Even before Executive Order 12898 was issued in 1994, EPA took steps to address environmental justice. For example, in 1992, it established the Office of Environmental Equity, which is now known as the Office of Environmental Justice, to focus on environmental pollution affecting racial minorities and low-income communities, but this office has no specific role in rulemaking. In 1993, EPA created the National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee to provide independent advice and recommendations to the Administrator on environmental justice matters. The 1994 executive order stated that EPA and other federal agencies, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, shall make achieving environmental justice part of their missions by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, the disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the United States. The executive order does not create a right to sue the government or seek any judicial remedy for an agency’s failure to comply with the order. After the issuance of the executive order, EPA took additional steps to identify and address environmental justice. Among other things, in 1994, the Administrator issued guidance for the rulemaking process suggesting that environmental justice be considered early in the rulemaking process. In 1995, EPA issued an Environmental Justice Strategy that included, among other things, (1) ensuring that environmental justice is incorporated into the agency’s regulatory process, (2) continuing to develop human exposure data through model development, and (3) enhancing public participation in agency decision making. In 2001, the Administrator issued a memorandum defining environmental justice more broadly to mean “the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws and policies, and their meaningful involvement in the decision making processes of the government.” In 2004, EPA developed new guidance for rulemaking that, like its earlier 1994 guidance, suggested that environmental justice be considered early in the rulemaking process. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA, along with state and local government units and other entities, regulates air emissions of various substances that harm human health. According to EPA data, from 1995 though 2004, emissions of certain air pollutants have declined from 15 percent to as much 31 percent, as shown in table 1. In addition, EPA sets primary national ambient air quality standards for six principal pollutants that harm human health and the environment. These standards are to be set at a level that protects human health with an adequate margin of safety, which, according to EPA, includes protecting sensitive populations, such as the elderly and people with respiratory or circulatory problems. These six pollutants include the five types of emissions listed in table 1, along with ozone, which is not emitted directly but is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react in the presence of sunlight. According to EPA, in 2003, about 161 million people (about 56 percent of the population) lived in areas where the concentration of ozone met the standard; about 120 million people (41 percent) lived in areas where the concentration of particulate matter met EPA’s standard; and about 168 million people (58 percent) lived in areas where the concentrations of the other four pollutants met the standards. EPA has a multistage process for developing clean air and other rules that it considers high priority (the top two of three priority levels) because of the expected involvement of the Administrator, among other factors. Initially, a workgroup chair is chosen from the lead program office, such as the Office of Air and Radiation (Air Office) in the case of clean air rulemaking. The workgroup chair assigns the rule one of the three priority levels, and EPA’s top management makes a final determination of the rule’s priority. The priority level assigned depends on such factors as the level of the Administrator’s involvement and whether more than one office in the agency is involved. The gasoline, diesel, and ozone implementation rules were classified as high-priority rules on the basis of these factors. In addition, these rules were considered significant because they had an effect of $100 million or more a year on the economy, or they raised novel legal or policy issues and, therefore, were required under Executive Order 12866 to be sent to OMB. Among other things, an OMB review is conducted to ensure that the rule is consistent with federal laws and the President’s priorities, including executive orders. EPA guidance identifies environmental justice as one of many factors to be considered early in the rulemaking process. In 1994, the EPA Administrator established guidance for rulemaking and identified 11 characteristics for “quality actions” in rulemaking. Among these characteristics were (1) consistency with legal requirements and national policies, which would include Executive Order 12898, and (2) adherence to the Administrator’s seven priorities, which included environmental justice. According to the guidance, managers must consider all 11 areas early on and be explicit about any trade-offs made among them. For high-priority rules, the workgroup chair is responsible for, among other things, ensuring that work gets done and the process is documented. Other workgroup members are assigned from the lead program office and, in the case of the two highest priority rules, from other offices. The workgroup may conduct such activities as (1) collaborating to prepare a plan for developing the rule, (2) seeking early input from senior management, (3) consulting with stakeholders, (4) collecting data and analyzing issues, (5) considering various options, and (6) recommending usually one option to managers. In addition, an economist (who typically participates in the workgroup) prepares an economic review of the proposed rule’s costs to society. According to EPA, the “ultimate purpose” of an economic review is to inform decision makers of the social welfare consequences of the rule. Finally, after the approval of all relevant offices within EPA, the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, the public is invited to comment on it, and EPA considers the comments. Comments may address any aspect of the proposed rule, including whether environmental justice issues are raised and appropriately addressed in the proposed rule. Sometimes, prior to the publication of the proposed rule, EPA publishes an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register. The notice provides an opportunity for interested stakeholders to provide input to EPA early in the process, and the agency takes such comments into account to an appropriate extent, according to EPA. In finalizing a rule, EPA is required to provide a response to all significant public comments, including those on environmental justice, and to prepare a final economic review. After these tasks are completed, the rule, if it is significant, is sent to OMB for approval. Once OMB approves the final rule and the Administrator signs it, it is published in the Federal Register. After a specified time period, the rule goes into effect. Within EPA, the Air Office is primarily responsible for implementing the Clean Air Act, as amended. Within that office, the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards is primarily responsible for developing the majority of new rules for stationary sources resulting from the act. Also within the Air Office, the Office of Transportation and Air Quality has primary responsibility for developing rules and other programs to control mobile source emissions. The Office of Environmental Justice, located within EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, provides a central point for the agency to address environmental and human health concerns in minority communities and/or low-income communities—a segment of the population that has been disproportionately exposed to environmental harms and risks, according to the office’s Web site. The office works with EPA’s program and regional offices to ensure that the agency considers environmental justice. Although EPA guidance calls for environmental justice to be considered early in the rulemaking process, we found that EPA generally devoted little attention to environmental justice during the drafting of the three rules as proposed. First, environmental justice was not mentioned in an initial form used to flag potential issues for senior management. Second, it is unclear how much the workgroups discussed environmental justice because EPA officials had differing recollections on the matter. Even when the workgroups did discuss environmental justice, their ability to identify potential problems may have been limited by a lack of training and guidance, among other factors. Third, the economic reviews of two of the three proposed rules did not discuss environmental justice. Finally, when the proposed rules were published in the Federal Register and made available for public comment, all three mentioned environmental justice, but the discussion was contradictory in one case. Although EPA guidance suggested that environmental justice was one of the factors that should be considered early in rulemaking, it did not include information on environmental justice in a key form prepared for management at the beginning of the process. After being designated, the workgroup chair is to complete a “tiering form” to help establish the level of senior management involvement needed in drafting the rule. For example, the highest priority rules would involve the Administrator and more than one office in the agency. The forms for the gasoline, diesel, and ozone implementation rules stated that these rules were of the highest priority. In addition, the form asks a series of questions, the answers to which are to be used to alert senior managers to potential issues related to compliance with statutes, executive orders, and other matters. This form specifically asks about, among other things, the rules’ potential to pose disproportionate environmental health risks to children and to have potential Endangered Species Act implications. However, the form does not include a question regarding the rules’ potential to create environmental justice concerns. Moreover, on the forms that were completed for the three rules we reviewed, we found no mention of environmental justice. EPA officials had differing recollections about the extent to which the three workgroups considered environmental justice. The chairs of the workgroups for the two mobile source rules told us that they did not recall any specific time when they considered environmental justice during the rules’ drafting, but other EPA officials said environmental justice was considered.