ENRD Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy Annual Report 2023

DOJ, Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy Annual Report (October 2023)

Introduction:

On May 5, 2022, the Associate Attorney General issued a Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy for the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Strategy has four principles. The principles ensure that the Department’s environmental justice (EJ) efforts are transparent, and consistent across Divisions.

In addition, the Strategy identifies specific actions for the Department to take, including prioritizing and pursuing cases that reduce public health and environmental harms to overburdened and underserved communities and forming various workstreams, or teams of DOJ employees working together, to advance other priorities.

For the first year of implementation, the workstreams were Civil Rights, Community Outreach, Environmental Enforcement Taskforces, Incorporating EJ in the Department’s Defensive Practices, Investigating EJ Impacts in Civil and Criminal Cases, Training, and Tribal Environmental Justice.

Finally, as directed by the Strategy, Department components and personnel strengthened relationships within and outside DOJ in service of the work to identify areas of greatest concern to impacted communities and ensure timely and effective remedies for environmental violations.

One year later, we are pleased to share the progress the Department has made in advancing environmental justice under the Strategy, through the efforts of components across the Department and our new Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). This report details the work done to implement each of the four principles, including both specific cases and related activities. The information included here is current through August 3, 2023.