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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2002
Contact Bill Shields or Suellen Keiner, (202) 347-3190
State agencies must adopt performance, outcome,
and accountability measures in order to reduce community exposures
to environmental hazards according to a new study issued by
a Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration.
The Panel studied four states that have utilized a variety
of innovative approaches to address environmental justice
issues, but the approaches so far have produced few tangible
improvements for disadvantaged communities.
"The Panel utilized the same framework for this analysis
as for our first report on EPA's efforts to address environmental
justice in permitting. We found many of the same concerns,"
said Dr. Philip Rutledge, Chair of the Panel of Academy Fellows
that issued this study. Rutledge is Professor Emeritus at
Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
The Panel specifically focused on four areas for its analysis:
leadership and accountability, permitting procedures, reducing
risks, and public participation.
Models for Change: Efforts by Four States
to Address Environmental Justice, is designed to assist the
public, as well as state and local agencies, in identifying
and considering various approaches to addressing environmental
justice concerns. The report provides information on the legislation,
policy, procedures, and tools that Indiana, Florida, New Jersey,
and California have used to address the widely recognized
fact that some low-income and people-of-color communities
are exposed to significantly greater environmental and public
health hazards than other communities.
The Panel recommends that state environmental
justice programs should:
· articulate a clear commitment to
environmental justice; formalize that commitment through executive
orders, state policies, administrative orders, or similar
pronouncements; establish measurable goals and accountability
procedures; integrate environmental justice into the core
mission and operation of their agencies; and provide information
and training to communities, local governments, businesses,
and academic institutions to improve their capacity for addressing
environmental justice issues
· conduct a comprehensive examination
of applicable state constitutional provisions, as well as
state environmental, administrative, civil rights, and public
health laws, to identify authorities for addressing environmental
justice in core state environmental programs, including enforcement;
train permitting staff to address environmental justice issues;
and provide permit writers with practical tools and information
necessary to execute their responsibilities
· eliminate backlogs for permit renewals
which provide an opportunity to incorporate recently adopted
pollution control requirements, account for new information
on environmental hazards, mandate pollution prevention, improve
operating and maintenance practices, and address other concerns
of disadvantaged communities
· identify and reduce environmental
hazards in communities with high exposure levels and produce
measurable improvements by utilizing screening tools that
account for race, income, and other relevant factors, and
by targeting enforcement on pollution sources in these communities
· enhance public participation by
training state staff to value and utilize local knowledge;
engage high-risk communities more frequently and effectively
in state programs; increase the effectiveness of advisory
committees by clarifying their missions, establishing timelines,
and providing adequate support; and expand public participation
in other agency programs, such as enforcement and standard
setting
This second report is part of the Panel's
ongoing research on environmental justice. Its first report,
Environmental Justice in EPA Permitting: Reducing Pollution
in High-Risk Communities Is Integral to the Agency's Mission,
was released in December 2000. Next, the Academy will work
with the International City and County Management Association
to produce a study analyzing the role of local land-use and
zoning practices in creating, addressing, or alleviating environmental
justice concerns.
In addition to Rutledge, the Fellows who
served on the Panel were Jim Barnes, Professor at the Schools
of Law and Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University;
Jonathan Howes, Professor of Planning and Public Policy at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Valerie Lemmie,
City Manager, Cincinnati, Ohio; David Mora, City Manager,
Salinas, California; James Murley, Professor at the Joint
Center for Environmental and Urban Problems, Florida Atlantic
University; and Eddie Williams, President, Joint Center for
Political and Economic Studies.
To obtain a copy of Models for Change: Efforts
by Four States to Address Environmental Justice, please contact
Bill Shields at (202) 347-3190, ext. 3014, or visit the Academy's
web site at www.napawash.org.
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