by Peggy Otum, Shannon Morrissey, and Caroline McHugh
The Biden Administration’s “whole of government” approach to advancing environmental justice (EJ) continues apace, with agencies and courts pursuing focused enforcement and environmental review strategies that could affect regulated entities in a number of ways. At a high level, a novel partnership between the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9, the federal EJ leader, and the California EPA (CalEPA) could inform the way that the agencies investigate and enforce violations affecting communities overburdened by pollution. And other federal agencies—not previously known for their attention to EJ—are now taking steps to more thoroughly account for impacts to disadvantaged communities in their environmental reviews and permitting decisions. In light of these recent developments, companies should continue to anticipate increased enforcement of violations affecting overburdened communities and prepare for heightened scrutiny of EJ impacts in environmental permitting reviews.