Environmental Settlement Policy Seen as Boon to Hard-Hit Places

Environmental justice communities stand to benefit the most from the Justice Department’s revival of a popular settlement tool for alleged polluters, according to industry lawyers and former federal officials.

The idea of using supplemental environmental projects, or SEPs, to help low-income communities of color isn’t new. But the Biden administration now appears to be specifically framing SEPs as a tool to advance environmental justice, according to Anne Austin, former head of the EPA’s air office under President Donald Trump.

“It seems that an increased emphasis will be placed on the utilization of SEPs to bring even greater benefits to EJ ...