As the objectives gain traction, they are meeting state resistance in court.
By Robin M. Hulshizer and Malorie R. Medellin
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) strategic plan for 2022–26, released in March 2022, added a new foundational principle to the agency’s mission: the advancement of environmental justice and equity. Since unveiling its strategic plan, EPA has taken a number of actions to make good on its mission, aggressively furthering its environmental justice goals and objectives. As recently as April 2023, EPA awarded $177 million to open 10 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers to improve accessibility to federal grant funding for communities with environmental justice concerns.
Most prominently, EPA has (1) increased its scrutiny of, and investigation into, claims under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act; (2) pushed for cumulative impact analyses for permits; and (3) initiated emergency actions under Section 303 of the Clean Air Act to restrain emissions. Numerous corporations and state agencies have been implicated in these efforts, and some are pushing back.