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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 22, 2010

EPA, Congressional Black Caucus Announce Joint Environmental Justice Tour

Jackson, Miss. marks first stop on tour highlighting impact of environmental issues onunderserved communities

WASHINGTON U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson andU.S. Representative Barbara Lee, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, todayannounced plans to visit American communities most ravaged by environmentaldegradation and pollution. The joint EPA-CBC Environmental Justice Tour will visitseveral areas throughout the country to highlight environmental justice challengesfaced by Americans in all communities. The tour will also include stops in SouthCarolina, Maryland, and Georgia among other states.

Mississippi marks the first stop on the tour with visits to Greenville and Jackson onJanuary 22-24. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) will host Administrator Jackson inGreenville where both a roundtable discussion with regional mayors and tour of a localwater treatment plant are slated. In Jackson, EPA and the CBC will host anEnvironmental Justice Conference at Jackson State University with the participation ofcommunity leaders, elected officials, students and religious leaders.

Environmental justice is a priority for EPA and must be part of every action we take.Im proud to join Representative Lee and members of the Congressional Black Caucus intaking that message directly to our communities, said Administrator Jackson. Bymeeting people where they are and talking to them about the challenges they face, wecan broadly expand the conversation on environmentalism. Instead of being left furtherbehind, these communities can begin work on solutions to improve their health, theenvironment and the economy.

The consequences of global climate change, disastrous trends of environmentaldegradation, and our nations perilous dependence on fossil fuels are being felt incommunities here in the United States and around the world, especially in communitiesof color, said CBC Chair Barbara Lee. As our nation moves forward to address theenvironmental injustices and health impacts of climate change, and seeks to developresponsible solutions for our energy crisis through the establishment of greenbusinesses, jobs and job training, African American Communities must have increasedaccess to opportunities in our ever-evolving green economy.

I am glad that Administrator Jackson chose Mississippi for her first visit. It shows thatshes interested in environmental issues related to our district, said CongressmanBennie G. Thompson.

The environmental justice movement was started by individuals, primarily people ofcolor, who sought to address the inequity of environmental protection in theircommunities. Grounded in the struggles of the 1960s civil rights movement, theenvironmental justice movement sounded the alarm about the public health dangers fortheir families, their communities and themselves. In 1990, the Congressional BlackCaucus and a bipartisan coalition of academic, social scientists and political activistsmet with EPA officials to discuss their findings that environmental risk was higher for

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minority and low-income populations. In response, the then-EPA administrator createdthe Environmental Equity Workgroup in July 1990 to address these issues. EPAsenvironmental justice office was later established in 1992.

The principles of environmental justice uphold the idea that all communities particularly minority and underserved communities deserve the same degree of

protection from environmental and health hazards, equal access to the decision-makingprocess and a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. This tour is meantto highlight the environmental challenges facing poor and undeserved communitiesacross America.

Administrator Jackson has made promoting environmental justice and expanding theconversation of environmentalism one of the seven key priorities of her tenure at EPA.Since taking office she has appointed a Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and aSenior Counsel for External Civil Rights in order to focus the agencys efforts to addressthe health and environmental burdens faced by communities disproportionatelyimpacted by pollution. Most recently, and consistent with this commitment, the agencyannounced that it would asses the impacts of its hazardous waste rule ondisadvantaged communities. This action will also be used to inform EPAs ongoing effortto strengthen the consideration of environmental justice in rulemakings.

The Congressional Black Caucus, under the auspices of its Energy & EnvironmentTaskforce, is actively engaged on a host of environmental issues including green jobs,climate change, alternative energy options and environmental justice issues. Togetherwith community and business leaders, faith networks and other relevant stakeholders,members of the CBC are continuing to develop a Green Agenda that comprehensivelybuilds healthy families and sustainable communities by increasing access toopportunities provided by the federal government.