Environmental Justice Coming into Focus Under Biden’s USEPA
by Amanda Reeve and Lucas J. Narducci
In its June 25, 2021 Press Release, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) presented its plan for utilizing $50 million dollars, allocated to the agency under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021/Covid-19 stimulus package, to Environmental Justice (“EJ”) initiatives. The USEPA’s goal is to quickly dispense these funds in a manner that will assist under-resourced communities. The USEPA states it will use the funding to “leverage important programs that improve air quality, drinking water, revitalization of brownfields, diesel emissions from buses in low income communities and communities of color.”
The USEPA provides the following breakdown of its proposed allocation for its EJ initiatives:
| ($) Allocation | Proposed Initiative |
| 16.7 million | Fund EJ grants |
| 7 million | Fund electric school busses via the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (“DERA”) to reduce diesel pollution |
| 5.1 million | Expand civil and criminal enforcement |
| 5 million | Helping communities with revitalization of Brownfields |
| 4.9 million | Fund projects in vulnerable communities geared towards reducing children’s environmental exposure and health risks |
| 4.7 million | Fund drinking water and compliance monitoring in rural and tribal areas |
| 2.2 million | Support the USEPA’s community driven solutions effort to collaboratively address air and water issues in underserved communities |
| 1.6 million | Support the EJ Small Program grants |
| 1 million | Administrative costs |
| 720,000 | Enhancement of the Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (“EJSCREEN”) |
| 700,000 | Allocated for a climate protection program |
| 500,000 | Support new methods of outreach and support related to performing analysis and outreach in the oil and gas sector |
As always, there will be further direction and guidance with respect to these initiatives and as that develops, we will strive to provide additional information that may impact you, your business, or your community.