Georig R. Johnson and Melanie A. Pearson
U.S. Department
of Energy
ABSTRACT
This paper presents an outline of ongoing program activities to implement the Department of Energy's (DOE) Environmental Justice Strategy. The relationship to existing legislation and regulations, as well as methods to institutionalize environmental justice into DOE's public participation activities, the recognition of appropriate government entities, human health research, safety and risk reduction and effective methods of communicating environmental issues and risk information to our stakeholders are described.
INTRODUCTION
During the past two years, the Department of Energy (the Department) has refocused a number of relevant program activities and implemented various procedures to meet the challenges of implementing Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations" (1994), which requires Federal agencies to address the uneven distribution of environmental risks across population groups, which result from the operations of their facilities.
Environmental justice continues to be a priority activity at the Department because environmental pollutants are being linked increasingly to morbidity and mortality in our Nation. Energy-related emissions generate the vast majority of polluting chemical such as ozone, particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen (Romm and Ervin, 1996). Statistics indicate that in 1994, energy-related emissions (such as those from power plants, vehicles, and industry) accounted for more than 90 % of emissions of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, and also for most of the smallest particulates (under 2.5 microns in diameter). Additionally, the Department's environmental restoration and waste management activities generate hazardous and radioactive pollutants. In the Second Annual Report on Federal Compliance with Right- to-Know Laws and Pollution Prevention Requirements issued by DOE (1996), it was noted that twenty-three DOE sites met the threshold levels required to report to the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) for reporting year 1994. Such evidence makes it essential for the philosophy of environmental justice to be integrated into Departmental activities as the strategies outlined in our Environmental Justice Strategy (1995) are implemented. The significant linkage between air pollution, respiratory health problems and public health underscores the need for including assessment of risks, multiple exposure pathways, appropriate characterizations of impacts, and the recognition and diagnosis of occupational diseases, in our determination for environmental justice. This is essential because of the tremendous health risks posed by the exposure of low-income and also minority communities to environmental contaminants.
The Department's commitment to environmental justice embraces a new era in scientific research and approaches which relate to human health and safety and risk reduction. Programs in waste management, waste minimization, environmental restoration, nuclear material and facility stability, and pollution prevention strive to improve the environment surrounding the Department's facilities through the development of methods to improve air and water quality, and broader epidemiological studies to include a more diverse segment of the subject communities. The Department's strategy continues to be a living document which will be modified periodically to reflect today's dynamic environment and the concerns of our stakeholders.
OUTLINE OF THE DEPARTMENT'S STRATEGY
Based on the overall objectives of the Executive Order, the Department established four major goals of environmental justice for which relevant strategies could be developed by the various programs of this diverse Agency. The four goals are to:
An outline of this proposed strategy was then structured to provide guidance for the Headquarters and Field organizations to establish focused strategies for their programs. The Department's Environmental Justice Strategy was developed and subsequently approved by the White House in April, 1995. DOE staff participated on the Federal Interagency Working Group, served on the Environmental Justice/Subcommittee on Policy and Coordination, Co-chaired the Task Force on Public Participation, and assisted with the planning and implementation of the First Federal Agencies' Public Hearing on Environmental Justice, held in Atlanta, Georgia in January, 1995. Implementation of some strategies has proceeded to the extent permitted by the budget and regulatory drivers.
Since June 1996, the agenda for environmental justice at the Department has been expanded to include activities related to the Administration's Urban Revitalization Initiative and the redevelopment of Brownfields across the Nation. As a member of the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice, the Department focuses on interagency coordination with major environmental issues and addresses overlapping jurisdictional problems with other agencies. In an attempt to address the environmental justice-related issues in a more effective manner, the Department continues to focus on a) integrating public health issues and economic development activities, b) ensuring interagency and intra-agency coordination of environment, safety and health issues and sustainable development of communities, c) assisting the interagency working group to establish a mechanism for tracking environmental justice related complaints in the various agencies, d) establishing a database for tracking exposure and health effects and related compliance and enforcement issues and, e) communicating critical information to our stakeholder. As the Department attempts to shape the future in the environmental justice arena, we recognize the critical need to maintain the involvement of the State and Tribal governments to facilitate effective revitalization of our communities.
CRITICAL FACTORS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
At the initial stages of strategy implementation, some critical factors had to be identified in order to effectively define the dimension of the problems, understand relevant causes, and identify appropriate solutions. Such elements must be included into the equation in order to ensure fundamental effectiveness of strategy implementation among the various facilities and components of this very large, multi-purpose, and diverse mission of the Department. The elements include specifications for:
The elements specified under each of these four areas address the challenge which Departmental program staff must address in order to effectively integrate the complex social and economic impact assessment requirements of Executive Order 12898 into the NEPA and other regulatory and legislative processes.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ACTIVITIES
A fundamental component of any environmental justice program is a public participation program. In October, 1994, the Department held a one-day workshop to familiarize Departmental elements on the requirements of the Executive Order. Representatives from the White House Office of Environmental Policy and the EPA Office of Environmental Justice provided an overview of the Administrations goals and objectives. A panel presentation outlining effective approaches for public participation in decisionmaking was part of the workshop. Panelist discussed examples of environmental justice initiative in the Environmental Management (EM) program, innovative approaches to working with stakeholders, and building the government to government relationship with Tribal governments. The Department has continued to emphasize through guidance and policy documents and training for Headquarters, Field and Contractor personnel.
SUBSISTENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS
As the Department advanced with implementation of its environmental justice strategies, the importance of communicating environmental and occupational exposure issues and risk assessment information with the local, medical, and global community has been elevated. Our approach includes the development of a subsistence and Environmental Health prototype program which incorporates:
In addition, the Department has been working with State, local, and Tribal decisionmakers to :
- Identify technical assistance and community-based planning to empower communities;
- Emphasize essential factors of future land use planning and the siting of new facilities;
- Communicate the importance of establishing affiliation with the medical, scientific, and research communities for successful implementation of environmental justice strategies such as:
- Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences
- Medical University of South Carolina Project (science and technology)
- Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute Project
- National Energy Laboratories (Oak Ridge, Argonne and Pacific Northwest)
The Department is also co-sponsoring an 18-month study by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM) to assess 1) the prevailing situation which has generated the medical and health issues related to environmental justice and the need for revised policies and approaches, 2) the appropriate role of medical science in addressing those issues, and, 3) the identification of priorities for medical research that would facilitate improvements in the current situation. Through this effort, the IOM Committee on Environmental Justice: Research, Education, and Health Policy Needs will 1) characterize the medical issues related to environmental health and justice, 2) develop a case study to determine the cost-benefit/risk-benefit analyses of environmental health issues, 3) assess the role of emerging scientific research, such as biomarkers of susceptibility and exposure in characterizing the health effects associated with environmental hazards, and 4) indicate and recommend opportunities for collaborative approaches leading to the prevention of pollution and related diseases. The independent documentation will provide information which could facilitate the development of a Federal agenda for addressing environmental-related health issues.
RELATIONSHIP OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TO APPLICABLE ENVIRONMENTAL STATUES AND METHODS TO INTEGRATE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE INTO ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES
Executive Order 12898 and its transmittal memorandum specifically address the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Section 309 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) (42 U.S.C. Section 11044). The transmittal memorandum states that "each Federal Agency shall analyze the environmental effects, including human health, economics and social effects, of Federal actions, including effects on minority communities and low-income communities when such analysis is required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C Section 4321 et seq". The memorandum further advises that mitigation measures, whenever feasible, "should address significant and adverse environmental effects of proposed Federal actions on minority communities and low-income communities". Community input into the NEPA process is encouraged through "identifying potential effects and mitigation measure and improving accessibility to public meetings and information". The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) responsibilities regarding the actions of other Federal agencies under Section 309 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) 42 U.S.C. Section 7609 are also addressed in this memorandum.
The Executive Order does not specifically address Federal agency responsibilities for incorporating Environmental Justice principles into activities under the major environmental statutes such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA), CAA, and Clean Water Act (CWA). Section 2-2, directs agencies to "conduct its programs, policies, and activities that substantially affect human health or the environment in a manner that ensures such activities do not exclude based on race, color, or national origin.
In order to maintain consistency across the Department and ensure the principles of the Executive Order are incorporated into the environmental programs, the Department has issued interim guidance entitled "Draft Guidance on Incorporating Environmental Justice Principles into the National Environmental Policy Act Process". This guidance outlines a phased approach for identifying and evaluating potential environmental justice impacts and recommends concepts for enhancing public participation. Additionally, the guidance provides guidelines to incorporate environmental justice principles in each step of the Department's NEPA process.
The Department's NEPA process does not specifically address activities under CERCLA, but directs Departmental personnel to "incorporate NEPA values, such as analyses of cumulative, off-site, ecological and socio-economic impacts to the extent practicable, in DOE documents prepared under CERCLA" (DOE, 1995).
To rectify this potential guidance void, a companion document will be developed in 1997 entitled "DOE Guidance on Incorporating Environmental Justice Principles into the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Process" is currently under development. This document will outline each step of the CERCLA process from Hazard Ranking to Remedial Design/Remedial Action (RD/RA) and provide guidance on methods to incorporation environmental justice principles in each step, as appropriate.
CONCLUSION
During her term, Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary demonstrated the commitment of the Department to the principles of Executive Order 12898 on environmental justice and also to achieving environmental excellence among our operations. Her "Performance Agreement" with President Clinton for both Fiscal Years 1995 and 1996, include environmental quality and safety and health commitments which incorporate environmental justice strategies through the elimination of urgent risks, the protection of human health, and overall improvement to the quality of the environment for all communities impacted by our facilities, and maximizing opportunities for economic development within those affected communities. The Department of Energy plans to continue its compliance with the intent of the Executive Order and advance with the implementation of its strategies in order to alleviate some of the environmental inequities which our facilities inflict on various communities.
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