A White House effort to ensure the federal government addresses the effects of climate change in environmental reviews will likely give disadvantaged communities more say in permitting, if agencies champion updated guidance, advocates say.
The Council on Environmental Quality advised agencies in interim guidance Jan. 6 to consider the direct and indirect emissions of new energy and other infrastructure projects and minimize effects on low-income and other vulnerable communities that bear disproportionate amounts of pollution.
Agencies are asked to identify, notify, and “meaningfully engage” with those communities when making permitting decisions under the National Environmental Policy Act.
While advocates are ...