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U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Justice & External Civil Rights (OEJECR) staff joined the December 2022 ECOS EJ Workgroup meeting to give an overview on the new review process for Form 4700-4, Preaward Compliance Review Report for All Applicants and Recipients Requesting EPA Financial Assistance.

The goal of this document is to provide a framework of principles and practices to assist each
EPA region to promote environmental justice and equity through air permitting programs using
existing CAA authorities and discretion, federal civil rights laws, as well as other federal and
state laws that may help to mitigate potential adverse and disproportionate effects of a permitting
action.

On November 9, 2022, the ECOS Air Committee and ECOS EJ Workgroup held a joint call with U.S. EPA, specifically EPA Region 5 leadership to discuss EJ considerations in air permitting.

This report focuses on cumulative impact research recommendations that cut across the
National Research Programs and offers recommendations for how ORD can provide management
support for such complex research.

In August 2022, U.S. EPA published their Interim Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). These FAQs provide information to federal, state, and local environmental
permitting programs to help them meet their responsibilities to integrate environmental justice and civil rights into relevant environmental permitting processes. This is a “living document” that EPA will update and refine as the practice of integrating EJ and civil rights into permitting advances.

In May 2022, U.S. EPA published their EPA Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice. This resource is intended to help EPA, together with its state, tribal, and local partners, achieve the shared goal of protecting the health and environment of all personas across the United States and in all communities.

In April 2022, U.S. EPA published their Equity Action Plan. EPA has identified six priority actions as the core of its Equity Action Plan. These priority actions form a critical foundation on which to build meaningful engagement with underserved communities; achieve more equitable and just outcomes, including pollution reductions in communities with environmental justice concerns; and deliver other tangible benefits to underserved communities, consistent with applicable legal authorities.

In March 2022, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) and U.S. EPA Region 8 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance environmental justice through enforcement and compliance assurance efforts in and effecting communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and/or historicallly marginalized, overburdended, and underserved communities.