The Department of Housing and Urban Development has released a draft Environmental Justice Strategy. This EJ strategy is a four-year plan to address environmental justice concerns and increase access to environmental benefits through HUD policies, programs, and activities. This release follows the Administration-wide effort to ensure stronger protection from environmental and health hazards for all Americans. In August, federal agencies signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898 (EJ MOU), which committed each agency to, among other things, finalizing an EJ strategy and releasing annual implementation reports.
HUD’s draft strategy will be open for public comment for 45 days, or until November 14, 2011. Comments can be submitted by emailing EJStrategy@hud.gov or by attending an Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice Listening Session. The department will then review those comments and finalize the strategy by February 2012.
The Draft Environmental Justice Strategy can be accessed at: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/sustainable_housing_communities/HUD_Draft_Environmental_Justice_Strategy
Comments may be emailed to: EJStrategy@hud.gov
Links to the other federal EJ Strategies are expected to be posted on the Interagency Working Group webpage at http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/index.html by Friday, October 7th.
For more information about the EJ MOU:
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/index.html
