Throughout the Remedial Investigation Phase of our Act 2 requirements, we have continued to involve the public in various ways and remain committed to finding ways to meaningfully engage the public in future meetings, both in our own public meetings and through participation in Hilco community meetings. We have not and will not intentionally discriminate against any group of people in our public involvement.
Evergreen’s work at this site is overseen by both the U.S. EPA and PA DEP. We look forward to working alongside these agencies, as well as Hilco and the interested public, as we move forward in the Act 2 remediation process and as Hilco works toward redeveloping the site. This will include additional Evergreen public meetings, participation in Hilco’s community meetings, and continually updating our website, phillyrefinerycleanup.info. This is where we house all relevant reports, documents, background, and presentations, as well as ways for the public to submit comments and questions, and a full record of all past questions and answers.
The following response was provided by the USEPA on 1/8/2021: Our regional Environmental Justice program, and the national Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) coordinates the Agency’s efforts to integrate environmental justice into all policies, programs, and activities. Our mission is to facilitate the Agency efforts to protect environment and public health in minority, low-income, tribal and other vulnerable communities by integrating environmental justice in all programs, policies and activities.
Below is an outline of key information on understanding our position on practicing environmental justice in our communities:
Environmental justice (EJ) is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.
Fair treatment means no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies.
Meaningful involvement means: • People have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health; • The public’s contribution can influence the regulatory agency’s decision; • Community concerns will be considered in the decision-making process; and • Decision makers will seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.
EPA and Environmental Justice
EPA’s goal is to provide an environment where all people enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to maintain a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.
EPA’s environmental justice mandate extends to all of the Agency’s work, including: • Setting standards • Permitting facilities • Awarding grants • Issuing licenses • Regulations • Reviewing proposed actions by the federal agencies
For more information or additional questions, please contact Reggie Harris, Branch Chief, Communities and Tribes Branch Office of Communities, Tribes and Environmental Assessment at harris.reggie@epa.gov or 215 814-2998.
Also, please refer to this link for more information read the Factsheet about the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/sXusC82A22U79jQtn9IDy