U.S. Attorney Announces Environmental Justice Initiative

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris today announced an initiative to address environmental justice concerns in the Central District of Illinois. The mission of this initiative is to protect overburdened and underserved communities from the harm caused by environmental crimes, pollutions, and climate change. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will work closely with the Department of Justice’s Office of Environmental Justice, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, state and local agencies, and community advocates to secure environmental justice for all communities, to ensure that everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and to protect equal access to a healthy environment in which to live, learn, play, and work.

This initiative is part of the Department of Justice’s Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy, which strives “to advance environmental justice through 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.” 

“Our office is dedicated to protecting everyone in the Central District of Illinois from suffering the harmful effects of environmental crimes, which are all too often borne by our underserved communities,” said U.S. Attorney Harris. “I urge those aware of the commission of environmental crimes within our district to report those offenses.”

The Department of Justice enforces the Nation’s civil and criminal environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and hazardous waste laws. Residents may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (217) 492-4450 to notify the Environmental Justice Coordinator of potential violations of environmental, health, and safety laws. This reporting procedure is in addition to other methods of reporting environmental concerns to the federal government, such as the online portal maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency:  https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations. 

To learn more about this initiative, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdil/environmental-justice.