PART 3. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE [71110 - 71118]
( Heading of Part 3 repealed and added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 765, Sec. 1. )
The California Environmental Protection Agency, in designing its mission for programs, policies, and standards, shall do all of the following:
(a) Conduct its programs, policies, and activities that substantially affect human health or the environment in a manner that ensures the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and income levels, including minority populations and low-income populations of the state.
(b) Promote enforcement of all health and environmental statutes within its jurisdiction in a manner that ensures the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and income levels, including minority populations and low-income populations in the state.
(c) Ensure greater public participation in the agency’s development, adoption, and implementation of environmental regulations and policies.
(d) Improve research and data collection for programs within the agency relating to the health of, and environment of, people of all races, cultures, and income levels, including minority populations and low-income populations of the state.
(e) Coordinate its efforts and share information with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(f) Identify differential patterns of consumption of natural resources among people of different socioeconomic classifications for programs within the agency.
(g) Consult with and review any information received from the Working Group on Environmental Justice established to assist the California Environmental Protection Agency in developing an agencywide strategy pursuant to Section 71113 that meets the requirements of this section.
(Added by renumbering Section 72000 by Stats. 2001, Ch. 765, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2002.)
On or before January 1, 2001, the California Environmental Protection Agency shall develop a model environmental justice mission statement for boards, departments, and offices within the agency. For purposes of this section, environmental justice has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 65040.12 of the Government Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1109, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2003.)
In developing the model environmental justice mission statement pursuant to Section 71111, the California Environmental Protection Agency shall consult with, review, and evaluate any information received from the Working Group on Environmental Justice established pursuant to Section 71113.
(Added by renumbering Section 72001.5 by Stats. 2001, Ch. 765, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2002.)
(a) On or before January 1, 2002, the Secretary for Environmental Protection shall convene a Working Group on Environmental Justice to assist the California Environmental Protection Agency in developing, on or before July 1, 2002, an agencywide strategy for identifying and addressing any gaps in existing programs, policies, or activities that may impede the achievement of environmental justice.
(b) The working group shall be composed of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Chairs of the State Air Resources Board, the California Integrated Waste Management Board, and the State Water Resources Control Board, the Director of Toxic Substances Control, the Director of Pesticide Regulation, the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Director of Planning and Research.
(c) The working group shall do all of the following on or before April 1, 2002:
(1) Examine existing data and studies on environmental justice, and consult with state, federal, and local agencies and affected communities.
(2) Recommend criteria to the Secretary for Environmental Protection for identifying and addressing any gaps in existing programs, policies, or activities that may impede the achievement of environmental justice.
(3) Recommend procedures and provide guidance to the California Environmental Protection Agency for the coordination and implementation of intraagency environmental justice strategies.
(4) Recommend procedures for collecting, maintaining, analyzing, and coordinating information relating to an environmental justice strategy.
(5) Recommend procedures to ensure that public documents, notices, and public hearings relating to human health or the environment are concise, understandable, and readily accessible to the public. The recommendation shall include guidance for determining when it is appropriate for the California Environmental Protection Agency to translate crucial public documents, notices, and hearings relating to human health or the environment for limited-English-speaking populations.
(6) Hold public meetings to receive and respond to public comments regarding recommendations required pursuant to this section, prior to the finalization of the recommendations. The California Environmental Protection Agency shall provide public notice of the availability of draft recommendations at least one month prior to the public meetings.
(7) Make recommendations on other matters needed to assist the agency in developing an intraagency environmental justice strategy.
(Added by renumbering Section 72002 by Stats. 2001, Ch. 765, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2002.)
(a) The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall, on or before January 1, 2002, convene an advisory group to assist the working group described in Section 71113 by providing recommendations and information to, and serving as a resource for, the working group. The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall appoint members to the advisory group according to the following categories:
(1) Two representatives of local or regional land use planning agencies.
(2) Two representatives from air pollution control districts or air quality management districts.
(3) Two representatives from certified unified program agencies (CUPAs).
(4) Two representatives from environmental organizations.
(5) Four representatives from the business community, two from a small business and two from a large business, except that three of these representatives may be from an association that represents small or large businesses, and at least one of the small business representatives shall be from an association that represents small businesses. As used in this paragraph, “small business” has the meaning given that term by subdivision (c) of Section 1028.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and a large business is any business other than a small business.
(6) Two representatives from community organizations.
(7) One representative from a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(8) Two representatives from environmental justice organizations.
(b) The advisory group may form subcommittees to address specific types of environmental program areas. The California Environmental Protection Agency shall provide a reasonable per diem for attendance at advisory committee meetings by advisory committee members from nonprofit organizations.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1003, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2003.)
After the California Environmental Protection Agency develops the strategy pursuant to Section 71113 and before December 31, 2003, each board, department, and office within the agency shall, in coordination with the Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Director of the Office of Planning and Research, review its programs, policies, and activities and identify and address any gaps in its existing programs, policies, or activities that may impede the achievement of environmental justice.
(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 765, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 2002.)
The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall, not later than January 1, 2004, and every three years thereafter, prepare and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report on the implementation of this part.
(Added by renumbering Section 72004 by Stats. 2001, Ch. 765, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2002.)
(a) The Environmental Justice Small Grant Program is hereby established under the jurisdiction of the California Environmental Protection Agency. The California Environmental Protection Agency shall adopt regulations for the implementation of this section. These regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Specific criteria and procedures for the implementation of the program.
(2) A requirement that each grant recipient submit a written report to the agency documenting its expenditures of the grant funds and the results of the funded project.
(3) Provisions promoting the equitable distribution of grant
funds in a variety of areas throughout the state, with the goal of making grants available to organizations that will attempt to address environmental justice issues.
(b) The purpose of the program is to provide grants to eligible community groups, including, but not limited to, community-based, grassroots nonprofit organizations, that are located in areas adversely affected by environmental pollution and hazards and that are involved in work to address environmental justice issues.
(c) (1) Both of the following are eligible to receive moneys from the fund:
(A) A nonprofit entity.
(B) A federally recognized tribal government.
(2) For purposes of this section, “nonprofit entity” means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that meets all of the following criteria:
(A) Is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or other similar purposes in the public interest.
(B) Is not organized primarily for profit.
(C) Uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand, or any combination thereof, its operations.
(D) Is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, or is able to provide evidence to the agency that the state recognizes
the organization as a nonprofit entity.
(3) For purposes of this section, “nonprofit entity” specifically excludes an organization that is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(4) of the federal Internal Revenue Code.
(d) Individuals may not receive grant moneys from the fund.
(e) Grant recipients shall use the grant award to fund only the project described in the recipient’s application. Recipients shall not use the grant funding to shift moneys from existing or proposed projects to activities for which grant funding is prohibited under subdivision (g).
(f) Grants shall be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that are based in communities
with the most significant exposure to pollution. Grants shall be limited to any of the following purposes and no other:
(1) Resolve environmental problems through distribution of information.
(2) Identify improvements in communication and coordination among agencies and stakeholders in order to address the most significant exposure to pollution.
(3) Expand the understanding of a community about the environmental issues that affect their community.
(4) Develop guidance on the relative significance of various environmental risks.
(5) Promote community involvement in the decisionmaking process
that affects the environment of the community.
(6) Present environmental data for the purposes of enhancing community understanding of environmental information systems and environmental information.
(g) (1) The agency shall not award grants for, and grant funding shall not be used for, any of the following:
(A) Other state grant programs.
(B) Lobbying or advocacy activities relating to any federal, state, regional, or local legislative, quasi-legislative, adjudicatory, or quasi-judicial proceeding involving development or adoption of statutes, guidelines, rules, regulations, plans or any other governmental proposal, or involving decisions
concerning siting, permitting, licensing, or any other governmental action.
(C) Litigation, administrative challenges, enforcement action, or any type of adjudicatory proceeding.
(D) Funding of a lawsuit against any governmental entity.
(E) Funding of a lawsuit against a business or a project owned by a business.
(F) Matching state or federal funding.
(G) Performance of any technical assessment for purposes of opposing or contradicting a technical assessment prepared by a public agency.
(2) An organization’s use of funds from a grant
awarded under this section to educate a community regarding an environmental justice issue or a governmental process does not preclude that organization from subsequent lobbying or advocacy concerning that same issue or governmental process, as long as the lobbying or advocacy is not funded by a grant awarded under this section.
(h) The agency shall review, evaluate, and select grant recipients, and screen grant applications to ensure that they meet the requirements of this section.
(i) The maximum amount of a grant provided pursuant to this section may not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(j) For purposes of this section, “environmental justice” has the same meaning as defined in Section 65040.12 of the
Government Code.
(k) (1) The Secretary for Environmental Protection may expend up to two million dollars ($2,000,000) per year for the purposes of this section.
(2) (A) Of the amount described in paragraph (1), up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) shall be expended by the Secretary for Environmental Protection for grants to organizations working to address and mitigate the effects of sea level rise in disadvantaged communities impacted by sea level rise.
(B) For purposes of this section, “disadvantaged community” shall have the same meaning as defined in Section 71118.
(l) Board, departments, and offices
within the California Environmental Protection Agency may allocate funds from various special funds, settlements, and penalties to implement this program.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 236, Sec. 6. (SB 1) Effective January 1, 2022.)
(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Agency” means the California Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) “Disadvantaged community” means a community identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) “Supplemental environmental project” means an environmentally beneficial project that a person subject to an enforcement action voluntarily agrees to undertake in settlement of the action and to offset a portion of a civil penalty.
(b) Each board, department, and office within the agency that has enforcement authority shall establish a policy on supplemental environmental projects that benefits disadvantaged communities. The policy shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) A public process to solicit potential supplemental environmental projects from disadvantaged communities.
(2) Allowing the amount of a supplemental environmental project to be up to 50 percent of the enforcement action brought under the jurisdiction of a board, department, or office within the agency.
(3) An
annual list of supplemental environmental projects that may be selected to settle a portion of an enforcement action under the jurisdiction of a board, department, or office within the agency.
(4) A consideration of the relationship between the location of the violation and the location of the proposed supplemental environmental project.
(c) The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall consolidate the projects compiled pursuant to subdivision (b) into one list and post that list on the agency’s Internet Web site.
(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 585, Sec. 2. (AB 1071) Effective January 1, 2016.)