
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(A) are fully protected from dispropor-
tionate and adverse human health and environ-
mental effects (including risks) and hazards, in-
cluding those related to climate change, the cu-
mulative impacts of environmental and other 
burdens, and the legacy of racism or other 
structural or systemic barriers; and 
(B) have equitable access to a healthy, sus-
tainable, and resilient environment in which to 
live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and en-
gage in cultural and subsistence practices. 
(3) ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE
MATTER.—The 
term ‘‘environmental justice matter’’ includes any 
civil or criminal matter where the conduct or action 
at issue may involve a disproportionate and adverse 
environmental or human health effect on an identifi-
able low-income, minority, Tribal, or Indigenous 
population or community in the United States. 
(4) INDIGENOUS
POPULATION
OR
COMMU-
NITY.—The term ‘‘Indigenous population or commu-
nity’’ includes populations or communities of Amer-
ican Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. 
(5) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 
income community’’ means any census block group 
in which 30 percent or more of the population are 
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