I 
107TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5637
To require Federal agencies to develop and implement policies and practices 
that promote environmental justice, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 10, 2002
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 subse-
quently 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 poli-
cies and practices that promote environmental 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; PURPOSES. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Environmental Justice Act of 2002’’. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to focus Federal agency attention on the en-
vironmental and human health conditions in minor-
ity and low-income communities; 
(2) to ensure that all Federal agencies develop 
practices that promote environmental justice; 
(3) to increase cooperation and coordination 
among Federal agencies as they seek to achieve envi-
ronmental justice; 
(4) to provide minority, low-income, and Native 
American communities greater access to public in-
formation and opportunity for participation in deci-
sionmaking affecting human health and the environ-
ment; 
(5) to mitigate the inequitable distribution of 
the burdens and benefits of Federal programs hav-
ing significant impact on human health and the en-
vironment; and 
(6) to hold Federal agencies accountable for the 
effects of their projects and programs on all commu-
nities. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(1) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—(A) The term 
‘‘environmental justice’’ means the fair treatment of 
people of all races, cultures, and socioeconomic
groups with respect to the development, adoption, 
implementation, and enforcement of laws, regula-
tions, and policies affecting the environment. 
(B) The term ‘‘fair treatment’’ means policies 
and practices that will minimize the likelihood that 
a minority, low-income, or Native American commu-
nity will bear a disproportionate share of the adverse 
environmental consequences, or be denied reasonable 
access to the environmental benefits, resulting from 
implementation of a Federal program or policy. 
(2) FEDERAL
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 
agency’’ means—
(A) each Federal entity represented on the 
Working Group; 
(B) any other entity that conducts any 
Federal program or activity that substantially 
affects human health or the environment; and
(C) each Federal agency that implements 
any program, policy, or activity applicable to 
Native Americans. 
(3) WORKING
GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 
Group’’ means the interagency working group estab-
lished by section 4.
(4) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘the Ad-
visory Committee’’ means the advisory committee es-
tablished by section 6. 
SEC. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RESPONSIBILITIES OF 
FEDERAL AGENCIES. 
(a) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MISSION.—To the 
greatest extent practicable, the head of each Federal agen-
cy shall make achieving environmental justice part of its 
mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, dis-
proportionately high and adverse human health or envi-
ronmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities 
on minority, low-income, and Native American populations 
in the United States and its territories and possessions, 
including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of the Mariana Is-
lands. 
(b) NONDISCRIMINATION.—Each Federal agency 
shall conduct its programs, policies, and activities in a 
manner that ensures that such programs, policies, and ac-
tivities do not have the effect of excluding any person or 
group from participation in, denying any person or group 
the benefits of, or subjecting any person or group to dis-
crimination under, such programs, policies, and activities, 
because of race, color, national origin, or income.
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES.—(1) Each analysis 
of environmental effects of Federal actions required by the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
321 et seq.) shall include analysis of the effects of such 
action on human health and any economic and social ef-
fects on minority communities and low-income commu-
nities. 
(2) So far as feasible, any environmental assessment, 
environmental impact statement, or record of decision pre-
pared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 321 et seq.) shall include measures 
to mitigate any significant and adverse environmental ef-
fects of proposed Federal actions on minority communities 
and low-income communities. 
(3) Each Federal agency shall provide opportunities 
for community input in processes under the National En-
vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), 
including identifying potential effects and mitigation 
measures in consultation with affected communities and 
improving the accessibility of meetings, crucial documents, 
and notices. 
SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE WORK-
ING GROUP. 
(a) CREATION AND COMPOSITION.—There is hereby 
established the Interagency Working Group on Environ-
mental Justice, comprising the heads of the following exec-
utive agencies and offices, or their designees: 
(1) The Department of Defense. 
(2) The Department of Health and Human 
Services. 
(3) The Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment. 
(4) The Department of Labor. 
(5) The Department of Agriculture. 
(6) The Department of Transportation. 
(7) The Department of Justice; 
(8) The Department of the Interior. 
(9) The Department of Commerce. 
(10) The Department of Energy. 
(11) The Environmental Protection Agency. 
(12) The Office of Management and Budget. 
(13) The Office of Science and Technology Pol-
icy. 
(14) The Office of the Deputy Assistant to the 
President for Environmental Policy. 
(15) The Office of the Assistant to the Presi-
dent for Domestic Policy. 
(16) The National Economic Council. 
(17) The Council of Economic Advisers.
(18) Any other official of the United States 
that the President may designate. 
(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Working Group shall—
(1) provide guidance to Federal agencies on cri-
teria for identifying disproportionately high and ad-
verse human health or environmental effects on mi-
nority populations and low-income populations; 
(2) coordinate with, provide guidance to, and 
serve as a clearinghouse for, each Federal agency as 
it develops or revises an environmental justice strat-
egy as required by this Act, in order to ensure that 
the administration, interpretation and enforcement 
of programs, activities, and policies are undertaken 
in a consistent manner; 
(3) assist in coordinating research by, and stim-
ulating cooperation among, the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, the Department of Health and 
Human Services, the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, and other Federal agencies 
conducting research or other activities in accordance 
with section 7; 
(4) assist in coordinating data collection, main-
tenance, and analysis required by this Act; 
(5) examine existing data and studies on envi-
ronmental justice;
(6) hold public meetings and otherwise solicit 
public participation and consider complaints as re-
quired under subsection (c); 
(7) develop interagency model projects on envi-
ronmental justice that evidence cooperation among 
Federal agencies; and 
(8) in coordination with the Department of the 
Interior and after consultation with tribal leaders, 
coordinate steps to be taken pursuant to this Act 
that affect or involve federally-recognized Indian 
Tribes. 
(c) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Working Group 
shall—
(1) hold public meetings and otherwise solicit 
public participation, as appropriate, for the purpose 
of fact-finding with regard to implementation of this 
Act, and prepare for public review a summary of the 
comments and recommendations provided; and 
(2) receive, consider, and in appropriate in-
stances conduct inquiries concerning complaints re-
garding environmental justice and the implementa-
tion of this Act by Federal agencies. 
(d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—(1) Each fiscal year fol-
lowing enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall 
submit to the President, through the Office of the Deputy
Assistant to the President for Environmental Policy and 
the Office of the Assistant to the President for Domestic 
Policy, a report that describes the implementation of this 
Act, including, but not limited to, a report of the final 
environmental justice strategies described in section 6 of 
this Act and annual progress made in implementing those 
strategies. 
(2) The President shall transmit to the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President of the 
Senate a copy of each report submitted to the President 
pursuant to paragraph (1). 
(e) CONFORMING CHANGE.—The Interagency Work-
ing Group on Environmental Justice established under 
Executive Order No. 12898, dated February 11, 1994, is 
abolished. 
SEC. 5. FEDERAL AGENCY STRATEGIES. 
(a) AGENCY-WIDE
STRATEGIES.—Each Federal 
agency shall develop an agency-wide environmental justice 
strategy that identifies and addresses disproportionately 
high and adverse human health or environmental effects 
of its programs, policies, and activities on minority popu-
lations and low-income populations. 
(b) REVISIONS.—Each strategy developed pursuant 
to subsection (a) shall identify programs, policies, plan-
ning, and public participation processes, rulemaking, and
enforcement activities related to human health or the envi-
ronment that should be revised to—
(1) promote enforcement of all health and envi-
ronmental statutes in areas with minority popu-
lations, low-income populations, or Native American 
populations; 
(2) ensure greater public participation; 
(3) improve research and data collection relat-
ing to the health of and environment of minority 
populations, low-income populations, and Native 
American populations; and 
(4) identify differential patterns of use of nat-
ural resources among minority populations, low-in-
come populations, and Native American populations. 
(c) TIMETABLES.—Each strategy developed pursuant 
to subsection (a) shall include, where appropriate, a time-
table for undertaking revisions identified pursuant to sub-
section (b). 
SEC. 6. FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY 
COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com-
mittee to be known as the ‘‘Federal Environmental Justice 
Advisory Committee’’. 
(b) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall provide 
independent advice and recommendations to the Environ-
mental Protection Agency and the Working Group on 
areas relating to environmental justice, which may include 
any of the following: 
(1) Advice on Federal agencies’ framework de-
velopment for integrating socioeconomic programs 
into strategic planning, annual planning, and man-
agement accountability for achieving environmental 
justice results agency-wide. 
(2) Advice on measuring and evaluating agen-
cies’ progress, quality, and adequacy in planning, de-
veloping, and implementing environmental justice 
strategies, projects, and programs. 
(3) Advice on agencies’ existing and future in-
formation management systems, technologies, and 
data collection, and the conduct of analyses that 
support and strengthen environmental justice pro-
grams in administrative and scientific areas. 
(4) Advice to help develop, facilitate, and con-
duct reviews of the direction, criteria, scope, and 
adequacy of the Federal agencies’ scientific research 
and demonstration projects relating to environ-
mental justice. 
(5) Advice for improving how the Environ-
mental Protection Agency and others participate, co-
operate, and communicate within that Agency and
between other Federal agencies, State or local gov-
ernments, federally recognized Tribes, environmental 
justice leaders, interest groups, and the public. 
(6) Advice regarding the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency’s administration of grant programs re-
lating to environmental justice assistance (not to in-
clude the review or recommendations of individual 
grant proposals or awards). 
(7) Advice regarding agencies’ awareness, edu-
cation, training, and other outreach activities involv-
ing environmental justice. 
(c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Advisory Com-
mittee shall be considered an advisory committee within 
the meaning of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.). 
(d) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall be 
composed of at least 25 members appointed by the Presi-
dent. Members shall include representatives of—
(1) community-based groups; 
(2) industry and business; 
(3) academic and educational institutions; 
(4) State and local governments, federally rec-
ognized tribes, and indigenous groups; and 
(5) nongovernmental and environmental groups.
(e) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall meet 
at least twice annually. Meetings shall occur as needed and 
approved by the Director of the Office of Environmental 
Justice of the Environmental Protection Agency, who shall 
serve as the officer required to be appointed under section 
10(e) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
App.) with respect to the Committee (in this subsection 
referred to as the ‘‘Designated Federal Officer’’). The Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may 
pay travel and per diem expenses of members of the Advi-
sory Committee when determined necessary and appro-
priate. The Designated Federal Officer or a designee of 
such Officer shall be present at all meetings, and each 
meeting will be conducted in accordance with an agenda 
approved in advance by such Officer. The Designated Fed-
eral Officer may adjourn any meeting when the Des-
ignated Federal Officer determines it is in the public inter-
est to do so. As required by the Federal Advisory Com-
mittee Act, meetings of the Advisory Committee shall be 
open to the public unless the President determines that 
a meeting or a portion of a meeting may be closed to the 
public in accordance with subsection (c) of section 552b 
of title 5, United States Code. Unless a meeting or portion 
thereof is closed to the public, the Designated Federal Of-
ficer shall provide an opportunity for interested persons
to file comments before or after such meeting or to make 
statements to the extent that time permits.
(f) DURATION.—The Advisory Committee shall re-
main in existence until otherwise provided by law.
SEC. 7. HUMAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, 
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS. 
(a) DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT.—To the extent per-
mitted by other applicable law, including section 552a of 
title 5, United States Code, popularly known as the Pri-
vacy Act of 1974, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, or the head of such other Federal 
agency as the President may direct, shall collect, maintain, 
and analyze information assessing and comparing environ-
mental and human health risks borne by populations iden-
tified by race, national origin, or income. To the extent 
practical and appropriate, Federal agencies shall use this 
information to determine whether their programs, policies, 
and activities have disproportionately high and adverse 
human health or environmental effects on minority popu-
lations and low-income populations. 
(b) INFORMATION RELATED TO NON-FEDERAL FA-
CILITIES.—In connection with the development and imple-
mentation of agency strategies in section 4, the Adminis-
trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or the 
head of such other Federal agency as the President may
direct, shall collect, maintain, and analyze information on 
the race, national origin, and income level, and other read-
ily accessible and appropriate information, for areas sur-
rounding facilities or sites expected to have a substantial 
environmental, human health, or economic effect on the 
surrounding populations, if such facilities or sites become 
the subject of a substantial Federal environmental admin-
istrative or judicial action. 
(c) IMPACT FROM FEDERAL FACILITIES.—The Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or 
the head of such other Federal agency as the President 
may direct, shall collect, maintain, and analyze informa-
tion on the race, national origin, and income level, and 
other readily accessible and appropriate information, for 
areas surrounding Federal facilities that are—
(1) subject to the reporting requirements under 
the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq.) as mandated 
in Executive Order No. 12856; and 
(2) expected to have a substantial environ-
mental, human health, or economic effect on sur-
rounding populations. 
(d) INFORMATION SHARING.—(1) In carrying out the 
responsibilities in this section, each Federal agency, to the 
extent practicable and appropriate, shall share informa-
tion and eliminate unnecessary duplication of efforts 
through the use of existing data systems and cooperative 
agreements among Federal agencies and with State, local, 
and tribal governments. 
(2) Except as prohibited by other applicable law, in-
formation collected or maintained pursuant to this section 
shall be made available to the public. 
(e) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Federal agencies shall pro-
vide minority populations and low-income populations the 
opportunity to participate in the development, design, and 
conduct of activities undertaken pursuant to this section.
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