The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is committed to environmental justice in Utah, both through the continuation of current efforts and improving on and identifying areas of our work where we can address the environmental conditions that disproportionately impact disadvantaged and underserved communities. We will accomplish this by partnering with impacted communities and engaging with policymakers to find collaborative, community-based solutions.
About Environmental Justice
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” EPA has further defined those terms as:
Fair treatment: No group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental, and commercial operations or policies. EPA also recommends that “fair treatment” consider how environmental and public health benefits, as well as stressors, are distributed across all populations.
Meaningful involvement: 1) People have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health 2) The public’s contribution can influence the regulatory agency’s decision 3) Community concerns will be considered in the decision-making process 4) Decision-makers will seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.
Title VI
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any program, activity, or service that it provides on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title 40 Part 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 13 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972.
Tools & Programs
Community Grant Opportunities
EPA Environmental Justice Grants
Public Participation
Public participation is an integral part of Utah’s environmental programs. Many of our permitting actions and all of our regulations go through a formal public notice and comment period, giving Utahn’s the ability to provide input on agency decisions before they are finalized.