What is 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.

What is Our Role in Environmental Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice enforces the Nation’s civil and criminal environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and hazardous waste laws. We also protect natural resources and handle cases relating to tribal rights and resources. Ensuring safe living and working conditions for our entire community is a priority of the Department and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.

Working with our law enforcement and agency partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office seeks to secure environmental justice for all communities in the District of Delaware, to provide the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards to all our citizens, and to ensure that everyone has equal access to a healthy environment in which to live, learn, play, and work.

What Can You Do?

If you become aware of an event that may be an immediate threat to human health or the environment, call 911, then report it to the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.

If you see a potential violation that does not pose an immediate threat to human health or the environment, you should still report it. Depending on the specific type of violation, different federal agencies will be responsible for addressing the concern.

Below you will find a list of relevant agencies and how to contact them. When contacting an agency to report environmental, health, and safety concerns in our District please email us at USADE.PRESS@usdoj.gov. Notifying our Office helps us protect the community from harmful violations of federal health and safety laws.

If you still have questions regarding reporting, contact our office at 302-573-6277 or email us at USADE.PRESS@usdoj.gov, or contact the Department’s Environmental Crimes Section (USDOJ-ECS) at ECSEJ.ENRD@usdoj.gov or 202-305-0321.

Reporting Potential Violations

If the violation concerns air quality, climate change, health, water, chemicals and toxins (including lead paint), or land, waste, and cleanup, contact the Environmental Protection Agency at https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations.

If the violation concerns an oil or chemical spill, contact the National Response Center at 1-800-424-88022.

If the violation concerns a marine environment, contact the Coast Guard at https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=878.

If the violation concerns pesticides harming wildlife, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (734) 995-0387, www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips, or 1-800-344-9453.

If the violation concerns the destruction of wetlands, contact your local district branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Office at 1-800-832-7828.

If the violation concerns workplace conditions, such as chemicals or noxious fumes contact, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at 1-800-321-6742.

If the violation concerns housing conditions, contact the Department of Housing & Urban Development – Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG) at 1-800-347-3735.

If the violation concerns transportation of hazardous materials or a pipeline, contact the Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG) at 1-800-424-9071 or hotline@oig.dot.gov.

If the violation concerns medications, cosmetics, biological products, and other products for human consumption, contact the FDA at 1-888-463-6332.

If the violation concerns discriminatory environmental and health impacts caused by recipients of federal funds, contact our office at USADE.PRESS@usdoj.gov or 302-573-6277, or DOJ Civil Rights at 1-888-TITLE-06 (1-888-848-5306).

If the violation involves public corruption, contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at https://tips.fbi.gov/.

Want to Learn More?

Community members who are interested in learning more about our environmental justice efforts are encouraged to contact us via email at USADE.PRESS@usdoj.gov.