Rep. Grijalva’s bill establishes several environmental justice requirements, advisory bodies, and programs to address the disproportionate adverse human health or environmental effects of federal laws or programs on communities of color, low-income communities, or tribal and indigenous communities.
Among other features, the Environmental Justice for All Act:
- codifies and bolsters the 1994 Executive Order on Environmental Justice, which directed federal agencies to take actions to address and provide assistance to communities that are disproportionately burdened by environmental and public health hazards;
- creates a Federal Energy Transition Economic Development Assistance Fund – paid for through new fees on oil, gas and coal companies – to support communities and workers as they transition away from greenhouse gas-dependent economies;
- requires federal agencies to consider cumulative health impacts under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act when making permitting decisions and helps ensure that newly permitted projects do not further harm human health in communities that are already overburdened by significantly higher pollution levels;
- strengthens the Civil Rights Act to permit private citizens and organizations facing discrimination to seek legal remedies, overturning the notorious Alexander v. Sandoval Supreme Court ruling; and
- provides $75 million in annual grants for research and program development to reduce health disparities and improve public health in environmental justice communities.
