E&E News: Dems push to codify DOJ environmental justice office
By Pamela King
Democrats in Congress want to save a Justice Department office established by the Biden administration to fight pollution in communities of color and low-income areas.
The “Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act,” a bicameral bill introduced Tuesday by Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Nanette Díaz Barragán, both Democrats from California, follows orders from President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at DOJ and across the federal government.
“The Trump Administration’s systematic elimination of environmental justice efforts completely abandons millions of Americans whose communities have suffered from toxic pollution for decades,” Padilla said in a statement announcing the legislation.
“Every federal agency has a responsibility to provide justice to these communities, and I remain committed to guaranteeing clean air and water for all,” he continued. “Our legislation would ensure that the Department of Justice holds polluters accountable for environmental crimes and works directly with communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis to rectify longstanding environmental harms.”
The legislation would also authorize $50 million annually in grants for state and local governments to fund environmental enforcement.
Padilla and Barragán advanced similar legislation during the Biden administration, which later established the Office of Environmental Justice at DOJ. Cynthia Ferguson, the former head of the office, was placed on administrative leave at the start of the Trump administration, and other high-ranking DOJ staff have been similarly sidelined or reassigned from their long-standing environmental work.
One of the office’s biggest accomplishments was to focus DOJ’s response to the 2022 drinking water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, a city where the majority of residents are Black and many live below the poverty line.
“The Trump Administration’s elimination of environmental justice safeguards at DOJ is a gift to corporate polluters,” said Barragán. “It has left communities of color and low-income communities vulnerable to disproportionate pollution and harm, with no protection.”
A spokesperson for DOJ’s environment division, which housed the Office of Environmental Justice, declined to comment.
Co-sponsors of the bill are Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
In the House, the legislation is co-sponsored by Democratic Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Diana DeGette of Colorado, Tim Kennedy of New York, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, Doris Matsui of California, LaMonica McIver of New Jersey, Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, Dina Titus of Nevada and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Read the full article here.