EJ in Air Permitting - Principles for Addressing Environmental Justice Concerns in Air Permitting
Pursuant to a permanent injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on August 22, 2024, EPA will not impose or enforce any disparate-impact or cumulative-impact-analysis requirements under Title VI against any entity in the State of Louisiana. Click here for additional and updated information.
On December 22, 2022, EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation issued 8 principles to guide consideration of environmental justice in Clean Air Act (CAA) permitting decisions. The principles provide an interim operating framework for identifying, analyzing, and addressing environmental justice concerns in air permitting as EPA continues to build more tools and explore additional opportunities to advance environmental justice and equity with its co-regulatory partners, communities, and other stakeholders.
The principles promote consistent use of best practices EPA and many of its co-regulatory partners have developed over time, including early identification of potential environmental justice concerns in specific locations, and early, ongoing engagement with affected communities throughout the permitting process. The principles also recognize the various types of Clean Air Act permits and the need to determine the appropriate scope of an environmental justice analysis and appropriate permit terms and conditions on a case-by-case basis considering all available authorities.
The principles are intended for use by EPA’s regional offices in Federal air permitting decisions. EPA Regions are also encouraged to share these principles with state, tribal and local partners for feedback and to work proactively and collaboratively with those partners to facilitate consideration and application of these principles in their air permitting actions.