Environmental Justice at the Department of Justice

In this section we track ENRD’s and CRD’s stated enforcement priorities and structural changes at each Division. For case-specific enforcement decisions, see Press Releases for ENRD and CRD, or ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Monthly Bulletins.

• June 6, 2023 DOJ secures a settlement agreement with the City of Houston in its environmental justice investigation into whether the City’s response to illegal dumping of waste in Black and Latino neighborhoods is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits programs and activities from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and applies to non-federal entities that receive federal financial assistance. DOJ says the agreement will fully address chronic illegal dumpsites, provide access to adequate waste management services in communities of color, and build upon the City’s recently launched One Clean Houston initiative to focus on rapid cleanup and waste dumping enforcement. The settlement agreement includes a three-year federal monitoring period, data reporting obligations, and enhanced community outreach to impacted neighborhoods. Houston must also consider additional actions to combat commercial sources of illegal dumping.
• May 4, 2023 DOJ and the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) reach an interim resolution agreement with the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Lowndes County Health Department in the environmental justice investigation into whether the Alabama agencies violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits programs and activities from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin if the agencies facilitating the programs receive any federal funds. DOJ and HHS’s investigation revealed that the Alabama agencies imposed criminal penalties on Black residents of Lowndes County for poor sanitation conditions that the residents did not have the capacity to alleviate, further exacerbating the disproportionate burden and impact on these residents.
• Sep. 26, 2022: DOJ, on behalf of EPA, issues a letter to the City of Jackson, MI, threatening to sue the city for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act associated with the city’s recent drinking water crisis. DOJ invites the city to engage in “immediate negotiations” to reach an “enforceable agreement” addressing the violations related to the O.B. Curtis water treatment plant.
• July 22, 2022: DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announces a new environmental justice investigation into the City of Houston’s operations, policies and practices related to illegal dumping. The investigation will review whether the City discriminates against Black and Latino Houston residents in responding to requests for municipal services, including illegal dumping, in violation of the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The investigation was prompted by a complaint from Lone Star Legal Aid. Anyone with relevant information can contact the Federal Coordination and Compliance Section by email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-888-TITLE-06.  
• May 10, 2022: DOJ publishes an interim final rule revoking a Trump rule prohibiting the use of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in settlement agreements. The new rule is effective immediately, though DOJ is accepting comments on the rule until July 11, 2022.
• May 5, 2022: DOJ releases a new “comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy,” developed in partnership with EPA. The strategy will guide DOJ’s litigations, investigators, and US attorneys in enforcing federal environmental laws. DOJ also issues a memo restoring the use of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in consent decrees and settlements. SEPs are one of the few enforcement tools available to directly redress the impacts of environmental violations on communities. The Trump DOJ had phased out the decades-long use of SEPs starting in 2017.
• Mar. 9, 2022: DOJ announces a $121.4 million settlement with Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. to resolve claims for its industrial flaring activities. The settlement includes $3.4 million in civil penalties for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and Texas state pollution laws and requires a $118 million payment to upgrade three petrochemical manufacturing plants located in Texas’s “Cancel Alley”.
• Dec. 14, 2021: Todd Kim, assistant attorney general of ENRD, says his division will prioritize enforcement of the criminal provisions of environmental laws, as well as fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice when they are committed alongside environmental violations. He says he is “paying particular attention” to corporate violators of civil or criminal laws implicating environmental justice or climate change. 
• Nov. 9, 2021: For the first time, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announces it will open an environmental justice investigation into the wastewater disposal and infectious disease and outbreaks programs of the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Lowndes County, Alabama, Health Department. CRD will examine whether these departments violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by forcing Black residents to “disproportionately and unjustifiably bear the risk of adverse health effects associated with inadequate wastewater treatment.” Catherine Flowers, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and now member of the WHEJAC, has long called attention to these issues, including instigating a study in 2017 that more than one in three residents in Lowndes County tested positive for hookworm infection.
• Sep. 28, 2021: Chief of the recently created Environmental Justice Team at EDNY, Matt Silverman, states that the team’s mission is to advance environmental justice in all activities, not only in enforcement, but also in supporting environmental cleanups, new infrastructure, and permitting actions. Silverman highlighted the ample tools available under existing law that can be used to safeguard environmental protections for vulnerable communities. (For more on DOJ’s Title VI regulations and attempted rollbacks under former President Trump, see EELP’s analysis here.)
• Sep. 15, 2021: The Civil Rights Division, with other offices, will conduct a review of DOJ’s implementation and administrative enforcement of Title VI and the nondiscrimination provisions of the Safe Streets Act among recipients of federal funding. This review will be informed by DOJ’s  Equity Team implementing Biden’s Racial Equity Executive Order (EO 13985).
• April, 2021: The ENRD-EPA Victim Assistance Team (VAT) (see “New Initiatives” below for more on VAT) develops new victims’ rights materials to assist prosecutors and investigators in protecting the rights of environmental crime victims, including model charging language, a victim impact statement template, and issues checklist.
• Feb. 4, 2021: ENRD’s Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jean Williams withdraws nine Trump-era documents defining enforcement priorities and procedures. The withdrawal includes the Trump administration’s ban on the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). Restoring the use of SEPs allows ENRD to require polluters to invest directly in communities affected by environmental violations, in addition to paying fines to the Treasury. For more on the Trump-era policy, see DOJ Phases Out Supplemental Environmental Projects in Environmental Enforcement.

• Dec. 19, 2022 DOJ seeks applications from federally recognized tribes and tribal consortia for funding to develop a comprehensive and coordinated approach to public safety and victimization. There are seven separate grant programs within this funding opportunity, covering areas including the Tribal Justice System Infrastructure Program and Tribal Youth Program, among others. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov by Mar. 21, 2023, and through JustGrants at JustGrants.usdoj.gov by March 28, 2023. Funding Opportunity No. O-BJA-2023-171471. For more details about these grant opportunities, click here.
• April 12, 2021: President Biden’s FY 2022 budget request includes $44 million for DOJ’s environmental justice efforts. However, only $5 of the $44 million would go to ENRD, while the remaining $39 million would go to the Bureau of Prisons to address facility repair and enhanced sustainability. The budget request also includes an additional $33 million for DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Community Relations Service, and other programs addressing police reform, the prosecution of hate crimes, and enforcing voting rights.

• May 11, 2023 DOJ launches a new Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Environmental Crimes Task Force to investigate and prosecute violations of federal environmental, wildlife, and human health laws, with a core focus on environmental justice-related violations. The task force will bring together enforcement staff from various agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, FBI, and HUD.
• Dec. 19, 2022 DOJ launches the Law Enforcement Language Access Initiative to help law enforcement agencies provide meaningful language assistance to members of the public with limited English proficiency. This initiative will be overseen by the Civil Rights Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section withU.S. Attorney’s Offices.
• Nov. 21, 2022 The Attorney General issues a memo on strengthening the federal government’s commitment to language access. The memo directs the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights to work with other federal agencies to share best practices on language access initiatives, including (1) updating agencies’ language access plans, (2) assessing whether agencies are effectively reaching populations with limited English proficiency, (3) assessing whether recipients of federal financial assistance are in compliance with the language access requirements of Title VI, and (4) adapting digital communications for people with limited English proficiency. The memo also requires agencies to provide an updated language access plan within 180 days.
• Nov. 1, 2022: As part of the DOJ’s Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky appoints Environmental Justice Coordinators to address environmental justice concerns brought to the office. The coordinators will additionally spearhead efforts to remedy environmental violations by pursuing actions under relevant civil rights, worker safety, and consumer protection statutes
• Oct. 12, 2022: The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee implements new public reporting procedures for environmental violations and issues relating to environmental justice. The new procedures will be established under the Department of Justice’s Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy which seeks to remedy systemic environmental violations and contaminations in underserved, marginalized, and overburdened communities.
• Oct. 4, 2022: The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio establishes a new environmental justice initiative to enforce environmental laws and prosecute violations leading to discriminatory environmental and health impacts. This effort is consistent with DOJ’s new comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy, which requires U.S. Attorney’s Offices to “establish and publicize a procedure for members of the public to report environmental justice concerns within that office’s jurisdiction.”
• May 5, 2022: DOJ announces the launch of the first-ever Office of Environmental Justice within ENRD, which will “support [EJ] investigations and litigation and facilitate outreach by [DOJ] to communities with environmental justice concerns.” The agency also releases a new “comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy,” developed in partnership with EPA. The strategy will guide DOJ’s litigations, investigators, and US attorneys in enforcing federal environmental laws.
• April 14, 2022: DOJ releases its first ever Equity Action Plan, as required under Executive Order 13985. The plan includes steps to address the inclusion of equity considerations in DOJ grant processes; improve communication with communities with limited English proficiency; and continue efforts to reform law enforcement practices, including new guidance for federal prosecutors. The summary of DOJ’s Equity Action Plan can also be found here. 
• Mar. 28, 2022: The Biden Administration’s proposed FY 2023 budget includes $1.4 million to establish an Office for Environmental Justice. The budget also includes $6.5 million for DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) to “secur[e] environmental justice and combat[] the climate crisis.” 
• Dec. 6, 2021: The same day as the first Tribal Nations Summit since 2016, the White House releases a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by 17 federal agencies, including DOJ, committing to increase consultation and collaboration with Tribes in recognition of existing treaty and reserved rights. The MOU includes agency-specific commitmemts including to create a searchable treaty database, and integrate tribal treaty and reserved rights early into agency decision-making, in particular work to address the climate crisis. (See pp. 3-4 of the MOU for more).
• Oct. 29, 2021: Attorney General Garland restores DOJ’s Office for Access to Justice, which aims to provide services to people who cannot afford lawyers and increase legal representation for historically underserved communities. In a report, DOJ outlines a phased approach to restoring and expanding the office’s functions.
• June 24, 2021: Acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Jackquelyn Kasulis, announced the creation of an Environmental Justice Team in the Office’s Civil Division to address environmental hazards in overburdened communities.

• June 9, 2021: DOJ and EPA announce a new interagency Environmental Crime Victim Assistance Program, which “will help achieve environmental justice by ensuring crime victims in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harm are able to equally participate in the criminal justice system.” Prosecutors will invoke crime victim statutes to obtain compensation for environmental crime victims.
• Jan. 27, 2021: President Biden tasks DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) with creating a “comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy” in his Climate Crisis Executive Order. In the same order, Biden also asks DOJ to consider creating an Office of Environmental Justice within ENRD to coordinate EJ-related activities within the DOJ and States Attorneys’ Offices.

• Nov. 16, 2022: DOJ appoints Cynthia Ferguson as the Director of the Office of Environmental Justice where she will spearhead efforts to align bureaus, components, and offices across DOJ in the collective pursuit of environmental justice. Since beginning her career at DOJ in 2000, Ferguson has served in several roles in the Environmental and Natural Resources Division including – most recently – as the acting director of the Office of Environmental Justice since May 2022. DOJ further announced the appointment of Daria Neal as the Civil Rights Division Liaison to the Office of Environmental Justice. Neal concurrently serves as leader of the Title VI / Environmental Justice Committee of the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council.
• Nov. 4, 2022: The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi designates Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Coleman as the district’s Environmental Justice Coordinator. As Coordinator, Coleman will oversee the Office’s efforts to address environmental concerns and reports within the District. The new reporting procedures are part of the Department of Justice’s Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy
• June 1, 2022: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announces Caroline McLean will become the office’s new environmental justice coordinator. Her job will include overseeing the office’s EJ strategy and prosecution of criminal and civil environmental cases in low-income and minority areas.
• May 19, 2022: AG Garland names Rachel Rossi to lead DOJ’s Office for Access to Justice, which has led the agency’s efforts to address the housing and eviction crisis, increase access to legal aid, promote bail reform, and address barriers to reentry for previously incarcerated people. The office was created under President Obama, and shut down under President Trump. Rossi previously worked as a state and federal public defender in Los Angeles, and as criminal justice counsel to Senator Dick Durbin.
• May 5, 2022: Cynthia Ferguson is named acting director of DOJ’s new Office of Environmental Justice within ENRD. Ferguson previously served as ENRD’s senior litigation counsel for environmental justice, and represents DOJ on the White House Interagency Environmental Justice Council.
• Mar. 9, 2022: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia appoints its first environmental justice coordinator, Max Nogay, to respond to air, water, and hazardous waste issues raised by West Virginia citizens. Nogay will enforce both civil and criinal environmental laws, attend relevant community meetings, and coordinate trainings for prosecutors and investigators.
• July 27, 2021: The Senate votes 58 to 41 to confirm Todd Kim to lead ENRD. Kim originally joined the Biden administration as deputy general counsel in the Department of Energy. Kim previously worked as an appellate attorney at ENRD, and was the District of Columbia’s first solicitor general.
• May 25, 2021: The Senate votes 51 to 48 to confirm Kristen Clarke to lead DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, making her the first woman of color to lead the Division. Clarke previously served as president for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She began her career at DOJ where she prosecuted policy brutality, hate crimes, human trafficking cases and enforced voting rights laws.
• April 21, 2021: The Senate votes 51 to 49 to confirm civil rights attorney Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general, the third-highest position at DOJ. Gupta is the first woman of color to serve in the position, where she will oversee both CRD and ENRD.