Civil rights commission to examine EPA enforcement, coal ash rule

摘要

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has called a briefing Jan. 22 to explore the U.S. EPA's civil rights enforcement practices with a focus on coal ash storage and its impact on low income and minority communities. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EPA's Office of Civil Rights enforces federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination against members of the public by recipients of EPA funds and protects employees and prospective employees from discrimination. Every federal agency that dispenses funds must have a civil rights enforcement office. Marianne Engelman Lado, a senior staff attorney with Earthjustice, told SNL Energy that the EPA's civil rights record "is among the most dismal, if not the worst."