The Biden Administration

SBA Urges CEQ To Make Major Changes To Justice40 Screening Tool

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy is joining widespread calls for the White House to add more socioeconomic indicators and to change some indicators included in the beta version of its Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), intended to identify the most disadvantaged communities eligible for Justice40 funding. SBA in its May 25 comments recommends that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) ensure that “no important indicators . . . have been overlooked,” and says...

Senate confirms Frey as first ORD head since 2012

The Senate has confirmed Christopher Frey as EPA’s first assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development (ORD) in more than 10 years, elevating a longtime agency science advisor to lead the office responsible for chemical risk assessments and a host of other scientific work. Senators voted 51-43 to confirm Frey late on May 25, with four Republicans crossing party lines to support him: Richard Burr (NC), Susan Collins (ME), Kevin Cramer (ND) and Rob Portman (OH). He now...

WHEJAC Members Seek Race-Related Metrics To Bolster EJ Screening Tool

White House advisors are urging officials to improve the beta version of their screening tool that is being used to prioritize underserved communities for environmental justice (EJ) funding, including renewing calls to include race as a metric as well as a range of other race-related metrics, such as redlining data and foreclosure rates, they say could bolster the tool. In April 22 comments to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), members of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC)...

Advocates want more data about EPA civil rights petitions

EPA’s External Civil Rights Compliance Office (ECRCO) has begun publishing lists of petitions it has received to investigate alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act by funding recipients as part of an effort to boost transparency and bolster the office’s work, but advocates say the notices need to be much more detailed. The latest list was posted April 27 and covers complaints received and compliance reviews initiated by EPA between Jan. 1, 2014, and April 26. It shows that ECRCO...

Administration Touts Brownfields Grant Awards As Advancing Justice40

The Biden administration is touting its award of $254.5 million in brownfields grants funded in part by the bipartisan infrastructure law as successfully advancing its Justice40 Initiative, pointing out that approximately 86 percent of community recipients are planning projects in “historically underserved areas.” “This critical work will help advance President Biden’s Justice 40 initiative,” EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said during a May 12 press briefing. Her comments appear to underscore how the administration is using the brownfields and other...

CEQ’s Mallory Says Strict NEPA Plan, EJ Review Will Help Speed Projects

The top White House environment official is defending the Biden administration’s plan to restore key review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as its commitment to environmental justice (EJ) concerns, saying that rigorously reviewing low-carbon and other infrastructure projects early ensures they can proceed without costly delays later. During a May 11 hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chairwoman Brenda Mallory also defended the administration, as well...

EPA appoints Region 10 chief, filling all RA roles

EPA Administrator Michael Regan has tapped Casey Sixkiller to run the agency’s Seattle-based Region 10, filling the last of the agency’s 10 regional administrator (RA) roles under the Biden administration. E&E News first reported that Sixkiller, a former Seattle mayoral candidate and aide to Democratic lawmakers, was picked for the role, citing an internal email from Regan to agency employees and a statement from an EPA spokesperson that he will start on the job today. “Casey’s knowledge and relationships...

May 4 Letter On Uhlmann’s Nomination

April 4 Letter On Waterhouse’s Nomination


EPA Vows To Use Race Metric To Aid Justice40 But Not In Funding Decisions

Corrections Appended EPA officials say they will use race as a factor to aid their efforts for bolstering funding for environmental justice communities though they will not use the metric to identify communities that will receive funds as the White House remains under pressure to reverse its decision to exclude race from its screening tool to identify funding recipients. The agency officials made the vows in remarks to an April 20 National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) meeting, at...

CEQ Says Critics Fail To Justify Claims NEPA Rule Will Delay Key Projects

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is broadly rejecting claims from industry groups and Republican lawmakers that its new final rule restoring stringent National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review requirements will delay critical infrastructure projects, part of the agency’s broad defense of the rule. Commenters failed to provide “any specific data or evidence . . . that would address whether or not the . . . changes would have an effect on the environmental review process, including timelines,”...

CEQ Issues Final Phase I NEPA Rule, Restoring Rigorous Review Mandates

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has issued its final phase 1 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rule, restoring a series of rigorous review mandates that the Trump administration eliminated in its rewrite of the rule, while pushing back on expected criticisms that the measure will create confusion and delay critical projects. In an April 19 statement , CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory said the final rule will ensure that marginalized communities are consulted and that agencies will better...

EPA equity plan acknowledges implementation barriers

EPA has released its equity action plan in response to a Biden administration executive order, outlining six “priority actions” that align with the agency’s strategic plan for fiscal years 2022-2026 and reflect concerns raised by environmental justice (EJ) advisers while also acknowledging the barriers that could thwart implementation. “EPA’s Equity Action Plan is not inclusive of all actions the agency intends to take on equity, environmental justice, and civil rights in the coming years,” the document released April 14 says...

EPA Ramps Up Title VI Scrutiny Of State Permit Programs Amid Policy Review

EPA is stepping up its scrutiny of state permit programs to ensure they comply with Civil Rights Act requirements as part of its new priority elevating its focus on environmental justice (EJ) though some environmentalists are calling for the agency to investigate additional state programs. Most recently, EPA last week announced that it had accepted for review a pair of complaints, filed under the rights law’s Title VI authority, alleging that Louisiana’s environmental and health agencies violated local residents’ civil...

CEQ poised to release phase 1 NEPA overhaul

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is poised to release its final phase 1 rule to overhaul how agencies implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) after the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) completed interagency review. When published, the rule is expected to spark significant controversy and almost certain litigation after other federal agencies and industry groups warned that the measure is likely to create confusion and delay critical projects. OMB completed its review April 6, according...

EPA Readies Plan To Merge Key Offices As EJ Takes On New Prominence

As EPA seeks to elevate environmental justice (EJ) to a new level of prominence, agency officials are readying a detailed plan to create a new Senate-confirmed slot to manage the new program while also structuring its budget around the issue and merging its EJ and civil rights offices to help elevate and bolster the effort. According to EPA’s just-released budget justification document for fiscal year 2023, the agency is seeking to weave EJ and civil rights throughout nearly all EPA...

EPA plans EJ guides for states amid pushback

EPA Administrator Michael Regan says the agency will soon release a pair of guidance documents aimed at clarifying states’ roles and responsibilities in addressing environmental justice (EJ), after states raised concerns about EPA’s authority and ability to require states to aid the Biden administration in addressing one of its priority issues. During an April 4 address to the Environmental Council of the States’ (ECOS) spring meeting in Asheville, NC, Regan said the agency will soon release guidance on EJ legal...

Officials Signal Limits In Mandating States’ Spending Of Justice40 Funds

Biden administration officials are signaling there are limits to how much they can mandate that states apply Justice40 funds or other environmental justice (EJ)-related money toward the disadvantaged communities they were meant to benefit, disappointing advocates who are urging officials to use civil rights laws to enforce spending requirements. During a March 30 meeting of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC), Kimberly Leary, a senior policy advisor on racial and economic justice for the White House Domestic Policy...

White House hires new EJ engagement head for CEQ

Correction Appended The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is bringing on Jessica Ennis to serve as its new director of public engagement for environmental justice (EJ). Before moving to the key role, Ennis has served as legislative director for climate and energy at Earthjustice for the past 14 years. She replaces David Kieve, who left the position in January, just days after CEQ senior EJ director Cecilia Martinez announced her abrupt exit from the administration, heightening advocates’...

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