DOJ Seeks Public Input for Environmental Justice Strategic Plan

The Department of Justice building in Washington on March 28, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking members of the public to help draft an “Environmental Justice Strategic Plan” that will outline the department’s vision, goals, and priorities for advancing environmental justice.

In a July 1 press release, the department said that members of the public are being asked to share their thoughts on what additional goals and objectives the DOJ should consider for its environmental justice program, as well as how the department can improve its outreach and engagement efforts with communities regarding environmental justice.

The DOJ defines environmental justice as “the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability in agency decision-making and other Federal activities.”

The DOJ said it has already identified four draft goals to be included in the plan.

These are: prioritizing cases that will reduce public health and environmental harms; making strategic use of the department’s legal tools; meaningfully engaging with impacted communities and tracking progress through increased reporting; and increasing education and collaboration within and outside of the DOJ, including with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners.

The department is also seeking input from the public on what information and resources it should provide to communities to help clarify its environmental justice efforts, what topics and considerations it should include in staff training on environmental justice, and which organizations it should add to its environmental justice electronic mailing lists.

The department will also focus on assessing and evaluating environmental justice in its climate adaptation efforts, including considering environmental justice when it comes to the management and operations of the DOJ.

The DOJ is required to publish a plan to address and advance environmental justice under an executive order issued by President Joe Biden in April 2023. The deadline to produce the first plan is October 2024, and then it must  continue to do so every four years thereafter.

The executive order pledged to advance environmental justice, including through the enforcement of U.S. environmental and civil rights laws and efforts to reduce pollution and address climate change.

In a press release at the time, the White House said many communities with environmental justice concerns continue to face disparities that are “often the legacy of racial discrimination and segregation, redlining, exclusionary zoning, and other discriminatory land use decisions or patterns.”

Feedback

Members of the public who wish to share their feedback with the department are asked to complete an electronic survey on the DOJ’s website.

Alternatively, they can email the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) at: [email protected].

The OEJ was established in 2022 to “protect overburdened and underserved communities from the harm caused by environmental crimes, pollution, and climate change,” according to the DOJ’s official website.

Individuals wanting to provide input for the plan can also attend an in-person community listening session if there is one scheduled near them, the DOJ said.

All comments regarding the plan must be submitted by July 22, 2024, according to the DOJ.