| Implementing Environmental Justice in California Government
By Sandra Salazar–Thompson, Director, Environmental Justice Project
Background The EJ movement began as a grassroots response to a number of factors including unequal enforcement of environmental, civil rights, and public laws; differential exposure of some populations in the home, school, neighborhood, and workplace; faulty assumptions in calculating and assessing risks; discriminatory zoning and land use practices; and exclusionary policies and practices that limit public participation. Although initial EJ efforts focused on traditional permitting and siting situations, current thought is that EJ pertains to all facets of life—where people live, play, work, and go to school. In a Nutshell Since 1999, eight pieces of legislation have been signed into California law. One of those laws (SB 115) defined EJ and named the Governor's Office of Planning & Research (OPR) as the central coordinating entity within the State for EJ efforts. Since then, OPR has taken several steps to implement environmental justice into state government operations including: creation of an agency–wide listing of contacts; development of an EJ Steering Committee composed of working level staff from agencies involved in environmental justice efforts, establishment of quarterly meetings with department Directors where topical issues and models are shared. Currently there are five state agencies that have adopted EJ policies. These “early adopters” are the Department of Transportation, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, the State Lands Commission, and the CalFED Bay–Delta Program. The policies relate to the specific responsibilities of each of these agencies. At this time, there is another handful of state agencies working to develop EJ policies. The Legal Framework EJ efforts have been pressed in three main areas of the law. There are Civil Rights Laws, Environmental Laws, and Public Laws. In addition to the State's EJ requirements for state agencies, many state and local government agencies have additional EJ responsibilities under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Section 2000d). Title VI requires recipients of federal funds to conduct their activities or programs in a nondiscriminatory manner. State agencies should also be aware of their responsibilities under the California version of Title VI. This statute bars discrimination by state agencies or recipients of state financial assistance, including programs or activities that have discriminatory impacts (Cal. Gov't Code Section 11135; 22 Cal.Code Reg. Section 98101). Fundamental EJ Principles Based on developments to date, there are three fundamental EJ principles to be kept in mind by state agencies. The first is to avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental effects, including social and economic effects, on minority populations and low–income populations. The second principle ensures the full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the decision–making processes. Third, it is important to prevent the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of lawful benefits by minority and low–income populations of California. Which State Agencies Need to Consider EJ? If agencies do any of the following, the probability of environmental justice issues and/or concerns arising is high. Thus, if their actions impact the environment or environmental laws or policies by making:
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California Biodiversity News: Volume 10, Number 1 |
On February 13, 2003, the California Biodiversity Council will host a statewide meeting focused on environmental justice. California law defines environmental justice (EJ) as “the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”