IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN ENVIRONMENTALIMPACT STATEMENTS

摘要

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629) directs Federal Executive agencies to consider environmental justicernunder the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)rnhas provided Environmental Justice Guidance Under the National Environmental Policy Act. ThisrnExecutive Order is intended to ensure that Federal agencies assess the potential fo r, and identify mitigationrnactions regarding, disproportionate environmental impacts on minority and low-income groups. Asrndirected, or on their own, Federal agencies have adopted internal guidance of their own concerning howrnthey will implement Executive Order 12898, and some have also developed explicit procedures or guidancernfor the steps that need to be taken during the preparation of environmental impact statements. Based on thernauthor’s experience, the paper examines how the guidance for treating environmental justice inrnenvironmental impact statements has evolved at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. NuclearrnRegulatory Commission. This evolution has been both procedural and substantive. The paper examines thernchanging definitions, clarifications, and implications of key terms such as “minority population,” “multiplernand cumulative effects,” “exposure pathways,” “appreciably exceed,” and “interrelated cultural, social,rnoccupational, historical, or economic factors.” The paper also discusses how national environmentalrnassessment practice is evolving to deal with these issues;