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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNCD980602163_19981201_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_USEPA - Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_US-EPA EJ Quarterly - Summer Fall 1998-OCR&EPA IN THIS ISSUE: State and Tribal Grants Program ... 1 Title VI Case Dlsmlssal ... 3 Oregon's Lead Based Paint Program ..... 4 Grant Availability .. 4 NEJAC Subcommittee Membership Llsts ....... 5 The South Africa Report ..... 7 United States Environmental Protection Agency Enforcemen t and Compliance Assurance Mail Code 22O1A EPA-300 N-98-001 SUMMER -FALL 1998 EJ ttu-.rterly An Environmental Justice Bulletin State and Tribal Environmental Justice Grants Program Fiscal Year 1998 Grantees The State and Tribal Environmental Justice (STEJ) Grants Program, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of EnvironmentalJustice,isintended tohelpStates and Tribes effectively comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and provide for environmental justice in the development and implementaion of their environmental programs. For fiscal year 1998, EPA awarded five grants, at$100,000each, to (4)Statesand (1) Tribe. These are listed on page 2. The specific objective of the STEJ Grants Programs is to accomplish the following environmental justice goals and objectives: 1) enhance the state or tribal government's effectiveness in complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 2) reduce or prevent disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on low- income communities and minority communities, 3) integrate environmental justice goals into a state's or tribe's policies, programs and activities, 4) provide financial and technical resources to develop an enabling infrastructure at the state/local community level and tribal/ tribal community level, 5) set up model programs to address enforcement and compliance issues in affected EJ communities, 6) integrate measurable EJ goals within the annual Performance Partnership Agreements (PPAs) and Memorandums of Understandings(MOUs) between a state and EPA, or integrate measurable EJ goals within the Tribal Environmental Agreements (TEAs), and 7) improve public participation in the decision- making processeses (e.g. permitting processes, development of regulations and policies). UPCOMING NEJAC MEETING IN BATON ROUGE, LA The next meeting of the full National Enviornmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) will be held December 7 -10, 1998 at the Baton Rouge Hilton, 5500 Hilton A venue, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The NEJAC was established to ensure that EPA receives the viewpoints of affected stakeholders on issues related to environmental justice. The NEJAC consists of 25 members representing environmental justice groups; industry; and state, local and tribal governments and both government and non- government organizations. It has six subcommittees that focus on issues related to enforcement, health and research, indigenous peoples, international issues, public participation and accountability, and waste and facility siting. In addition to the 25 NEJAC members, each of who sits on a subcommittee, 39 individuals serve as members of various subcommittees. See agenda on p.6 Page2 EJ Quarterly/Summer-Fall 1998 State and Tribal Environmental Justice Grants Program Fiscal Year 1998 Grantees STEJ -01 Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation This project will work to achieve both compliance with environmental standards and remediation of adverse environmental conditions at mobile home parks while meeting the affordable housing needs of thousands of low-income Vermonters. The two specific goals of the project are: 1) obtain compliance and reduce or prevent disproportionate adverse environmental and health effects on mobile home park residents, and 2) develop enabling infrastructure at the state and local level with technical and legal resources available to assist mobile home park residents. This project seeks to address the unique environmental and public health concerns which impact mobile home park residences. Fivestateagencieshaveformedamobile home park compliance group to share information, expertise, and authority to develop and implement solutions for mobile home park problems that previously seemed unsolvable from an individual agency perspective. STEJ -03 New Jersey Deparbnent of Environmental Protection The purpose of this project is to allow the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to establish and incorporate an "Environmental Justice (EJ) Screening Process" for evaluating EJ issues of affected communities with respect to Air, Water, and/or Federal Hazardous Waste facility permits. Based upon the results from the EJ Screening Process, the DEP would establish an Environmental Equity Community Partnership (EECP) Program in those minority and/ or low- income communities that may be experiencing a cumulative environmental burden . STEJ -09 State of Tennessee Environmental Policy Office This project will include the development of a strategic plan to ensure environmental justice the Department's programs. The State will create a strategic plan with significant community involvement that will guide all environmental justice activities of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (IDEC) and serve as a state and national model. The grantee will address environmental justice through three major components: 1) achieving an integrated system of meaningful community involvement and participation through networks, such as Tennesse's regional Minority Health Coalitions and other organizations, 2) integrating environmental justice strategies with a major ongoing initiative to re-engineer the Department's environmental regulatory programs, and 3) Developing and strengthening partnerships with other state and federal agencies. STEJ -14 Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission(TNRCC) This project seeks to further1NRCC'scompliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, through the creation and guidance of stakeholder advisory panel. The project goals were developed with input from various communities that have filed Title VI complaints against the TNRCC or which have raised issues of environmental justice with the agency in order to determine the best course of action to reduce the possibility for future complaints. The advisory panel, made up of thepartneringcommunityrepresentativesfrom Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Houston, and Wichita Falls--along with the TNRCC Chairman or his appointee, Public Interest Counsel, Office of Legal Services-Supplemental Environmental Projects, and a representative from a Regional Field Office, will help develop model programs to be piloted in their respective areas to address enforcement and compliance concerns. Furthermore, the panel will provide vital input to enhance the agency's environmental equity efforts. STEJ -26 Kalispel Tribe of Indians The Kalispel Tribe proposes to develop and implement an ISO 14001 conforming Environmental Management System (EMS) that integrates EJ goals with environmental performance objectives for the Kalispel reservation. The Kalispel Tribe developed the proposal with the support and advice of grassroots organizations, the Director of the Washington Department of Ecology and his staff, Pend Oreille County, and the Coeur D'Alene, Colville and Spokane Tribes. The ISO 14001 standard, establishes an internationally accepted framework forEMSswhichcanserveasasustainableprogram that: 1) allow meaningful involvement of all members of the Tribe in the development of goals for an environmental program, 2) prevents impacts from being disproportionately borne by subgroups within the Tribe, 3) goes above and beyond compliance with environmental laws, 4) reduces pollution and pro-actively prevents pollution, and 5) ensures fair treatment. EJ Quarterly/Summer-Fall 1998 Supreme Court Dismisses as Moot an EJ Case Filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act over State Permit On August 17, 1998, the Supreme Court dismissed as moot Seif v. Chester Residents Concerned For Quality Living, 1998 WL 477242, an important environmental justice case filed in federal district court under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The dismissal came at the request of the plaintiffs, a group of residents in Chester, Pennsylvania. They had sued the State's environmental agency over a permit for a solid waste facility in the city of Chester, which is a predominantly African- American community. In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that the permit violated EPA's Title VI regulations because it would have racially discriminatory human health, environmental, and other effects on members of their community, which already is overburdened by polluting facilities. Unexpectedly, they asked the Supreme Court to end the case after learning that the State agency recently had revoked the permit for the proposed facility at the request of the permittee. The issue before the Court was whether the plaintiffs had the right to bring their lawsuit under Title VI without alleging intentional discrimination. Title VI prohibits recipients of federal funds from discriminating on the basis ofrace, color, or national origin in their programs and activities. While the statute itself bans intentional discrimination only, it allows federal agencies to adopt implementing regulations that also ban unintentional discriminatory effects. It is well settled that Title VI creates an implied right for a private party to sue a recipient for intentional discrimination. However, the Supreme Court has not squarely addressed the question of whether a private party may sue to enforce an agency's Title VI regulation that prohibits discriminatory effects-a proposition that is widely accepted among the federal courts of appeals. As a recipient of EPA grant funds, the State's environmental agency is subject to the requirements of Title VI and EPA' s implementing regulations. In lieu of filing an administrative complaint with EPA' s Office of Civil Rights, the plaintiffs brought their complaint in federal district court alleging that the permit at issue violated EPA' s Title VI regulation that bans discriminatory effects. The district court granted the State agency's motion to dismiss the complaint. It ruled that, unlike intentional discrimination claims under Title VI itself, there is no private right of action to enforce EPA' s regulation. The district court's dismissal of the case was reversed on appeal by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. As a result, the State agency petitioned the Supreme Court to review the case, which the Court accepted for review in early June. In their last filing, the plaintiffs requested that the Court dismiss the case as moot and suspend the briefing schedule while it considered the mootness question. They also argued that, if the Court dismissed the case, it should not vacate the appeals court's decision because the case became moot after that decision but before the Court had accepted the case for review. One day before the State agency's opening brief was due, the Court suspended the briefing schedule. Less than two weeks later, it summarily dismissed the case as moot and remanded it to the appeals court with instructions for its dismissal. In doing so, the Court followed its usual practice of vacating the judgment below to preserve the rights of the parties in future litigation. Barry Hill Selected as Director, OEJ On November 16, 1998,AssistantAdminstrator Steven A. Herman announced that Barry Hill had been appointed as the Director of EPA's Office of Environmental Justice. Mr. Herman stated that Mr. Hill comes to EPA with impressive qualifications and background, including experience as a governmental manager at the Department of the Interior, as a teacher of environmental justice at law institutions, a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Law Institute and as counsel with an international law firm. Mr. Herman also stated that as demonstrated by his successful work experiences with diverse groups, Mr. Hill will bring to EPA interpersonal and leadership skills as well as sensitivity to environmental issues. lrllif#JI' !!l■!ll~l~lliil 1'111 ililliJ Jiffhe ExecUfivereamfr •1 Page3 EJ Quarterly/Summer-Fall 1998 EPA AUTHORIZES OREGON'S LEAD- BASED PAINT PROGRAM On September 3, 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 authorized Oregon to administer and enforce a Lead-based Paint Activities Program. Oregon is the first state in Region 10 and one of the few states in the country to receive approval for a state Lead Program. On March 31, 1998, Oregon applied to EPA for authorization to administer and enforce a StateLead-based Paint Program. The Lead Program will be administered by the Oregon Health Division. This agency will share responsibilities for certification and enforcement with the Oregon Construction Contractors Board. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Congress mandated that EPA develop and implement a nationwide lead- based paint hazard reduction program. State and Tribal governments, however, may apply to EPA for authorization to administer their own programs in lieu of this Federal Program. To become authorized by EPA, State and Tribal programs must be as protective as the federal program and adequately enforced. The program is designed to protect families from exposure to lead in paint, dust, and soil by protecting them from the hazards of improperly conducted lead-based paint activities. The lead program ensures that contractors are qualified through training and certification to inspect, assess or remove lead-based paint, dust or soil are well qualified to conduct these activities. Trainingand certification is required to ensure the proficiency of contractors who conduct lead-based paint inspection, risk assessment and abatement services in residences and day carecenters. Trainer accreditation is required to ensure that training programs provide quality instruction in current and effective work practices. Oregon State Rules for the Certification of Individuals and Firms engaged in Lead-based PaintActivities were promulgated on May 1, 1997. These rules describe the requirements for certification of individuals and firms providing lead-based paint services. According to the -rules, no person or firm may perform lead- based paint services in target housing or childoccupied facilities without first receiving certification. Lead-based paint services include leadpaint inspections and risk assessments, and the design and application oflead paint hazard reduction (abatement) operations. For further information, please contact Barbara Ross at (206) 553-1985. Page4 COTTONWOOD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES GRANT AVAILABILITY Approximately 25 grants of up to $1,000 will be awarded in 1999 by Cottonwood Foundation, a small foundation that provides grants to grassroots organizations intemationallythatcombineactivitiesinallof thefollowing four areas: protectging the environment, promoting cultural diversity, empowering people to meet their basic needs, and relying on volunteer efforts. If you are interested in applying for one oft hese grants or would like to nominate another group for consideration, please visit the web site at http:/ /www.pressenter.com/ ~cottonwd/ for application instructions or contact: Cottonwood Foundation Box 10803 White Bear Lake, MN 55110 USA e-mail: cottonwood@igc.apc.org Completed applications are due on February 12, 1999 for consideration in Spring 1999 or August 12, 1999 for consideration in Fall 1999. ~ ~ I.Ji EPA NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP 1998 -99 STAKEHOLDER BREAKDOWN • Denotes NEJAC Council Member AC = Academia CG= Community Group SL = State/Local Govt. TR= Tribal • • NEJAC Proxy Chair EV = Environmental Group NG= Non-governmental Organization IN = Industry Air/Water Subcommittee -10 Members (2 NEJAC) NG Damon Whitehead* (2) Lawyers' Com. for Civil Rights NG Dan Greenbaum (3) Health Effects Institute SL Mariaime Yamaguchi (2) Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project IN Leonard Robinson (2) TAMCO IN Clydia Cuykendall (2) Star Enterprise AC Michel Gelobter• (3), Proxy Chair Rutgers University AC Bunyan Bryant (2) University of Michigan CG Daisy Carter (3) Project A WAKE CG Elaine Barron (3) Paso del Not1e Air Quality Task Force AC Kathleen Hill ( 1) Humboldt State University Enforcement Subcommittee --10 SL Lillian Mood, R.N. (2) members ( 4 NEJAC) AC Gerald Torres* (2), IN Leslie Beckoff * (I) EV Savi Horne(3) CG Rita Harris (2) NG Lamont Byrd (I) NG Luke Cole• (1) Proxy Chair NG Richard T. Drury (I) CG Zulene Mayfield (3) TR Lillian Wilmore (I) South Carolina Dept. of Health University of Texas Law School DuPont Speciality Chemicals Land Loss Prevention Project Mid-South Peace & Justice Center Teamsters CA Rural Legal Assistance Foundation Communities for a Better Environ. Chester Residents Con. for Q. Living Native Ecology Initiative (Kiowa Tribe) Health and Research Subcommittee --10 members (7 NEJAC) CG Margaret Williams* (I) Citizens Against Toxic Exposure CG Rose Augustine* (3) Tucsonans for a Clean Environment AC Marinelle Payton• (1), Proxy Chair Han•ard Medical School EV Carlos Porras (2) Communities for a Cleaner Environment IN Philip Lewis (3) Rolllll and Haas Company NG Jim Sessions * (3) Highlander Research & Education Center SL Rosa Franklin * (I) Washington State Senate SL Jane Stahl* (3) State of Connecticut SL Michael DiBartolomeis (2) California EPA TR Don Aragon* (2) Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes International --8 members (2 NEJAC) NG Fernando Cuevas* (3) NG Janet Phoenix (I) SL Beth Hailstock (2) AC Maria Carmen Libran (2) CG A. Caroline Hotaling(3) NG Alberto Saldamando(3) EV Arnoldo Garcia • (1), Proxy Chair IN Albert P. Adams (3) Farm Labor Organizing Committee Not1heast EJ Network Cinci1mati Health Department University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Border Ecology Project International Indian Treaty Council Urban Habitat Program Piquniq Management Corporation Indigenous Peoples --11 members (4 NEJAC) EV Tom Goldtooth • (1), Proxy Chair Indigenous Environmental Network TR Je1mifer Hill-Kelly* (3) Oneida Enviromnental Health & Safety TR Dwayne Beavers * (I) Cherokee Nation TR Moses Squeochs (3) Yakama Nation TR Sarah James (2) Athabascan Tribal Government AC George Godfrey ( 1) Haskell Nations University AC Dean Suagee(3) Vennont Law School SL Brad Hamilton (2) State of Kansas SL Nancy Draper (I) Newport News Wate1works IN Gerald R. Prout * (I) FMC Corporation NG Charles Miller (2) Charles Miller Law Offices Public Participation and Accountability-7 members (3 NEJAC) NG Haywood Tu1Tentine** ( 1) Laborers' District Council of Education NG Lawrence Dark (3) Urban League of Portland CG Delbert Dubois (2) Four Mile Hibberian Community Ass., Inc. AC Robet1 Holmes (2) Clark Atlanta University SL Annabelle Jaramillo* (2) Office of the Governor, State of Oregon IN Denise Feiher (3) QST Enviro1U11ental Inc. CG Rosa Ramos• (I), Chair Community of Cantaflo, Puerto Rico Waste and Facility Siting Subcommittee CG Lo1rnine L. Granado (3) CG Cynthia Jennings *(2) SL David Moore * (3) SL Jerald White (2) IN Sue Briggum *(I) IN Mike Taylor (3) NG Mathy Stanislaus (I) NG Brenda Lee Richardson (2) AC Johnny Wilson (2) AC Michael K. Holmes (2) EV Ricardo Soto-Lopez (I) EV Neftali Garcia Martinez (3) EV Vernice Miller • (2), Proxy Chair TR Mervyn Tano (3) {l)--Tern1 expires 12/31/1999 --14 members (4 NEJAC) Cross Community Coalition ONE/CHANE Mayor, City of Beaumont, TX New Orleans Mayor's Office of Env. Affrs WMX Vita Nuova Enviro-Sciences, Inc. Women Like Us Clark Atlanta University St. Louis Community College Pue110 Rico-Northeast EJ Network Scientific and Technical Services Natural Resources Defense Council Int'! Institute for Indigenous Res. Mgmt. (2)--Term expires 12/31/2000 (3)--Te1m expires -12/31/2001 December I, 1998 (12:36PM) m c_ 0 C PJ ~ ...... ~ (/) C 3 3 (t) ...... I "Tl PJ __._ <.O <.O CX) EJ Quarterly/Summer-Fall1998 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA Baton Rouge Hilton, 5500 Hilton Avenue, Baton Rouge, Louisiana December 7-10, 1998 MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 5:00 p.m. Registration Begins 6:45 p.m. NEJAC Meeting Convenes for Public Comment Period 7:00 p.m. Public Comment Period Begins 9:00 p.m. NEJAC Adjourns for the Evening TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8 8:00 a.m. COFFEE/REGISTRATION BEGINS 9:00 a.m. NEJAC Meeting Convenes Welcome and Opening Remarks -Senior Manager, Environmental Protection Agency -Senior Manger, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) -Gregg Cooke, Regional Administrator, Region VI -Tom Goldtooth, Acting Chair of NEJAC 10:00 a.m. Review of the Agenda Discussion with Barry Hill, Director, OEJ 10:30 a.m. Title VI Workgroup Update Anne Goode, Director, OCR 11:00 a.m. Report on the Waste Transfer Station Fact Finding Meeting, Brooklyn, NY 12:00 p.m. Lunch Break 1:30 p.m. NEJAC Meeting Reconvenes Discussion of new business continued Science Advisory Board Committee Report Dr. Maria Morandi, Univ. of Texas 2:30 p.m. Report on the White House EJ Listening Sessions, Brad Campbell, Director, CEQ 3:30 p.m. Discussion of the NEJAC Assessment WorkGroup, Charles Lee, Chair 5:30 p.m. NEJAC Adjourns for the Evening WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9 8:00 a.m. COFFEE/REGISTRATION 8:30 a.m. NEJAC Subcommittee Meeting Convene 5:00 p.m. NEJAC Subcommittees Adjourn 6:45 p.m. NEJAC Meeting Reconvenes for Public Comment Period -Remarks from Haywood Turrentine, Chair of NEJAC 7:00 Public Comment Period Begins 9:00 NEJAC Adjourns for the Evening THURSDAY,DECEMBER10 8:00 a.m. COFFEE/REGISTRATION 9:00 a.m. NEJAC General Session Reconvenes Acknowledgment of the Air /Water Subcommittee Dana Minerva, Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Watert Robert Brenner, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation 10:30 a.rn. Business Requiring Executive Council Action -Subcommittees' reports, findings and recommendation 12:00 p.rn. Lunch Break 1:00 p.rn. NEJAC General Session continues -Council resolutions 3:00p.m. Afternoon Break 3:15 p.rn. Business Requiring Executive Council Action continued 5:00 p.rn .. NEJAC Meeting Adjourns Page6 EJ Quarterly/Summer-Fall 1998 South Africa Report On November 16, NEJAC Chairman Haywood Turrentine submitted to the EPA Administrator ,the South Africa Report, which was prepared by the International Subcommittee's Workgroup on South Africa. The report contains recommendations from the community leaders. The recommendations were give to the South Africa Workgroup representatives during their personally financed, ten day, fact finding trip. The recommendations for consideration and the Executive Summary are printed below. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Representatives of the South Africa Working Group of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council's (NEJAC) International Subcommittee visited South Africa in February 1998 during the meeting of the Gore-Mbeki Binational Commission (BNC). The purpose of the visit was to participate in activities associated with the BNC and to meet with communities and environmental justice organizations in an effort to identify possible areas of work and collaboration. The South Africa Report provides a narrative that includes general observations, summaries of meetings and tours and the recommendations from the community and environmental leaders in South Africa to NEJAC, its International Subcommittee and the Office of International Activity (OIA). This executive summary presents the recommendations outlined in section seven of the report. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations represent the thinking of the communities we met with in South Africa not the authors of this report. The recommendations are: -Establish consistent communication between environmental justice networks with a point of contact in South Africa and the U.S. -Develop an exchange program of information and trainings "community based organization to community based organization" -Bring U.S. study tour of environmental justice groups working wtih EPA/NEJAC to South Africa -Maintain environmental justice observer at Binational Committee (BNC) meetings both from South Africa and fromthe U.S. -Link Environmental Justice groups in U.S. with South Africa groups who are addressing similar issues Pagel -Establish link between South African Environmental Justice Network, Grantees of the small grants program (South African Development Initiative for the Environment) and the South Africa Working Group of the International Subcommittee of NEJAC -Develop a community based technical assistance center in South Africa that houses environmental justice experiences and trainings on various environmental issues -Invite the participation of the South African Environmental Justice Network Forum in the Environmental Management and Pollution Working Group of the Binational Commission -Conduct official study tour to South Africa for the South Africa Working Group -Request U.S. EPA toofacilitate the participation ofthe South Africa Working Group in the Environmental Management and Pollution Working Group of the BNC Specific Recommendations to EPA/OJA -Leadership Teams/Facilitation Teams/Training Teams from EPA to South Africa should have People of Color Participants -Integrate community based experience into the Environmental Impact Assessment trainings for South Africa (being provided byEPA/OIA) -Build networks between the Bush Colleges in South Africa and the historical Black Colleges and Universities in the U.S. (coordinate efforts) The following represents an immediate and specific request: -Provide to the Environmental Justice Network Forum in South Africa the following: A. Education/training materials B. "How to" guides on environmental issues C. Instruction on how the environmental justice community developed NEJAC with EPA The NEJAC is requested to approve and implement the listed recommendations. The Council is also requested to work with the International Subcommittee in developing a plan of action and its concomitant time frame and budget. For further information on the South Africa Report, contact Marva King, OEJ, (202) 564-2599. &EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -2201 A Washington, DC 20460 Official Business Penalty for Private Use • $300 Jack Butler Superfund Section Chief NCDEHNR-DWM P.O. Box 27687 Raleigh , NC 27611-7687 l) S. Q;c;·;::J ,, ll f US Pci:'1:,C...f- -' • ' I. OEJ11/24/98 1,,1,11,, ,l,ll,,,,, II .. , 11 .. II ,f 1 ••• 11 ••• 111 ••• 1.11 •• 1 •• 1.1 ••• 11 •• 1.1 ••• 1.1.1.r