Recommendations on Environmental Justice Investments in The Appropriations Process

The appropriations process offers an historic opportunity for climate justice and environmental justice priorities to be supported by the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform.

This statement and factsheet were co-authored by a coalition of environmental justice organizations and national environmental groups.

Communities most affected by the climate crisis or toxic pollution have had little to no resources for addressing these injustices for far too long. We call on Congress to approve historic levels funding for environmental justice as part of the appropriations process. This will provide these communities with the resources needed to address decades of injustice and improve their lives and livelihoods. These investments will help communities realize their right to clean air and safe drinking water.

The EJNCP proposes at most $119 billion to address some of the urgent needs of environmental justice communities across the nation. These include programs that address environmental racism, economic inequality and high levels of toxic polluting, as well as disproportionate climate change impacts. This recommendation aligns with, but goes further than, the president’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget. This budget requested substantial funding to support low-income communities through affordable housing, home energy efficiency improvements and clean water. This request for environmental justice funding is reasonable and possible, especially as non-defense spending, which includes funds that are related to environmental justice, is significantly lower than it was back in 2010.

It is essential that the federal government invests in environmental justice to improve the safety and health of communities across the country, cut energy costs, increase access to good jobs, and tackle the climate crisis. This will ensure that everyone can live a safe, healthy, and prosperous life. It will also help the administration reach President Biden’s goal to provide at least 40% of the climate-related infrastructure investment benefits to disadvantaged areas.

Below is a complete listing of the EJNCP priority investments in environmental justice and investment in ongoing appropriations.

Clean Transportation and Goods Movement: $5.3 Million

• $150 million to reduce truck emission at ports
• $150 million in Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants.
  • FY22 appropriation $92 million
• $5 billion for EPAs Clean School Bus Program.

Environmental and Climate Justice and Pollution Reductions, $15.9 billion

• $10 billion for the Environmental Management Program to support the cleanup and rehabilitation of communities affected by the Manhattan Project and Cold War nuclear weapons production.
  • FY22 appropriation: $7.58 Billion
• $321 million to repair orphaned oil wells and reclaim abandoned mining lands on Federal and non Federal lands.
  • FY22 appropriation $155 Million
• $1.8 billion for Superfund.
  • FY22 appropriation: $1.2 Billion
• $215 million for EPAs Brownfields Program.
  • FY22 appropriation $90 million
• $124 million to support Toxic Substances Control Act efforts.
  • FY22 appropriation: $98 Million
• $1 billion to support grants to reduce the health disproportionately caused by environmental pollution in EJ community.
• $670 million to fund a new Environmental Justice Community Grant Program.
• $670 million for a state-funded Environmental Justice State Grant Program.
• $670 million for a Tribal Environmental Justice Grant program.
• $75 million to fund a Community-based Participatory Research Grant Program that will allow higher-ed institutions and community partners to improve the health of EJ communities.
• $350 million for EPA State and Tribal Assistance Programs to eliminate lead, PCBs and other legacy toxic substances in high-poverty schools.
  • FY21 appropriation $229 million
• $4.36 Million for the Council on Environmental Quality.
  • FY22 appropriation $3 million

Pollution-free Energy and Energy Efficiency: $5.6 Billion

• $100 million to start the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Advantage, which retrofits low-income homes with energy-efficient appliances and systems.
• $500 million for DOEs Weatherization Assistance Program.
  • FY22 appropriation: $310 Million
• $4 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
  • FY22 appropriation $3.78 Billion
• $800 million for LIHEAP Emergency Funds. These funds provide flexibility during natural catastrophes and other emergencies.
• Additional $200 million for Office of State and Community Energy Programs of DOE: This includes $70 million for State Energy Program, $25 Million for community programs and $105 Million for Energy Future Grants. These programs provide technical assistance and capacity building to local partners in order to transition to renewable energies.

Clean Air – $1.57 billion

• $100 million to fund a new community air-quality monitoring and notification program.
• $10 million to support the implementation of EPA’s Clean Truck Plan.
• $150 million to finance the deployment and maintenance continuous fence line air monitoring using best available technology (including National Air Toxics Trend Stations), at the 100 highest priority industrial source emitting hazardous air pollutants.
• $705 million for Clean Air and Climate.
• $18 million to ensure that fenceline monitoring is in place and continuous emission monitoring is in place. These are essential components of the national emission standards for chemical, petroleum, and other sources of fugitive toxic and air pollution.
• $75 million for the rapid expansion of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, or national ambient air monitoring system. This includes the addition of at minimum 80 new NCore multipollutant station monitoring stations in communities that are most affected by asthma.
• $3 million to install at least 1,000 low-cost air quality sensors in communities that are disproportionately affected. This will boost and complement the NAAQS monitoring system and increase community access to information about local air.
• $8.8 million for Clean Air Status and Trends Networks Networks (CASTNET).
• For state and local air authorities to function properly, $500 million is required, and for Tribal air agency, at least $33million, in order to keep their essential functions including monitoring networks.

Clean Water – $8.03 Billon

• Minimum $2.75 billion to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
  • FY22 appropriation $1.64 billion
• Drinking water state revolving fund: minimum $2.75 trillion
  • FY22 appropriation $1.13 billion
• $1.5 billion through Drinking Water State Revolving Fonds to replace lead service line, with a prohibition of partials.
• $200 million to combat PFAS contamination
  • FY22 appropriation: 150 million
• $100 million for EPA’s Decentralized Wastewater Program, which will help to build and refurbish decentralized wastewater systems in households with low or moderate income.
• $500 million for the HHS Low Income Water Assistance Program. (LIHWAP).
• $225 million for EPAs Rural Water Assistance Pilot Program.

Affordable and Sustainable Housing: $66.1 billion

• $25 billion for HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).
  • FY22 appropriation $1.35 billion
• $1.1 billion for targeted climate resilience and energy efficiency improvements in public and tribal housing and other assisted housing.
• $25 billion for affordable housing production grants
• $10 billion to lower housing affordability barriers
• $5 billion to establish a Community Development Financial Institutions Housing Supply Fund.

Education and Workforce Development – $7.6 Billion

• $3.8 billion for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
  • FY22 appropriation $3.5 billion
• $331 million for Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFIF).
  • FY22 appropriation $271 million
• $3 billion for DOI programmes covered by the Justice40 initiative. These include tribal housing improvements and wildlife conservation grants.
• $100 million for multi-agency POWER+ Initiative. It aims at helping displaced workers and transforming local economies and communities as they transition away fossil fuel production to new, more sustainable industries.
  • FY22 appropriation: $65 Million
• $250 million to support Appalachian and Delta communities in developing local and regional workforce development strategies that promote long term economic stability and opportunities to workers, particularly those who are connected to the energy sector.
  • FY22 appropriation $225 million
• $100 million to create a Civilian Climate Corps Program.
• $20 million for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ (NIEHS), Environmental Career Worker Training Program.
  • FY21 appropriation: 10 million

Climate Resilience – $8.3 Billion

• $3.5 Billion for DHS climate resilience programs. This includes $507 million to fund the flood hazard map program, which incorporates climate science.
• $4.8 Billion for an affordability program to support the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Data Collection, Capacity Building and Technical Assistance – $81,000,000

• $40 million in new resources are available to help with capacity building in areas of permanent poverty around DOEs cleanup.
• $31 million for DOE Equitable Clean Energy Transformation initiative to increase capacity and provide technical support to assist energy and environmental justice communities in navigating and gaining benefits from the transition to clean energy.
• $10 million for a new Environmental Justice Training Program by EPA to increase capacity of residents in underserved communities.

Oversight and Transparency – $635.4 millions

• $34 million for Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, Departments Justice40 efforts and equity plan.
• $13 Million for DOE’s Office of Legacy Management in order to strengthen its environmental justice mission.
• $1.4 Million to launch an Office for Environmental Justice at Department of Justice.
• $6.5 million to support the DOJs Environment and Natural Resources Divisions’ work in securing environmental justice and fighting the climate crisis.
• $150 million for the EPA’s investigation and enforcement of federal civil rights laws. This includes funding staffing and web content to provide a searchable database with civil rights petitions and information on compliance standards.
• $213 million for EPA civil enforcement activities, which includes funding to enhance enforcement efforts in communities with high levels of pollution exposure.
  • FY22 appropriation $168 Million
• $69.5 Million for EPA criminal enforcement, which includes funding to expand outreach to victims of environmental crime and to establish a specialized criminal enforcer task force to address issues related to environmental justice in partnership with the Department of Justice.
  • FY22 appropriation: $51.3 Million
• $148 million to support compliance monitoring efforts, including inspections in underserved or overburdened areas.
  • FY22 appropriation $102.5 million
• Funding to hire and create a new EJ National Program Manager at EPA.

The Equitable & Just National Climate Platform celebrated it’s two-year birthday on July 17, 2021. The platform’s signatories reached consensus in 2019 on a historic plan that calls for national climate action. It addresses racial and economic injustices and accelerates a clean energy future. Six national environmental groups and leaders from 12 environmental justice organizations were co-authors. MoreHere.

For more information, please contact Anah Naranjo [email protected] Jake Thompson [email protected].