NCD980602163_19971215_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_Recommendations based on the NEJAC Enforcement Roundtable-OCR

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NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
DIVISION OF WASTE MANAGEMENT
15 December 1997
Henry Lancaster
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Jack Butler~
Grover Nicfols~n~
Recommendations ~ased on the NEJAC Enforcement Roundtable
The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council's Enforcement
Subcommittee held their annual roundtable meeting in Durham on 11-13
December. In conversations with the US EPA and with some North Carolina
environmental justice groups at the Enforcement Roundtable on Friday night and
Saturday morning, we were told that the environmental justice community in
North Carolina:
a. is not convinced that there is high-level support for environmental
justice in state government, and
b. is not satisfied with an ad hoc environmental justice committee, but
favors a permanent, appointed environmental justice working
group.
We recommend that the state act on both of these perceptions. We propose that
Governor Hunt issue an executive order that will bring the issues of environmental
justice to the attention of all departments of the state. This order need not be in
the same detail of President Clinton's Executive Order 12898, but should recognize
the necessity for incorporating environmental justice in state government and start
the process of institutionalizing environmental justice in the work of all state
agencies. We suggest the executive order be structured so that it:
a. recognizes the probability that minority and low-income
populations may bear a disproportionately high share of the adverse
health and environmental effects of waste sites or other undesirable
sites;
b. directs state agencies to incorporate environmental justice into
agency decisionmaking and to eliminate any discriminatory
environmental practices; and
401 OBERLIN ROAD, SUITE ISO, RALEIGH, NC 27605
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AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY / AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER -SO% RECYCLED/I 0% POST-CONSUMER PAPER
Henry Lancaster
15 December 1997
Page 2
c. establishes an environmental justice working group of state agency personnel and
interested citizens charged with:
1. establishing criteria for identifying disproportionately high and adverse
health and environmental effects of waste sites or other undesirable sites on
minority or low-income populations;
2. advising state agencies on the development of environmental justice
policies; and
3. disseminating environmental justice training to state agencies and citizens.