On May 23, 2022 the Biden administration submitted a report to Congress outlining the administration’s stated progress in implementing a number of environmental justice measures:. the Justice40 Initiative (which aims to provide 40 percent of overall benefits in several areas to disadvantaged communities), a new Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) that debuted in February 2022, as well as several proposed revisions to President Bill Clinton’s 1994 Executive Order 12898 (which ordered each federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission).
While this report does not specifically mention PFAS or the administration’s aggressive efforts regarding PFAS (which are discussed in detail in last year’s PFAS Roadmap), it does highlight a number of areas in which the administration is taking a more active whole-of-government approach to environmental investigation and enforcement activity that may lead to further scrutiny of sources of PFAS in air, soil, and water.
As an example, the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) recommended that the administration take a more active approach in initiating compliance reviews under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits recipients of EPA financial assistance from taking actions that are intentionally discriminatory or have disparate impact. The WHEJAC urged prioritizing such actions in “states where there are decades of civil rights complaints by Black and other communities of color against permitted pollution in their communities.” In response, the administration has pledged to shift the focus of these Title VI reviews from primarily reactive response to proactively initiating compliance and investigation activities. This could include further review of historic sources of PFAS in air, soil, and water in the targeted states.
As another example, the WHEJAC recommended that federal agencies prioritize investments to modernize drinking infrastructure for disadvantaged communities to help those communities meet Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements. EPA indicated that part of the investment in this area will involve funding assistance for increased testing of drinking water contaminants.
