EPA Justice Shift May Boost Enforcement in Polluted Communities
- Environmental justice should be in EPA’s DNA, Regan says
- Policy aims to bolster communities bearing brunt of pollution
Photographer: Luke Sharett/Bloomberg
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EPA Administrator Michael Regan is pushing to make environmental justice a top priority at the agency by directing changes that could spur stiffer enforcement of pollution violations in disadvantaged communities near highways, factories and refineries.
The initiative, which Regan is detailing in a memo to Environmental Protection Agency staff Wednesday, also could spur the distribution of more grants to underserved communities as well as deepen efforts to weigh how EPA policies directly affect people living in neighborhoods long battered by pollution.