Title: To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to continue to carry out certain programs relating to environmental justice, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This bill reauthorizes through FY2020 (1) the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program; (2) the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program, which provides financial assistance to address local environmental or public health issues; and (3) the Community Action for a Renewed Environment grant program, which assists communities address multiple sources of toxic pollutants.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6692 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6692

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
   continue to carry out certain programs relating to environmental 
                    justice, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 2020

Mr. Ruiz (for himself and Mr. McEachin) 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 require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
   continue to carry out certain programs relating to environmental 
                    justice, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Communities of color, low-income communities, Tribal 
        and indigenous communities, fossil fuel-dependent communities, 
        and other vulnerable populations, such as persons with 
        disabilities, children, and the elderly, are disproportionately 
        burdened by environmental hazards that include exposure to 
        polluted air, waterways, and landscapes.
            (2) Environmental justice disparities are also exhibited 
        through a lack of equitable access to information and data on 
        potential exposure to environmental hazards.
            (3) Communities experiencing environmental injustice have 
        been subjected to systemic racial, social, and economic 
        injustices and face a disproportionate burden of adverse human 
        health or environmental effects, a higher risk of intentional, 
        unconscious, and structural discrimination, and 
        disproportionate energy burdens.
            (4) These disproportionate burdens are being exacerbated by 
        the COVID-19 pandemic.
            (5) The Environmental Protection Agency has announced a 
        nonenforcement policy under all environmental laws during the 
        COVID-19 pandemic for monitoring and recordkeeping 
        requirements.
            (6) This policy is likely to increase the pollution burden 
        in environmental justice communities and decrease access to 
        monitoring data and information.
            (7) Citizen science will be essential for environmental 
        justice communities to protect themselves during this pandemic.

SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Environmental Justice Grants.--The Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency shall continue to carry out--
            (1) the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program and the 
        Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative 
        Agreement Program, as those programs are in existence on the 
        date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) the Community Action for a Renewed Environment grant 
        programs I and II, as in existence on January 1, 2012.
    (b) Authorization for Grants in Response to COVID-19 Emergency.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out the programs described in 
        subsection (a) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.
            (2) Priority for funds.--In awarding grants under the 
        programs described in subsection (a) pursuant to this section, 
        the Administrator shall prioritize projects that will--
                    (A) monitor pollution in or near environmental 
                justice communities; or
                    (B) investigate or address the disproportionate 
                impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in environmental 
                justice communities.
    (c) Distribution.--Not later than 30 days after amounts are made 
available pursuant to subsection (b)(1), the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency shall make awards of grants under each 
of the programs described in subsection (a).
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