Have Your Say: DOJ Seeks Comments on Draft Proposal

On May 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published a request for public comments on its draft Environmental Justice Strategic Plan (Plan). As required by Executive Order 14096, the DOJ’s Plan will specify the DOJ’s goals, metrics, and priority actions that it will undertake to address environmental justice (EJ). The DOJ must publicly release the finalized Plan by October 2024. To meet the objectives of Executive Order 14096, the DOJ has outlined four goals and currently requests public feedback.

First, the DOJ aims to use its role as a law enforcement agency to prioritize cases that involve reductions in public health or environmental harms to EJ communities, and use all possible legal remedies to address EJ.¹ To pursue this goal, the DOJ has outlined that it can file lawsuits, enforce civil rights laws, use legal remedies like filing amicus curiae or “friend of the court” briefs—a type of brief that is sent to a court in order to influence its ruling by a party who has a strong interest in the case but is not a party in the case—and other legal tools.² Secondly, the DOJ seeks to increase public awareness of their EJ initiatives and achieve meaningful engagement with communities impacted by EJ concerns. To accomplish its second goal, the DOJ has proposed to expand their community outreach, opportunities for public engagement, and reporting of the department’s progress on EJ initiatives. Third, the DOJ aims to continue the education of their staff on EJ, including updates on relevant judicial opinions that could impact their work. Moreover, the DOJ is looking to consider EJ concerns in its many partnerships, including but not limited to partnerships in which the DOJ reviews proposed rulemakings and legislation, defends federal agencies in lawsuits, and considers how special government responsibilities to Tribes should be addressed. Lastly, the DOJ seeks to integrate EJ into its current climate adaptation and sustainability efforts. Particularly, the DOJ is focusing on considering EJ in its procurement and management of real property.

In addition to the input sought on their draft Plan, the DOJ has also outlined several questions that it would like members of the public to respond to. First, the DOJ would like any ideas for new goals it should take into consideration and input into on how they can pursue the identified goals. Furthermore, the DOJ is looking for feedback on how it should improve its communication and engagement with communities about EJ—including suggestions for new organizations that the DOJ should collaborate with. Finally, the DOJ would like suggestions for what topics and considerations they should cover during staff EJ training.

Interested members of the public could make comments by: 1) emailing the DOJ directly; 2) sending postal mail to the DOJ’s Office of Environmental Justice; 3) filling out an online survey; or 4) submitting oral comments at select in-person meetings. All comments were due by Monday July 22, 2024.

Altogether, the DOJ’s Environmental Justice Strategic Plan is the culmination of both Executive Order 14096 and past DOJ efforts—such as the creation of the Office of Environmental Justice in May 2022³—to increase compliance with relevant federal laws. Recent events, such as residents of Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” asking the DOJ to pressure petrochemical companies in the region to adopt stricter pollution control measures,⁴ highlight the DOJ’s growing role in addressing environmental justice concerns. Upon the Plan’s completion, the DOJ will take a step forward to ensure that environmental justice concerns, such as communities overburdened by pollution, are adequately addressed in the future.

¹ The Justice Department, DOJ Requests Public Input for 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan, YouTube, (July 1, 2024).
² Amicus Curiae, Cornell Law Sch.: Legal Info. Inst. (last visited July 10, 2024).
³ Office of Environmental Justice, Dep't of Just. (last visited July 10, 2024).
⁴ Terry L. Jones, Louisiana ‘Cancer Alley’ Residents ask for Fed Help in Pollution Fight, FloodLight (June 25, 2024).