Polluted Communities Need Bigger Role in Settlements, EPA Says

The EPA is encouraging companies and other defendants accused of air and water pollution, as well as other environmental crimes, to gather input from affected communities about what beneficial projects residents might want as part of a legal deal.

That approach marks a shift from the Environmental Protection Agency’s historical stance on supplemental environmental projects, or SEPs, which are beneficial works that a company can voluntarily undertake as part of a settlement. SEP negotiations haven’t always considered affected residents’ voices, according to former federal officials and environmental justice activists.

But Carol Holmes, senior counsel at EPA’s civil enforcement ...