[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76446-76448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21121]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Request for Comments on the Strategic Plan to Advance 
Environmental Justice

AGENCY: Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the Department of 
Commerce Environmental Justice Committee seeks public comment to inform 
its Strategic Plan to Advance Environmental Justice (Strategy). 
Commerce is seeking input from the public, especially people and 
communities with environmental justice concerns who are potentially 
affected by Commerce activities including planning, regulatory actions, 
implementation, permitting, compliance, and enforcement related to 
human health or the environment.

DATES: Written comments are requested on or before October 18, 2024 and 
must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. eastern time (ET) on that 
date. Written submissions received after that date may not be 
considered. Commerce will not reply individually to responders but will 
consider all comments submitted by the deadline.

ADDRESSES: 
    Instructions: You may submit comments for 30 days, identified by 
DOC-2024-0009 by the following methods:
    Online (Strongly Preferred) Submit all electronic public comments 
via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov 
and enter DOC-2024-0009 in the Search.
    Email: Comments submitted by email to [email protected] should be 
machine-readable and should not be copy-protected.

Requirements for Submissions

    To be assured of consideration, submit any written comments by the 
October 18, 2024 deadline. All submissions must be in English. Commerce 
strongly encourages submissions via regulations.gov. The docket number 
is DOC-2024-0009.
    To submit via regulations.gov, use Docket Number DOC-2024-0009 in 
the `search for' field on the home page and click `search'. The site 
will provide a search results page listing all documents associated 
with this docket. Find a reference to this notice by selecting `notice' 
under `document type' in the `refine documents results' section on the 
left side of the screen and click on the link entitled `comment'. 
Regulations.gov allows users to make submissions by filling in a `type 
comment' field, or by attaching a document using the `upload file' 
field. Commerce prefers that you provide submissions in an attached 
document named according to the following protocol, as appropriate: 
Commenter Name or Organization and ``Commerce Environmental Justice 
Strategy''. If you provide submissions in an attached document, please 
type `see attached comments' in the `comment' field on the online 
submission form.
    Please include the name, email address, and telephone number of an 
individual Commerce can contact if there are issues or questions with 
the submission. You will receive a tracking number upon completion of 
the submission procedure at Regulations.gov. The tracking number is 
confirmation that Regulations.gov received your submission. Keep the 
confirmation for your records.

[[Page 76447]]

Business Confidential Information Submissions

    Please do not submit any confidential information; such information 
may be posted and become part of the public record.

Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    Commerce will post written submissions in the docket for public 
inspection. You can view comments on Regulations.gov by entering Docket 
Number DOC-2024-0009 in the search field on the home page.
    Commerce is not able to provide technical assistance for 
regulations.gov. For further information on using regulations.gov, 
please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on 
`How to Use Regulations.gov' on the bottom of the home page. You can 
contact the regulations.gov help desk at [email protected] or 
1-866-498-2945 for help with technical questions on submitting comments 
on regulations.gov.
    If you are unable to submit through regulations.gov after seeking 
assistance from the help desk, please contact Sarah Watling at 
[email protected] before transmitting your application and in advance of 
the deadline to arrange for an alternative method of transmission. 
Commerce will not accept hand-delivered submissions. Commerce may not 
consider submissions that you do not make in accordance with these 
instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Watling, Resilience, Climate 
Adaptation, and Environmental Justice Program Manager, telephone 202-
875-9023; or emails at [email protected]
    Please direct media inquiries to Department of Commerce, Office of 
the Secretary Main Office of Public Affairs, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Executive Order (E.O.) 14096 on Revitalizing Our Nation's 
Commitment to Environmental Justice for All advances the Federal 
government's efforts to deliver real, measurable progress on 
environmental justice.\1\ E.O.14096, issued on April 21, 2023, charges 
Federal agencies to exercise leadership and immediately strengthen 
their efforts to address environmental injustice. The order makes clear 
that the pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all executive 
branch agencies and that agencies should be taking actions now to 
incorporate this charge into their missions.\2\ Agency strategic 
planning under the order will play a key role in fulfilling E.O.14096's 
mandate of revitalizing the commitment of all Federal agencies to 
advance environmental justice.
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    \1\ E.O.14096, Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to 
Environmental Justice for All, 88 FR 25251 (April 21, 2023), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/26/2023-08955/revitalizing-our-nationscommitment-to-environmental-justice-for-all.
    \2\ The White House, Fact Sheet: President Biden Signs Executive 
Order to Revitalize Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice 
for All (April 21, 2023), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statementsreleases/2023/04/21/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-executive-order-to-revitalize-our-nations-commitment-toenvironmental-justice-for-all/.
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    E.O.14096 directs all Federal agencies in the executive branch to 
develop Environmental Justice Strategic Plans (Strategic Plans) that 
are tied to specific performance and accountability measures outlined 
in section 4 of E.O. 14096. As such, Strategic Plans are vital to 
pursuing a whole-of-government approach to environmental justice. 
Commerce recognizes the importance of an inclusive review and feedback 
process to inform this Strategy. The Department of Commerce's Strategy 
seeks to catalyze a new era of transparency, consistency, and 
accountability for environmental justice.
    Other topics in E.O. 14096 are being addressed separately by 
Commerce and other agencies. This request for information pertains 
solely to collecting feedback on the proposed strategic goals. The 
public is encouraged to provide input in response to the questions 
listed to help the Commerce understand the potential environmental 
justice impact of its Strategy.
    E.O. 14096 section 4(b) directs Federal agencies to set forth the 
agency's vision, goals, priority actions, and metrics to address and 
advance environmental justice. The Strategic Plan shall identify and 
address opportunities through regulations, policies, permits, or other 
means to improve accountability and compliance with any statute the 
agency administers that affects the health and environment of 
communities with environmental justice concerns. Among those actions, 
section 4(a) directs Commerce to create a Strategic Plan no later than 
18 months after the date of the E.O. and every 4 years thereafter. The 
Strategic Plan shall be submitted to the Chair of the White House 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and made available to the public 
online.
    To assist in these endeavors, Commerce requests information from 
the public on the goals and objectives provided below.
    Goal 1: Center just treatment and meaningful involvement of 
communities with environmental justice concerns in decision-making.
    a. Broaden the participation of communities with environmental 
justice concerns in decision-making processes to better reflect 
community priorities.
    b. Improve collaboration and two-way communication between the 
Department of Commerce, state, Tribal, insular areas, local 
governments, and communities with environmental justice concerns to 
expand access to information on planning, regulations, and enforcement 
related to human health, access to resources and the environment.
    c. Base decision-making on equitably collected and inclusive data 
that ensures representation of pertinent information from communities 
potentially affected by agency level actions.
    Goal 2: Use targeted investments, programs and research to advance 
environmental justice and support communities impacted by the climate 
crisis.
    a. Ensure overall benefits of certain federal investments reach 
disadvantaged communities that are marginalized and overburdened by 
pollution and underinvestment through the Justice40 Initiative, CHIPS, 
and additional environmental justice programs.
    b. Promote inclusive research approaches and methods to integrate 
diverse perspectives and data sources in environmental justice efforts.
    c. Carry out environmental reviews under the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) in a manner that advances environmental justice, 
including considering disproportionate and adverse effects of proposed 
actions on communities with environmental justice concerns.
    Goal 3: Harness data to identify, address, and mitigate 
environmental disparities, ensuring equitable access to resources and 
opportunities for underserved communities.
    a. Analyze gaps and inadequacies in data and research related to 
the climate crisis and environmental justice.
    b. Develop procedures for equitable data access, transparency and 
accountability to expand opportunities for communities with 
environmental justice concerns
    c. Create a centralized environmental justice reporting repository 
to monitor environmental justice implementation and make it publicly 
available.
    Goal 4: Institutionalize Environmental Justice in Programs, 
Policies, Procedures and Activities.

[[Page 76448]]

    a. Identify and address environmental justice concerns in agency 
programs, policies, procedures and activities.
    b. Incorporate environmental justice principles into employee 
training programs to ensure that all staff understand their role in 
promoting environmental justice and are equipped with the necessary 
tools and knowledge.
    c. Expand and promote department-wide capacity for environmental 
justice through training employees, incorporating it into relevant work 
plans, and hiring staff with environmental justice expertise.

Request for Written Comments

    This notice is intended to improve Commerce's understanding of 
public views on how the Department should advance environmental 
justice. This notice is a general solicitation for public comments and 
further sets forth specific topics for discussion and comment. Commerce 
seeks broad input from all interested stakeholders, including people 
and communities with environmental justice concerns as well as the 
public. Commenters are encouraged to address the following and may 
comment with general views or provide specific information about a 
specific topic. Responses may be formatted as the commenter prefers.
    Comments will be reviewed by Commerce staff and as appropriate, 
Commerce contractors, and may be used to inform the agency's work on 
advancing environmental justice.

Topics

    To help guide input, Commerce would appreciate feedback on the 
following five questions:
    1. Do the draft environmental justice strategic goals address 
general interests and concerns about the advancement of environmental 
justice by Commerce? Why or why not?
    2. What actions should Commerce undertake to advance environmental 
justice?
    3. What performance measures or metrics should Commerce establish 
to monitor progress towards advancing environmental justice?
    4. What are examples of successful collaborations between Federal 
agencies and Tribal, territorial, local, and State governments or 
communities with environmental justice concerns?
    5. How can Commerce better engage and collaborate effectively with 
Tribes, both federally and non-federally recognized, Native Hawaiian 
organizations, and Indigenous Peoples, including Indigenous migrant 
communities?

    Dated: September 12, 2024.
Sarah E. Watling,
Resilience, Climate Adaptation, and Environmental Justice Program 
Office, Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2024-21121 Filed 9-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P