On March 18, 2013, WLF filed formal comments with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging it to withdraw proposed policy changes regarding its enforcement of “environmental justice” programs under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. WLF charged that the proposed changes are unauthorized by either Title VI or EPA’s own regulations, and that EPA plans to adopt its changes without complying with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Title VI prohibits recipients of federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Although Title VI prohibits only intentional discrimination, EPA proposes to investigate recipients of EPA funding whose actions have an adverse disparate impact on racially-identifiable communities, even if the impact is not intended. WLF argued that the proposed changes are particularly objectionable because they would authorize “adverse” impact findings even when air quality meets all federal health and safety standards.
