EPA Revises Guidance On Assessing Environmental Justice In Regulatory Analysis

On November 15, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") released a draft revision of the Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis ("Guidance"). The draft Guidance updates EPA's original environmental justice ("EJ") technical guidance published in 2016. The Guidance is an internal EPA policy that outlines and refines how EPA should evaluate EJ concerns in regulatory actions.¹ While it is an internal-facing document, the Guidance is the latest example of the Biden Administration's continued focus on advancing EJ.

EPA DRAFT GUIDANCE OVERVIEW

The Guidance directs EPA to assess whether EJ concerns exist prior to the agency taking a regulatory action, such as notice of a rulemaking, and whether such concerns are likely to be exacerbated or mitigated by the regulatory action. According to EPA, the proposed revisions reflect the "state of the science; new peer-reviewed agency guidance; and new terminology, priorities,