[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 215 (Monday, November 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66539-66540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-28420]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6897-7]


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 the subcommittee meetings will take place at 
the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel, 2700 Jefferson Davis Highway, 
Arlington, Virginia 22202. The meeting dates are as follows: December 
11, 2000 through December 14, 2000. This is the third 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 relating to environmental justice including, 
among other things, ``advice for improving how EPA and others 
participate, cooperate, and communicate within the Agency and between 
other Federal agencies, State, or local governments, Federally 
recognized Tribes, EJ leaders, interest groups, and the public.'' The 
Agency, through the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), requests 
that the NEJAC convene a focused and issue-oriented public meeting in 
Arlington, VA to receive comments, discuss, and analyze a major public 
policy issue. 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

    What progress has the Federal government made towards integrating 
environmental justice into its policies, programs, and activities 
consistent with existing laws and Executive Order 12898?

Background

    Developing integrated strategies plays a vital role for achieving 
environmental justice for all Federal agencies and is consistent with 
the missions of those agencies. Executive Order 12898, ``Federal 
Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and 
Low-Income Populations,'' represents an important first step towards 
realizing the goal of achieving environmental justice throughout the 
Federal government.
    The Executive Order requires that each Federal agency shall, to the 
greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, make achieving 
environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and 
addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human 
health or environmental effects on minority and low-income populations. 
Specifically, the Executive Order directs Federal agencies to:
    (1) Develop a strategic plan to integrate environmental justice 
into their activities;
    (2) Conduct activities in a manner that ensures that they do not 
have the effect of excluding people and groups from public 
participation opportunities or the benefits of such activities;
    (3) Include diverse segments of the population in studies involving 
human health and environmental hazards;
    (4) Collect, maintain and analyze information on consumption 
patterns of populations who rely principally on fish and wildlife for 
subsistence;
    (5) Enhance public participation opportunities and the 
accessibility of meetings and documents; and,
    (6) Develop interagency model projects on environmental justice 
that evidence cooperation among Federal agencies.

Purpose

    Much can be gained from an examination of the successes, failures 
and challenges encountered by Federal agencies in integrating 
environmental justice during the past 6\1/2\ years. While there have 
been significant accomplishments and important initiatives, attempts to 
integrate environmental justice also have encountered tremendous 
barriers and challenges. A thoughtful examination will prove invaluable 
for understanding how future strategies for integrating environmental 
justice can be made more effective.
    NEJAC's examination of environmental justice implementation 
throughout the Federal government should be forward-looking. The 
analysis should identify lessons learned from implementation of the 
Executive Order and make recommendations for future efforts to address 
environmental justice. Since issues of environmental justice are often 
complex, multi-faceted and cross-cutting, they require new approaches 
on the part of the Federal government. Coordinated interagency 
strategies are critical, including the development of community-based 
interagency demonstration projects.
    NEJAC will examine interagency environmental justice implementation 
in two basic areas: (1) Progress and lessons gained from individual 
agency

[[Page 66540]]

implementation; and, (2) development of collaborative interagency 
strategies.

Meeting

    Registration for the NEJAC meeting will begin on Monday, December 
11, 2000 at 8 a.m. The full NEJAC will convene Monday, December 11, 
2000, and Tuesday, December 12, 2000 from 9 a.m. to 5 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. A public comment period dedicated to the focused 
policy issue is scheduled for Monday evening, December 11, 2000, from 
6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. On Tuesday evening, December 12, 2000, a second 
public comment period for overall environmental justice issues is 
scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The following Subcommittees will 
meet on Wednesday, December 13, 2000, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Air and 
Water; Enforcement; Health and Research; Indigenous Peoples; 
International; and Waste and Facility Siting. The full NEJAC will 
reconvene Thursday, December 14, 2000, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to wrap up 
all business requiring Executive Council action. All times shown are 
Eastern Time.
    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 and  Telephone Number
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enforcement...................................  Ms. Shirley Pate  202/564-2607
Health & Research.............................  Ms. Brenda Washington  202/564-6781
                                                Ms. Aretha Brockett  202/260-3810
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 & 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 December 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 December 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 Ms. Victoria 
Robinson 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 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://es.epa.gov/oeca/main/ej/nejac/index.html.

    Dated: October 31, 2000.
Charles Lee,
Designated Federal Official, National Environmental Justice Advisory 
Council.
[FR Doc. 00-28420 Filed 11-3-00; 8:45 am]
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