| Draft Guidance for Considering Environmental Justice Rebecca Clay Abstract
In response to a 1994 executive order requiring all federal agencies to make environmental justice part of their mission, the Council on Environmental Quality is preparing to issue its Guidance for Considering Environmental Justice under the National Environmental Policy Act . The council developed the guidance in consultation with federal agencies to assist them in developing procedures for ensuring environmental justice while carrying out future projects.
The guidance, which is considered a point of departure rather than conclusive direction, recommends a range of approaches, from finding creative ways to communicate information to the public to seeking alternatives that would prevent harmful or discriminatory effects of a proposed federal action. The guidance requires agencies to "take steps to avoid, mitigate, minimize, rectify, reduce, or eliminate the impact of a proposed agency action" on any affected populations, which, in some cases, may necessitate seeking alternatives to a project. In addressing environmental justice issues, agencies are required to consider a variety of factors when planning a project, including the ethnic and economic composition of the affected area and data on the potential for exposure to human health and environmental hazards. Other factors that may amplify the effects of the proposed project or action must also be considered. Early public participation is a primary goal of the guidance. Agencies are urged to find innovative approaches to overcoming cultural barriers that prevent people from adding community input during the decision-making process. Criticisms of the draft ranged from confusion over definitions to a belief that the guidance should be made into legally binding regulations rather than recommendations. Some agencies were concerned that they would be required to collect prohibitive amounts of new data before starting a project. Other agencies were concerned about the mechanisms for defining terms. Those who believe the guidance should be issued as regulations rather than recommended strategies argue that courts will need regulations, not guidance, to rule in environmental justice disputes in the future.
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