# What This Bill Actually Does

This bill tackles a problem that disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color: the buildup of pollution and environmental hazards in the same neighborhoods. Instead of looking at pollution sources one at a time, the bill asks the EPA to develop a way to measure and address the combined effect of multiple environmental stressors hitting the same area all at once—things like air pollution from factories, contaminated drinking water, nearby highways, climate-related disasters like flooding, and toxic waste sites all in one neighborhood.

The EPA would have six months to propose a protocol (basically a step-by-step plan) for assessing these cumulative impacts, then hold at least four public hearings in different locations to get input from affected communities. After gathering feedback, the EPA would finalize this protocol within a year and then have three years to start using it. The protocol would consider climate impacts like extreme heat and flooding, pollution regulated under existing environmental laws, and other health hazards the EPA identifies.

The bill also requires the EPA to identify at least 100 communities that are both environmental justice communities and have experienced more environmental violations than the national average over the past five years. For each of these communities, the EPA would analyze what's causing the violations, talk directly with residents about their experiences, figure out the root causes, and then implement solutions within two years to bring violations significantly below the national average. This means communities dealing with repeated environmental law violations wouldn't just get one-off fixes—they'd get a comprehensive plan to reduce ongoing violations and enforcement problems.

In practical terms, this could mean that neighborhoods currently dealing with multiple pollution sources simultaneously would finally get attention as a whole system rather than having each problem addressed separately. It could lead to stricter enforcement in overburdened areas and better coordination between federal, state, and local agencies to prevent companies from repeatedly violating environmental laws in the same communities.

Protection from Cumulative Emissions and Underenforcement of Environmental Law Act of 2023

DeGette, Diana

Protection from Cumulative Emissions and Underenforcement of Environmental Law Act of 2023 This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address the cumulative public health risks associated with multiple environmental stressors and recommend measures to reduce the number of violations of environmental law in certain environmental justice communities. Environmental justice communities are communities with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or tribal and indigenous communities that experience, or are at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects, as compared to other communities. In addition, the EPA must publish and implement a proposal for a protocol that assesses and addresses the cumulative public health risks associated with multiple environmental stressors, such as impacts associated with global climate change. Further, the EPA must identify at least 100 communities that (1) are environmental justice communities; and (2) have had more environmental law violations than the national average, as determined by the EPA. The EPA must then identify the causes of the violations, identify measures to reduce the number of violations, and implement such measures.