Earlier this month, EPA circulated a memorandum on "Strengthening Environmental Justice Through
Cleanup Enforcement Actions." It could significantly
increase the volume of CERCLA enforcement actions. More
importantly, if implemented appropriately, it could help reduce the
risks posed by Superfund sites in overburdened EJ communities.
The trick of course will indeed be how it's implemented. If
this becomes just another in a long line of screeds on the subject
that all Superfund cleanups take too long, it will accomplish
nothing for cleanups in general or EJ communities in particular.
That why, to me, two sentences in the memo are key:
EPA uses mapping and screening tools, including EJSCREEN, in
combination with local knowledge to help identify overburdened
communities that may be disproportionally impacted by adverse
health and environmental effects.
