U.S. Attorney Announces New Reporting Procedure For Environmental Justice Issues & Environmental Violations
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has implemented new public reporting procedures for environmental violations and issues relating to environmental justice. Environmental justice is 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.
The Office is implementing this public reporting procedure under the Department of Justice’s Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy. This Strategy seeks to provide “timely and effective remedies for systemic environmental violations and contaminations and for injury to natural resources in underserved communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened, including low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal and Indigenous communities.”
“Advancing environmental justice through civil and criminal enforcement efforts, along with EPA and our other federal partners, will enhance environmental justice for all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney O’Shea. “We hope that concerned individuals, organizations, and community groups in this district will work with us to address and fix environmental injuries to public health or the environment, or injuries to natural resources. Together, we will work to reduce public health and environmental harms caused by violations of our federal laws and regulations—especially to underserved communities that often suffer from a disproportionate share of adverse health effects.”
Members of the public in the who have concerns about environmental violations and justice in the Western District of Wisconsin can now report them to the U.S. Attorney’s office by email to USAWIW.Environment@usdoj.gov. The Office’s public reporting procedures are in addition to other methods of reporting environmental concerns to the federal government, such as the online portal maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations. Other information regarding environmental reporting information may also be found on the district’s website at USAO-WDWI/Environmental-Justice-and-Enforcement.
Consistent with the Department’s comprehensive strategy, the U.S. Attorney also designated an Environmental Justice Coordinator for the district to coordinate its environmental justice efforts.