EPA launched a new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR), to be led by a Senate-confirmed Assistant Administrator. The new office elevates EJ and civil rights enforcement to the same level as EPA’s other major offices for the first time. EPA merged the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), the External Civil Rights Compliance Office (ECRCO), and the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center to create the new office. One of the Office’s first tasks will be to allocate $3 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in climate and environmental justice block grants. The OEJECR remains without a head, as the Biden administration has not named a nominee.