EPA’s Framework for Integrating Environmental Justice

EPA’s framework for integrating environmental justice into the agency’s  missions includes four major plans: (1) EPA’s Fiscal Year 2011-2015  Strategic Plan, (2) Plan EJ 2014, (3) Plan EJ 2014’s Implementation  Plans, and (4) Plan EJ 2014 Outreach and Communications Plan. Key stakeholders include the National Environmental Justice Advisory  Council (NEJAC), the Federal Interagency Working Group on  Environmental Justice (IWG), state agencies, and community groups. EPA has renewed its efforts to work with key environmental justice  stakeholders to advance the agency’s environmental justice  considerations. EPA Generally Followed Most of the Selected Leading Federal Strategic Planning Practices to Develop Its Environmental Justice Framework

In developing a framework for incorporating environmental justice  considerations into its policies, programs, and activities, EPA generally  followed or partially followed the six leading federal strategic planning  practices that we reviewed (see table 2). Ensure leadership involvement and accountability. Coordinate with other federal agencies. Specifically, EPA  has not yet fully:    established a clear strategy for how it will define key environmental  justice terms or identified the resources it may need to carry out its  environmental justice implementation plans;    articulated clearly states’ roles in ongoing planning and environmental  justice integration efforts; and    developed performance measures for eight of its nine implementation  plans to track agency progress on its environmental justice goals. EPA has developed performance measures for one of its nine Plan EJ  2014 implementation plans to track progress on its environmental justice  goals: its Resources Tools Development implementation plan. In carrying out these efforts, the  agency has generally followed most of the leading practices we reviewed  in federal strategic planning. However, without additional progress on  these practices, EPA cannot assure itself, its stakeholders, and the public  that it has established a framework to effectively guide and assess its  efforts to integrate environmental justice into the fabric of the agency. Recommendations for Executive Action

To ensure that EPA continues to make progress toward the effective  integration of environmental justice considerations into the agency’s  programs, policies, and activities, we recommend that the Administrator  of EPA direct the appropriate offices to take the following four actions:    Develop a clear strategy to define key environmental justice terms in  order to help the agency establish a consistent and transparent  approach for identifying potential communities with environmental  justice concerns.   Articulate clearly in its plans the roles and responsibilities of states  and continue recently initiated outreach efforts to help ensure that  states are meaningfully involved in ongoing environmental justice  planning and the subsequent implementation of Plan EJ 2014. Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft copy of this report to EPA for review and comment. EPA  disagreed with two recommendations, partially agreed with one  recommendation, and did not directly address one other recommendation  in the report. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To examine how EPA is implementing its environmental justice efforts, we  analyzed key EPA documents to identify offices with environmental  justice responsibilities.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for promoting environmental justice--that is, the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in developing, implementing, and enforcing environmental laws, regulations, and policies. In January 2010, the EPA Administrator cited environmental justice as a top priority for the agency. GAO was asked to examine (1) how EPA is implementing its environmental justice efforts, and (2) the extent that EPA has followed leading federal strategic planning practices in establishing a framework for these efforts. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed EPA strategy documents and interviewed agency officials and key stakeholders.

What GAO Found

In recent years, EPA has renewed its efforts to make environmental justice an important part of its mission by developing a new strategy and approach for integrating environmental justice considerations into the agency's programs, policies, and activities. Under Plan EJ 2014, the agency's 4-year environmental justice implementation plan, EPA's program and regional offices are assuming principal responsibility for integrating the agency's efforts by carrying out nine implementation plans to put Plan EJ 2014 into practice. An important aspect of Plan EJ 2014 is to obtain input on major agency environmental justice initiatives from key stakeholders, including the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice, impacted communities, and states. In developing its environmental justice framework, which consists of agency initiatives, including Plan EJ 2014 and the implementation plans, EPA generally followed most of the six leading federal strategic planning practices that we selected for review. For example, EPA has generally defined a mission and goals for its environmental justice efforts, ensured leadership involvement and accountability for these efforts, and coordinated with other federal agencies--all consistent with leading practices in federal strategic planning. However, EPA has not yet fully (1) established a clear strategy for how it will define key environmental justice terms or identified the resources it may need to carry out its environmental justice implementation plans, (2) articulated clearly states' roles in ongoing planning and environmental justice integration efforts, or (3) developed performance measures for eight of its nine implementation plans to track agency progress on its environmental justice goals. Without additional progress on these practices, EPA cannot assure itself, its stakeholders, and the public that it has established a framework to effectively guide and assess its efforts to integrate environmental justice across the agency.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is recommending that EPA develop a clear strategy to define key environmental justice terms; conduct a resource assessment; articulate clearly states' roles in ongoing planning and future implementation efforts; and develop performance measures to track the agency's progress in meeting its environmental justice goals. GAO provided a draft of this report to EPA for comment. EPA disagreed with two of GAO's recommendations, partially agreed with one recommendation, and did not directly address the remaining recommendation. GAO believes that the recommended actions will help EPA ensure clear, consistent, and measurable progress as it moves forward in implementing Plan EJ 2014.