This document provides an analysis of the information presented at the December 11-14, 2000 NEJAC meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to present information on federal government progress integrating environmental justice into agency policies, programs, and activities consistent with existing laws and the Executive Order No. 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations." The December 2000 meeting was informative and provided an excellent opportunity for federal agencies and stakeholders to identify areas for furtherance of environmental justice principles throughout their endeavors and programs. The recommendations of this report may appear somewhat broad in scope, but they set the groundwork for future more detailed review and evaluation by the various federal agencies as they pursue substantive areas which may involve multi-agency participation.

EPA, through its Office of Environmental Justice, asked the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to provide advice and recommendations on the follow question: in order to secure protection from environmental degradation for all citizens, what factors should be considered by a federal permitting authority, as well as state or local agencies with delegated permitting responsibilities, in the decision-making process prior to allowing a new pollution-generating facility to operate in a minority and/or low-income community that may already have a number of such facilities?

The Indigenous Peoples Subcommittee is one of six subcommittees of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC), a federal advisory committee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The N EJAC believes the federal government has a responsibility to consult and collaborate with American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments as an essential element of itstrust responsibility to federally recognized tribal governments. However, the NEJAC contends that effective consultation and collaboration between federal agencies and federally recognized tribal governments is lacking. The NEJAC also believes that some existing public participation processes provide inadequate opportunities for tribal members and tribal communities to have meaningful involvement in the environmental and public health decisions affecting them.

The vision of environmental justice is the development of a holistic, bottom up, community-based, multi-issue, cross-cutting, integrative, and unifying paradigm for achieving health and sustainable communities- both urban and rural.

The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) is the formal federal advisory committee chartered, pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, to provide advice and recommendations to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about matters related to environmental justice.

This report is the product of eighteen months of work by members of the NEJAC's Cumulative Risk/Impacts Work Group. This work Group consisted of representatives from communities, academic, business and industry, non-governmental organizations, and state, local and tribal governments.

This report contains advice and recommendations about how the Agency can most effectively promote strategies, in partnership with federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies, and other stakeholders, to identify, mitigate, and/or prevent the disproportionate burden on communities of air pollution resulting from goods movement.

The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) is a formal federal advisory committee chartered pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to provide advice and recommendations to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on matters related to environmental justice. The report was initially prepared by the Unintended Impacts Work Group (UIWG) of the NEJAC's Waste Facility Siting Subcommittee (WFSS). The WFSS was sponsored by the EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). Due to a change in the NEJAC's charter, the WFSS terminated its activities at the end of 2004. This report presents lessons learned regarding unintended impacts of successful brownfields cleanup, redevelopment and revitalization projects and makes recommendations to EPA, with particular emphasis on OSWER.

EPA, through its Office of Environmental Justice, asked the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to provide advice and recommendations on the following questions: (1) What strategies and areas of research should be pursued to achieve more effective, integrated community-based health assessment, intervention, and prevention efforts?; (2) How should these strategies be developed, implemented and evaluated so as to ensure substantial participation, integration and collaboration among federal agencies, in partnership with: impacted communities; public health, medical and environmental professionals; academic institutions; state, tribal and local governments; and the private sector?; (3) How can consideration of socioeconomic status and cultural factors: (a) contribute to health disparities and cumulative and disproportionate environmental effects; and (b) be incorporated into community health assessments? This report reflects the advice and recommendations that resulted from pre-meeting preparation and on-site discussions and public comments. It sets forth a number of policy recommendations for consideration by EPA and other federal, state and local agencies to consider.