[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 69 (Monday, April 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18993-18995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8836]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6575-6]


National Environmental Justice Advisory Council; Notification of 
Meeting and Public Comment Period(s); Open Meetings

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), Public Law 
92-463, we now give notice that the National Environmental Justice 
Advisory Council (NEJAC), along with the various subcommittees will 
meet on the dates and times described below. All times noted are 
Eastern Standard Time. All meetings are open to the public. Due to 
limited space, seating at the NEJAC meeting will be on a first-come 
basis. Documents that are the subject of NEJAC reviews are normally 
available from the originating EPA office and are not available from 
the NEJAC. The NEJAC and subcommittee meetings will take place at the 
Omni Hotel at CNN Center, 100 Center Street, Atlanta, GA 30335. The 
meeting dates are as follows: May 23 , 2000 through May 26, 2000. All 
times shown are Eastern Time. This is the second in a series of focused 
policy issue meetings for the NEJAC. To help prepare for this specific 
focused policy issue meeting the following background information is 
provided:

Request

    The Charter for the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council 
(NEJAC) states that NEJAC shall provide independent advice to the 
Administrator on areas that may include, among other things, ``the 
direction, criteria, scope, and adequacy of the EPA's scientific 
research and demonstration projects'' relating to environment justice. 
In order to provide such independent advice, the Agency, through the 
Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), requests that the NEJAC convene 
a focused and issue-oriented public meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. The 
meeting shall be used to receive comments on, discuss, and analyze 
federal efforts to make community-based strategies in the area of 
disease prevention and health improvement more effective. The Agency, 
furthermore, requests that the NEJAC produce a comprehensive report on 
the differing views, interests, concerns, and perspectives expressed by 
the stakeholder participants on the issue, and provide advice and 
recommendations for the Agency's review and consideration.

Issue

    The meeting will focus on federal efforts to secure disease 
prevention and health improvement in communities where health 
disparities exist that may result from, or be exacerbated by, 
disproportionate effects of environmental pollutants and certain 
socioeconomic and cultural factors.
    (1) What strategies and areas of research* should be pursued to 
achieve more effective, integrated community-based health assessment, 
intervention, and prevention efforts?
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    *Research in this context encompasses a broad range of studies 
that may include basic science, applied research, and data 
collection. These may be carried out by: federal, state, tribal or 
local governments; universities; communities; industry; and/or 
individuals.
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    (2) How should these strategies be developed, implemented and 
evaluated so as to insure substantial participation, integration and 
collaboration among federal agencies, in partnership with: impacted 
communities; public health, medical and environmental professionals; 
academic institutions; state, tribal and local governments; and the 
private sector?
    (3) How can consideration of socioeconomic status and cultural 
factors: (a) Contribute to health disparities and cumulative and 
disproportionate environmental effects; and (b) be incorporated into 
community health assessments?

Background

    Dr. David Satcher, the Surgeon General, recently stated that a 
major national health goal for the next ten years should be to reduce 
the health disparities that exist in this country and which are 
especially apparent in minority, low-income, and/or indigenous 
communities. Equally true is that many of these same communities bear a 
disproportionate exposure to environmental pollutants that may underlie 
and/or contribute to these disparities. When such exposures are 
combined with other social and physical living conditions present in 
these environments, the potential for health disparities is magnified 
even further.
    A growing number of researchers and community representatives have 
argued that one should not treat minority, low-income, and/or 
indigenous communities with an ``all things being equal'' approach. 
Given varying degrees of vulnerability among communities, the impacts 
of specific environmental pollutants on a given community's health and 
that community's ability to cope with such impacts often may be

[[Page 18994]]

affected dramatically by a multiplicity of factors.
    Two additional issues that arise in environmental justice 
communities are how community-based research is carried out and the 
nature and availability of health care. Environmental justice 
communities are defined as communities with significant minority, low-
income and/or indigenous populations adversely and disproportionately 
impacted by environmental pollution. First, most research targeted at 
identifying environmentally related health problems in communities does 
not take into account the need to build partnerships within the 
community. In addition, the research is focused on finding problems not 
solutions. As a result, the community usually lacks a full 
understanding of research findings and does not have the resources or 
knowledge to address the problem. Second, communities usually lack 
access to health care and even when available, practitioners often lack 
training in environmental medicine and therefore may be unable to 
provide proper diagnosis and treatment.

Discussion

    Improvements in health and living conditions are a priority for 
most residents of minority, low-income and/or indigenous communities. 
These communities also desire the ability to meaningfully participate 
in any decision-making process that affect their lives and to take 
actions to protect and improve their health. Community-based 
assessment, intervention and prevention efforts, i.e., efforts 
conducted by, with, or for communities, intended to address these 
concerns are finally beginning to take the above into consideration.
    Integrated community-based assessment, intervention and prevention 
strategies should lead to the following:
    (1) More effective integrated community-based intervention/
prevention strategies that address contributors to negative health in a 
community;
    (2) Multi-disciplinary research that elucidates specific 
vulnerabilities that result from the interaction of socioeconomic 
factors and physical environments. These vulnerabilities may be 
associated with the health disparities found among minority, low-income 
and/or indigenous populations; and
    (3) Direction on how community-based assessments can contribute to 
better understanding of causal relationships.
    The NEJAC is being requested to provide advice and recommendations 
in the following specific areas:
    (1) To assess the extent to which an integrated community-based 
public health model that includes assessment, intervention and 
prevention can contribute to disease prevention and health improvement 
in environmental justice communities;
    (2) To identify the most critical gaps in community-based 
assessment and research and to recommend strategies that federal 
agencies should employ to address them;
    (3) To identify ways in which a community-based model enhances 
ongoing research, intervention/prevention, and regulatory activities of 
EPA and other federal agencies; and
    (4) To recommend strategies and mechanisms that should be developed 
and implemented to insure a more fully integrated, collaborative effort 
by the federal agencies, working with impacted communities and other 
vital partners, to reduce these health disparities.
    Greater coordination, collaboration, and cooperation by multiple 
federal agencies is necessary. This effort should now include a number 
of health agencies that have been concerned with health disparities but 
have not recognized environmental exposures as an etiologic factor. 
Such agencies can play critical roles in providing solutions to 
environmental justice issues. EPA and other federal agencies involved 
to date in the upcoming NEJAC meeting include the National Institute 
for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the National Center for 
Environmental Health (NCEH) which will facilitate engaging the other 
key public health agencies.

Meeting

    Registration for the NEJAC meeting will begin on Tuesday, May 23, 
2000 at 4:00 p.m. A public comment period for overall environmental 
justice issues is scheduled for Tuesday, May 23, 2000, from 6:30 p.m. 
to 9:30 p.m. On Wednesday, May 24, 2000, a second public comment period 
dedicated to the focused policy issue is scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 
9:30 p.m. The full NEJAC will convene Wednesday, May 24, 2000, from 
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Business will include a series of panels with 
expert testimony on the focused policy issue, a review of ongoing NEJAC 
activities and a discussion of new business items. All subcommittees of 
the NEJAC, will meet on Thursday, May 25, 2000, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 
p.m. The full NEJAC will reconvene Friday, May 26, 2000, from 8:00 a.m. 
to 5:00 p.m. for Subcommittee reports and closing discussions.
    Any member of the public wishing additional information on the 
subcommittee meetings should contact the specific Designated Federal 
Official at the telephone number listed below.

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              Subcommittee Federal official               Telephone  No.
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Enforcement: Ms. Shirley Pate                               202/564-2607
Health and Research:
    Mr. Lawrence Martin.................................    202/564-6497
    Mr. Chen Wen........................................    202/260-4109
International: Ms. Wendy Graham.........................    202/564-6602
Indigenous Peoples: Mr. Danny Gogal.....................    202/564-2576
Waste/Facility Siting: Mr. Kent Benjamin................    202/260-2822
Air and Water:
    Mr. Wil Wilson......................................    202/564-1954
    Ms. Alice Walker....................................    202/260-1919
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    Members of the public who wish to participate in one of the public 
comment periods should pre-register by May 1, 2000. Individuals or 
groups making oral presentations during the public comment period will 
be limited to a total time of five minutes. Only one representative 
from a community, organization, or group will be allowed to speak. Any 
number of written comments can be submitted for the record. The 
suggested format for individuals making public comment should be as 
follows:

Request To Make Public Comment Speaker's Template

Name of Speaker:-------------------------------------------------------
Name of Organization/Community:----------------------------------------
Address/Phone/Fax/Email:-----------------------------------------------
Description of Concern:------------------------------------------------
Recommendations/Desired Outcome:---------------------------------------

    If you wish to submit written comments of any length (at least 50 
copies), they should also be received by May 1, 2000. Comments received 
after that date will be provided to the Council as logistics allow. All 
information should be sent to the address or fax number cited below.

Registration

    Pre-registration for all attendees is recommended. To receive a 
registration form, call the number listed below or visit the web site. 
Correspondence concerning registration should be sent to Tama Clare of 
Tetra Tech Environmental Management, Inc. at: 1881 Campus Commons, 
Suite 200, Reston, VA 20191, phone: 703/390-0641 or fax: 703/391-5876. 
Hearing-impaired individuals or non-English speaking attendees wishing 
to arrange

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for a sign language or foreign language interpreter, may make 
appropriate arrangements using these numbers also. In addition, NEJAC 
offers a toll-free Registration Hotline at 1-888/335-4299. For on-line 
registration, you may visit the Internet site: http://www.ttclients.com/nejac.

    Dated: April 4, 2000.
Marva E. King,
Acting Designated Federal Official, National Environmental Justice 
Advisory Council.
[FR Doc. 00-8836 Filed 4-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P