Environmental Justice is the
fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income when it comes to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Fair treatment means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies. Meaningful involvement means that all people have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health and Influence the regulatory agency's decision. Meaningful involvement also means that the concerns of the people will be considered in the decision making process and that the decision makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.
The environmental justice movement started in urban and rural communities populated by blacks, the poor and people of color, who sought to address the lack of environmental protection in their communities. Grounded in the struggles of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, this movement continues to sound the alarm about public health dangers to these families, their communities and themselves.
The Philadelphia Front Page News, a community sponsored online news exchange is committed to sounding these alarms loud and clear. with the
FPN Environmental News Videos which post continuously to the site, demonstrating the commitment of its volunteer staff to bringing its readers the most up to date information possible along with the resources and tools the community needs to influence the decision makers.
The EPA has been providing small environmental justice grants for the past 15 years. The goal of the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program (EJSG) is to support and empower environmental justice communities working on solutions to local environmental and public health issues. They have recently released the Application Guidance(43 pp, 528K) for FY2010. This year's EJSG program focuses on the need to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change in communities with environmental justice concerns. The EPA EJ Small Grants Program is a national program with total funding available for the 2010FY at $1,000,000. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 40 grants in the amount of $25,000 each.
Those wishing to appy for funding are invited to participate in conference calls with EPA to address questions about the EJSG Program. The following are the conference call dates and times. Please call or send an e-mail to
Sheila Lewis at lewis.sheila@epa.gov and provide the following information:
your name; the name of your organization; the address of your organization; your phone number; and the preferred date for the call.
Date
Time (EST)
December 3, 2009
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
December 17, 2009
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
For more information on Environmental Justice visit:
National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC)
A Federal committee providing recommendations to EPA on environmental justice matters
Meetings | Recommendations | Subcommittees
Environmental Justice Grants
Providing financial assistance to for projects to address local environmental concerns
Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (IWG)
Various Federal agencies and White House offices working to integrate environmental justice into its individual programs
Environmental Justice Achievement Awards
Recognizing the achievements of organizations that undertake environmental justice initiatives which make a positive impact in the community.
Environmental Justice | Compliance and Enforcement | US EPA