2019 Environmental Justice March in Richmond. Credit: Sierra Club Virginia Chapter

Environmental justice work requires ensuring access to clean energy & safe drinking water for all, preventing toxic pollution exposure for all, and, among other concerns, allowing all communities to thrive.

Virginia made environmental justice progress, unprecedented nationally, during the 2020 legislative session. Yet, vulnerable populations continue to be at increased risk for climate change impacts, siting of toxic fossil fuel facilities, and pollution exposure. The Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) adoption of environmental justice directives, codification of the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice, and the passage of the Virginia Environmental Justice Act (VEJA) are key steps towards achieving environmental justice in Virginia. However, the statewide clean energy economy transition, environmental racism, and the systemic inequalities heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic still require steadfast policy development to protect and secure better livelihoods for all Virginians.

With the passage of the Virginia Environmental Justice Act in 2020, environmental justice in Virginia means: “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of every person, regardless of race, color, national origin, income, faith, or disability, regarding the development, implementation, or enforcement of any environmental law, regulation, or policy.” Important federally recognized benchmarks of environmental justice were also defined in the law. The legislature officially declared it the policy of the commonwealth to ensure environmental justice is achieved and maintained statewide.

Furthermore, with the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), state agencies and the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice are empowered to review the impact of the clean energy transition on vulnerable communities.  They can enforce the policy of the Commonwealth to prioritize disadvantaged communities when considering new job training programs and renewable energy projects. These provisions are vital, as communities and workers with fossil-fuel reliant livelihoods will face economic hardship through this transition.

Virginia’s environmental justice work is not limited to one particular community, pollution site, or infrastructure project. It involves an essential procedural framework and set of actions required to ensure that environmental policies and programs represent and benefit all Virginians and do not cause disproportionate harm to low-income communities and communities of color.

During the 2021 legislative session, more progress on environmental justice is vital and urgently needed. Virginia needs a robust process for integrating environmental justice throughout state agencies to ensure impacted communities are properly identified in permitting processes and have mandated influence over infrastructure siting and permitting decisions. Two bills this session, HB2074 and SB1318, build on the VEJA to ensure a strong environmental justice policy in Virginia.

The Omnibus Environmental Justice bill builds on the Virginia Environmental Justice Act (VEJA) of 2020, which declared environmental justice (EJ) as the policy of the Commonwealth. This bill amends VEJA to require five state secretariats to adopt a secretariat-specific EJ policy by October 2022, and codifies the EJ Interagency Working Group created in last year’s budget bill. It also authorizes the EJ Interagency Working Group to review the state’s air quality monitoring practices. Lastly, the bill requires local planning commissions to consider EJ in their jurisdiction’s comprehensive plan.

SB1318 amends the Virginia Environmental Justice Act of 2020 by incorporating new definitions into VEJA, including defining cumulative impacts.It also codifies the EJ Interagency Working Group created in last year’s budget bill.

• Although Virginia now has a basic Environmental Justice policy, the state still needs additional tools to ensure Environmental Justice is prioritized and carried out throughout the state government. This legislation embeds Environmental Justice considerations within key state and local entities and improves transparency and public involvement in decision-making processes.
• These bills clarify and expand existing environmental justice policy by building on the state’s Environmental Justice mandate in the Virginia Environmental Justice Act. They make clear that Environmental Justice policy applies only to “covered agency actions” that relate to the environment and include “cumulative impacts” among those matters that must be considered in the administration of agency actions, bearing in mind these impacts may result from individually minor but collectively significant agency actions over time.
• These bills further define the structure of the Interagency Working Group, which is modeled after the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG).
• The benefits and burdens of agencies’ environmental activities remain unequal among Virginians along lines of race, income, and geography. These bills seek to redress this inequity by requiring key state secretariats (and agencies within them), as well as localities, to consider environmental justice in their environmental decision-making and actions.

Support for this bill is led by our Partners at Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative and New Virginia Majority. Thank you for your advocacy!