Inter-Agency Policy Changes for Environmental Justice: Goods Movement Impacts Low-Income Minority Communities and Tribal Territories

The U.S. EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) is developing recommendations for new policies to address the impacts of air, water, and soil contamination on low-income minority communities and tribal territories. The reduction of pollution levels that will improve the quality of life and public health must be primary concerns for the 2008 presidential administration and congress. These NEJAC efforts include increased funding, public awareness, and community action related to: a) goods/freight movement at ports and rail terminals, b) new tools to assess health impacts, c) integration of environmental justice policies throughout federal and state agencies, and d) proactive and voluntary compliance by business and industry through environmental management systems.

A series of NEJAC workgroups promotes “community perspectives” in new and revised policies at the national level and implementation in the impacted site-specific communities. In order to actualize new policies at all government levels, environmental justice communities and the community-based groups must develop the capacity to lead collaboration with government representatives, researchers, and business/industry stakeholders.

NEJAC's Community Involvement Plan (CIP) incorporates the EPA's internal, inter-agency, and community outreach policy, funding, staffing, and procedural guidelines for implementation of public health, civil rights, and environmental justice. NEJAC's Community Facilitated Strategy (CFS) empowers impacted communities to access remedies through the legal action, monitoring, and alliances for community-based facilitation and management of improved: a) equity in funding, b) public health monitoring, c) basic amenities and infrastructure for the sustainability of quality of life in air, water, earth, and human and animal life.