Swamp Stomp
Volume 16, Issue 48
On October 27, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Environmental Justice 2020 Action Agenda (EJ 2020). EJ 2020 is the EPA’s environmental justice strategic plan for 2016 to 2020. The purpose of EJ 2020 is to integrate environmental justice considerations in all of the Agency’s programs, strengthen EPA’s collaboration with partners, and demonstrate progress on significant national challenges facing minority and low-income communities.
EJ 2020 continues to build upon the last EPA strategic plan as well as important environmental justice practice by the Agency, communities, and other environmental justice stakeholders.
“EPA is committed to ensuring every community in the United States has access to clean air, water and land,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “EJ 2020 is a product of listening to people in communities to better understand the challenges they face, and working closely with local leaders to identify solutions together.”
The three main objectives of the Environmental Justice 2020 Action Agenda are to deepen environmental justice practice within EPA programs to improve the health and environment of overburdened communities, to work with partners to expand our positive impact within overburdened communities, and to demonstrate progress on critical national environmental justice challenges.
Before the official release of the plan, the Environmental Protection Agency let the public to comment upon the draft framework and the final plan. Thousands of stakeholders and communities within the environmental justice system commented on the draft framework and the final plan. On top of opening the draft framework and the final plan to public comment, the EPA also held over one hundred meetings throughout the country and held four national webinars in order to talk about the plan and to answer any questions posed. This amount of dialogue is unprecedented and the EPA plans to keep these lines of communication open while they implement the plan in the next coming years.
“Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA’s goal is to provide an environment where all people enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to maintain a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. EPA works with all stakeholders to collaboratively address environmental and public health issues and concerns” (Lynn).
All of the EPA’s work is mandated to follow the environmental justice mandate, including setting standards, permitting facilities, awarding grants, issuing licenses, regulations and reviewing proposed actions by the federal agencies.
Click on this link if you want to review all that is planned for in EJ 2020: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/ej-2020-action-agenda
Are you happy with the plan discussed in EJ 2020? Do you think the EPA should continue to have an open dialogue with stakeholders and communities invested in environmental justice? Why do you think it has taken the EPA so long to open these lines of communication?
Source: Lynn, Tricia. “EPA Releases the EJ 2020 Action Agenda, the Agency’s Environmental Justice Strategic Plan for 2016-2020.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.