Title: 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.
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]
[S. 3680 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3680

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 11, 2020

Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Carper) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 that--
            (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, or structural discrimination, and disproportionate 
        energy burdens;
            (4) those disproportionate burdens are being exasperated 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) that policy is likely to increase the pollution burden 
        in environmental justice communities and decrease access to 
        monitoring data and information; and
            (7) citizen science will be essential for environmental 
        justice communities to protect themselves during the COVID-19 
        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 those programs were in existence on 
        January 1, 2012.
    (b) Authorization for Grants in Response to COVID-19 Emergency.--
            (1) Distribution.--Not later than 30 days after amounts are 
        made available pursuant to subsection (c), the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency shall award grants under 
        each of the programs described in subsection (a).
            (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) 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.
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