Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice (EJ) is defined by the US EPA as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.”

EJ initiatives stem from the observation that low-income, disadvantaged communities may be disproportionately at risk from adverse environmental impacts due to a variety of factors.  As such, EJ is becoming increasingly integrated into traditional human health risk assessments.

Legal requirements for the application of EJ policies at both the federal and state level have come in the form of setting environmental standards, developing permit requirements for new or existing facilities, and meeting additional obligations under proposed rules and laws.  Gradient has experience applying EJ principles on proposed infrastructure projects and has advanced the science around the intersection between EJ issues and human health risk assessment.

See Gradient’s EJ Services

Links:

“Recent US EPA Actions Related to Environmental Justice” from Gradient news