EPA Quietly Integrates EJ Into Emergency Response Incident Command

February 17, 2023
Key EPA offices have quietly approved a policy that formally incorporates an environmental justice (EJ) function into the Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) Incident Command System (ICS) structure, in an effort to address gaps in consideration of EJ concerns when responding to the Deep Water Horizon oil spill and other major incidents. During a Feb. 2 community engagement meeting, Matthew Tejada, EPA’s deputy assistant administrator for EJ, touted the November policy as “a historical moment in the EJ history as...


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