With the Build back Better Act frozenDemocrats see the Environmental Justice for All Act as their best hope to address environmental disparities in Congress. Act. The bill was advanced by Ral M.Grijalva, a Democratic U.S. Representative from Arizona, at a hearing held Tuesday by the House Committee on Natural Resources.
In less than three hours TestimonyThe bill, which is groundbreaking legislation, was rebuffed by the Republicans on the committee. It aims to reduce environmental disparities in the most vulnerable communities across the nation. Grijalva, along with his co-author, Representative A. Donald McEachin of Virginia drafted and reintroduced this Act in the House of Representatives in March. With the support of a large network of stakeholders, including representatives from grassroots organizations who focus on everything from climate justice and industrial pollution in communities that have suffered the adverse effects of toxic emissions for decades, the bill was created.
Grijalva said that the bill was not likely to harm communities that depend on the oil-and-gas industry for work or taxes to pay for municipal services. This despite Republican protests. Grijalva stated that the plan is to proceed in the so-called mark up phase, which will receive input from congressional members and include amendments. He also received feedback from the affected communities. Grijalva stated that it is unlikely that my Republican colleagues will give me their input to do nothing. He also said that they have the choice to strengthen the bill or to kill it. He hopes that Republicans will collaborate to strengthen this bill, given the dangers of ongoing pollution to human lives. He said that this is an issue that will not go away and that it could directly affect 40 million Americans.
Republican Pete Stauber, a Minnesota Republican, criticized the act for increasing red tape and giving radical special interest groups more opportunities to file lawsuits. He also criticized the requirement for federal agencies to produce more reports and studies. He expressed concern that these regulations will leave affected workers in these sectors on the sidelines. Stauber stated during the hearing that even though it claims to speak for so-called environmental justice it is clearly off the mark.
Laura Cortez, co-executive director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice Los Angeles, says these studies and the data that accompany them are essential to ensure that the cumulative effects of pollution in disadvantaged communities is considered before other polluting industries are allowed in communities like hers. EJ communities have no one, single polluter. Cortez stated Tuesday that one of the biggest problems is the way municipalities and agencies treat polluters on a case by case basis without assessing cumulative effects.
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She is a Bell Gardens resident for over 30 years. She recalled that trains used to pass her home at 3 a.m. every morning. She also grew up near railroad tracks, where trains would rumble past within five minutes of an oil refinery. She also grew up close to warehouses and school right next to the 710 freeway. She estimates that there are 40,000 to 60,000 truck trips per day. Cortez community has been working to address soil, air, and water quality problems throughout the region. They have had success partnering with scholars who can quantify the impacts of cumulative pollution. However, a comprehensive federal approach to examining the impacts of cumulative pollution is necessary, she stated.
Grijalva refuted Republican colleagues’ claims that the Environmental Justice for All Act threatens economic security, particularly jobs. He also noted that critics had not presented any quantitative facts to back their claims. He noted that there is extensive research demonstrating the disproportionate effects environmental contamination has on human health. petrochemical facilities, Landfills, Incineration of wasteOil Refineries, smelters, FreewaysOn low-incomeResidents and communities of color. Grijalva stated that this is a fact and not a coincidence. We’re trying to correct historical mistakes and prevent them from happening again, and that’s the purpose of the bill.
The Environmental Justice for All Act seeks to:
- Amend the Civil Rights Act in order to allow individuals and organizations to seek legal remedies for discrimination (based upon race or national origin) when a program or policy causes a disparate result.
- 75 million dollars annually are available for program and research development grants to help reduce health disparities in the disadvantaged communities and improve public health.
- To create a Federal Energy Transition Economic Development Assistance Fund that would assist workers and communities in their transition from jobs that are dependent on greenhouse gases, levie new fees on oil, coal, and gas companies.
- Federal agencies must consider the health effects that could accumulate over time when deciding whether to permit under the federal Clean Air and Clean Water acts.
Grijalva stated that while the Biden administration has made progress over the past year to address environmental justice communities’ concerns through executive orders and EPA funding to prioritize longstanding contamination in vulnerable areas, legislation is crucial to ensure these priorities are codified into law.
