EPA Launches New National Office Dedicated to Advancing Environmental Justice and Civil Rights

EPA's historic Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights will position the agency to better advance environmental justice, enforce civil rights laws in overburdened communities, and deliver new grants and technical assistance

EPA announced that it is establishing a new national office charged with advancing environmental justice and civil rights. The creation of the new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights delivers on President Biden's commitment to elevate these critical issues to the highest levels of the government and solidifies the agency's commitment to delivering justice and equity for all.

[OCS: I was unaware of the extent to which an agency dedicated initially to protecting the environment, including land, water, and air, has now been radicalized into a civil rights enforcement agency with police powers.]

The new office will dedicate more than 200 EPA staff in EPA headquarters and across 10 regions towards solving environmental challenges in communities that have been underserved for far too long. These staff will engage with communities with environmental justice concerns to understand their needs, as well as Tribal, state, and local partners; manage and disburse historic levels of grants and technical assistance; work with other EPA offices to incorporate environmental justice into the agency's programs, policies, and processes, as allowed by law; and ensure EPA funding recipients comply with applicable civil rights laws. The office will be led by a U.S. Senate-confirmed Assistant Administrator, to be announced at a later date.

[OCS:  Toxic pollution is toxic pollution, period! The politically-connected elites created and enforced NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) policies and invented pollution offset credits that allowed gross polluters to continue polluting local areas after purchasing climate indulgences created by planting trees in a remote rainforest.]

"President Biden and I have been clear: we must ground our work to address the climate crisis and our greatest environmental challenges in justice and equity," said Vice President Kamala Harris. "The establishment of a new office dedicated to advancing environmental justice and civil rights at EPA will ensure the lived experiences of underserved communities are central to our decision-making while supporting community-driven solutions."

[OCS: The climate crisis is a manufactured media creation designed to empower global elitists as they continually protect or enlarge their assets at the expense of the public on their march to a more authoritarian government.]

"From day one, President Biden and EPA have been committed to delivering progress on environmental justice and civil rights and ensuring that underserved and overburdened communities are at the forefront of our work," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "With the launch of a new national program office, we are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA and ensuring that people who've struggled to have their concerns addressed see action to solve the problems they've been facing for generations."

The new office will oversee the implementation and delivery of a $3 billion climate and environmental justice block grant program created by the Inflation Reduction Act, a critical component of the law's historic $60 billion investment in environmental justice. The office also will ensure EPA's implementation of other funding programs provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and regular appropriations meet or exceed the President's Justice40 Initiative.

[OCS: Aha! And there it is – wealth redistribution and the funding of politically-connected special interests. The fact that the "Inflation Reduction Act" is an overt lie and is simply a portion of the communist's "New Green Deal" should make it obvious this is the progressive communist democrat's grab for money and political power.

For those unfamiliar with the Justice40 Initiative, it sets a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. This begs the question, shouldn't they get 60% or more of the allocations until the issue is remediated if these areas are so underserved? And don't look too closely as the initiative directs funds into non-productive, unstable, and costly green power deals fronted by politically-connected special interests and appointees. "The categories of investment are: climate change, clean energy, and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure."]

The new office is the latest significant action under President Biden's aggressive approach to embed environmental justice, civil rights, and equity across the government, and follows the launch of several initiatives.

[OCS: I would suggest that this initiative will further embed more progressive communist democrat operatives deep within the government bureaucracy where they can actively promote their toxic agenda and inhibit any attempts at reform. I think it is time to limit foreign and dual-citizen nationals from government positions and to reimplement a legally enforceable loyalty oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.]

Background

EPA created the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights Office by merging three existing programs at the agency: the Office of Environmental Justice, External Civil Rights Compliance Office, and Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center. The new office will:

• Improve and enhance the agency's ability to infuse equity, civil rights, and environmental justice principles and priorities into all EPA practices, policies, and programs.
• Support the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies regardless of race, color, national origin, or income.
• Engage communities with environmental justice concerns and increase support for community-led action through grants and technical assistance.
• Enforce federal civil rights laws that, together, prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including on the basis of limited-English proficiency); sex; disability; or age by applicants for and recipients of federal financial assistance from EPA.   [OCS: A new protected class – "limited-English proficiency?"] 
• Provide services and expertise in alternative dispute resolution, environmental conflict resolution, consensus-building, and collaborative problem solving.

For more information, please visit the new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights website.