I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1510
To promote environmental justice, public health, and pollution reduction
efforts.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 21, 1999
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois,
Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. WATERS, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. LEE, Mrs. MALONEY of
New York, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. BISHOP, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. LA-
FALCE, Mr. FROST, Mr. FILNER, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. NORTON, Mrs.
CHRISTENSEN, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, and Mr.
THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committees
on Transportation and Infrastructure, Agriculture, and 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 com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To promote environmental justice, public health, and
pollution reduction efforts.
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 ‘‘Environmental Justice
Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to identify those areas which are subject to
the highest levels of toxic chemicals, through all
media;
(2) to require the collection of data on environ-
mental health effects so that impacts on different in-
dividuals or groups can be understood;
(3) to assess the health effects that may be
caused by emissions in those areas of highest im-
pact;
(4) to ensure that groups or individuals residing
within those areas of highest impact have the oppor-
tunity to participate in developing solutions to envi-
ronmental and health problems confronting their
community;
(5) to promote technologies and practices that
reduce or eliminate pollution; and
(6) to promote the development and mainte-
nance of parks and green open spaces in polluted
communities.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the United
States Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) ENVIRONMENTAL HIGH IMPACT AREA.—The
terms ‘‘Environmental High Impact Area’’ and
‘‘EHIA’’ mean the 20 counties or other geographic
units that are designated pursuant to section 101.
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services.
(4) TOXIC
CHEMICALS.—The term ‘‘toxic
chemicals’’ includes all substances as defined in sec-
tion 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980;
any hazardous waste listed or identified pursuant to
the Solid Waste Disposal Act; any pollutant for
which air quality standards have been issued pursu-
ant to the Clean Air Act; any pollutant for which
water quality standards have been issued pursuant
to the Clean Water Act; any pollutant for which a
national primary drinking water regulation has been
issued pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act; all
materials registered pursuant to the Federal Insecti-
cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and all sub-
stances and chemicals subject to reporting obliga-
tions pursuant to the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act. The Adminis-
trator may add other substances as deemed appro-
priate.
(5) TOXIC
CHEMICAL
FACILITIES.—The term
‘‘toxic chemical facilities’’ includes all facilities in-
cluding Federal facilities subject to a permit, inspec-
tion or review, or registration requirement pursuant
to the authority of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the
Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Federal In-
secticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act; and the
OSHA Hazard Communication Standard; as well as
any facility subject to reporting obligations pursuant
to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-
to-Know Act. The Administrator shall have the au-
thority to examine the level of toxic chemicals re-
leased into the environment by facilities not cur-
rently subject to Federal review, inspection, or re-
porting requirements if (A) a facility is believed to
produce a high level of environmental pollution, and
(B) the Administrator is petitioned by individuals or
groups within such EHIA to conduct the review.
TITLE 
I—IDENTIFICATION 
OF
ENVIRONMENTAL 
HIGH 
IM-
PACT AREAS
SEC. 101. IDENTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HIGH IM-
PACT AREAS.
(a) PUBLICATION OF METHOD.—Within 12 months
after the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall
publish for public comment the method for selecting the
EHIAs.
(b) DETERMINATION OF IMPACTED AREAS.—Within
18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Administrator shall publish a list of 20 Environmental
High Impact Areas that are either counties or other ap-
propriate geographic units in which high levels of chemi-
cals are present and in which the population is exposed
to such chemicals. The Administrator shall also take into
consideration any geographical areas suggested for review
by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,
the National Center for Environmental Health, the Na-
tional Center for Health Statistics, other appropriate Fed-
eral agencies, and State and local health authorities.
(c) REVISION AND REPUBLICATION.—The Adminis-
trator shall revise and republish the list described in sub-
section (a) of this section not less than every 5 years,
using data compiled for that 5-year period.
(d) COMPILATION OF LIST.—In selecting a method-
ology and compiling or revising the list of EHIAs, the Ad-
ministrator shall—
(1) use the most recent data available;
(2) take into account the relative toxicity of the
toxic chemicals;
(3) determine, with the best available data, the
actual and potential exposures, and toxicity of the
toxic chemicals present in each impacted area;
(4) consider and utilize all appropriate data
compiled pursuant to any environmental regulatory
authority and other sources, including but not lim-
ited to available data on lead-based paint and the ex-
istence of pollutants from mobile sources;
(5) distinguish between toxic chemicals which
are (A) in a contained, controlled environment such
as barrels, factories, warehouses, or lined landfills;
and (B) released into the air, water, soil or ground-
water of the area; and
(6) take into account the impact of pollution in
high population density areas.
TITLE II—ENFORCEMENT
INITIATIVES
SEC. 201. MANDATORY INSPECTION.
To assure that facilities with the highest potential for
release of toxic chemicals into the environment are oper-
ating in compliance with all applicable environmental,
health and safety standards, the Administrator, and the
Assistant Secretary of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration shall conduct compliance inspections or re-
views of all toxic chemical facilities in Environmental High
Impact Areas subject to their respective jurisdictions with-
in 1 year after the publication of each list of EHIAs under
title I.
TITLE III—COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION
SEC. 301. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.
The Administrator shall make a technical assistance
grant available to any individual or group of individuals
in an EHIA. Such grants shall be used to seek guidance
from independent experts for the purpose of improving un-
derstanding of environmental and health concerns related
to designation as an EHIA. Not more than one grant may
be made with respect to each EHIA, but the grant may
be renewed to facilitate public participation where nec-
essary.
TITLE IV—IDENTIFICATION AND
PREVENTION OF HEALTH IM-
PACTS
SEC. 401. SECRETARIAL STUDY.
Within 2 years after the publication of each list of
EHIAs under title I, the Secretary shall issue for public
comment a report identifying the methodology used and
nature and extent, if any, of acute and chronic impacts
on human health in EHIAs as compared to non-EHIAs,
including impacts on subgroups within EHIAs. Such im-
pacts shall include but not be limited to cancer, birth de-
formities, infant mortality rates, and respiratory diseases.
The report shall be coordinated by the Administrator of
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
and shall involve the community being assessed. The
ATSDR shall work closely with the Directors of the Na-
tional Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, the
National Center for Health Statistics, and other appro-
priate Federal agencies to coordinate the report, relying
on the expertise of leading health and environmental sci-
entists. The health assessment shall seek to—
(1) isolate the impacts of environmental pollu-
tion;
(2) segregate the effects of other factors such
as health care availability or substance abuse or diet;
(3) evaluate the levels below which release of
toxic chemicals, either individually or cumulatively,
must be reduced to avoid adverse impacts on human
health; and
(4) determine the impacts of uncontrolled re-
leases.
In conducting health assessments, the Administrator of
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
and other Federal agencies shall consider: the differential
sensitivities to exposures for vulnerable groups; the effects
of low levels of a toxin over a period of time; cumulative
and synergistic effects of multiple toxins; and methodo-
logical issues for studying exposures and diseases among
small numbers of people, including units of measurement
and analyses sensitive to disease clusters; and demo-
graphic information relevant for a determination of envi-
ronmental justice concerns. As a result of the report in
communities where the Administrator of the Agency for
Toxic Substances Disease Registry has determined that
adverse health impacts exist, the agency shall also make
this information readily available to members of the com-
munity by providing information directly to the affected
communities and tribal governments in the Environmental
High Impact Areas.
SEC. 402. MORATORIUM.
If the report under section 401 finds significant ad-
verse impacts of environmental pollution on human health
in EHIAs, there shall be a moratorium on the siting or
permitting of any new toxic chemical facility in any EHIA
shown to emit toxic chemicals in quantities found to cause
significant adverse impacts on human health. A new toxic
chemical facility may be cited or permitted in such an
EHIA during this period only if the Secretary and Admin-
istrator agree that—
(1) there will be no significant adverse impacts
to human health;
(2) the owner or operator of the facility dem-
onstrates that the facility has developed a plan to
maintain a comprehensive pollution prevention pro-
gram; and
(3) the facility demonstrates that it will mini-
mize uncontrolled releases into the environment.
The moratorium shall continue in effect in such an EHIA
until the Administrator determines, upon petition of any
interested party, that the health-based levels identified
pursuant to section 401(5) have been attained at the
EHIA.
TITLE V—HEALTH REMEDIES
SEC. 501. HEALTH SCREENING AND TREATMENT GRANTS.
Within 1 year after the Secretary’s biennial health
assessment is released, in EHIAs shown to have adverse
health outcomes related to environmental exposures, the
Secretary shall establish a grant program to make avail-
able to public and nonprofit private entities awards for
the purposes of providing community-wide medical screen-
ing and diagnostic services for environmentally related ill-
nesses. Treatment services shall be provided for commu-
nity residents with environmentally related illnesses if they
lack private or public health insurance, and shall continue
as long as medically necessary. Following community
screening, the Secretary shall initiate a review of medical
services within EHIAs to determine if the area or popu-
lation would qualify as ‘‘medically underserved’’ or a
‘‘health professional shortage area’’.
TITLE VI—POLLUTION
REDUCTION
SEC. 
601. 
POLLUTION 
REDUCTION 
AND 
PREVENTION
GRANTS.
In EHIAs where the Secretary has determined that
adverse health outcomes are related to environmental ex-
posures, the Administrator shall immediately take efforts
to reduce pollution in the area. The Administrator shall
first make available to States with EHIAs pollution reduc-
tion/prevention grants which will involve community rep-
resentatives, public health experts, local business, and gov-
ernment officials located within the EHIA in developing
effective pollution reduction strategies. If within 1 year,
the Administrator determines that significant steps have
not been made to reduce pollution and risk to human
health, the Administrator may take regulatory steps to re-
duce pollution in the area.
TITLE VII—PROMOTION OF
GREEN SPACE
SEC. 701. DEVELOPMENT OF PARKS OR RECREATIONAL
AREAS.
Within 1 year after the Secretary’s biennial health
assessment is released, the Secretary of the Interior shall
establish a grant program to make available to local public
or nonprofit private entities within EHIAs awards for the
development of parks and recreational spaces, and provide
guidance for promoting environmentally sound use of the
land.
TITLE VIII—FUNDING
SEC. 801. FUNDING.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act such sums as may be necessary.
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