Local Officials Urge EPA To Ensure States Address Cumulative EJ Impacts

EPA’s local government advisors are urging the agency to ensure states consider cumulative impacts when issuing environmental permits, pointing to the shortcomings of limiting pollution on a permit-by-permit basis and cautioning that even states with model environmental justice (EJ) approaches face legal risks. The recommendations from the agency’s Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) come as EPA has, in some cases, struggled to get states to account for EJ impacts when permitting facilities, as was the case with a recent Michigan...