Protection from Cumulative Emissions and Underenforcement of Environmental Law Act of 2025
H.R. 2995, the Protection from Cumulative Emissions and Underenforcement of Environmental Law Act of 2025, seeks to advance environmental justice by tackling two aims: (1) understanding and addressing the combined (cumulative) public health risks from multiple environmental stressors, including climate-related impacts and pollution, and (2) targeting areas where environmental violations appear to be more frequent than the national average, with a plan to reduce those violations. The bill directs the EPA Administrator to develop and implement a protocol for assessing cumulative risks within a few years, and it requires identifying at least 100 environmental-justice communities with above-average violations, conducting in-depth analysis and remediation planning, and coordinating with state and local regulators to reduce violations. It also establishes definitions to clarify who counts as environmental-justice communities (including communities of color, low-income communities, and Tribal/indigenous communities) and the terms used to describe them. In short, the bill formalizes a federal process to (a) assess how multiple environmental stressors come together to affect public health, and (b) focus enforcement and corrective actions on communities that face disproportionate environmental harms.
Key Points
- 1Public health protocol for cumulative stressors
- 2- The EPA Administrator must publish a proposed protocol within 180 days that identifies how to assess and address the cumulative public health risks from multiple environmental stressors.
- 3- Stressors covered include climate-change impacts (heat, drought, wildfires, sea level rise, floods, storms, etc.), pollutants regulated under major environmental laws, and other health-impacting stressors the Administrator identifies.
- 4- Public input is required: 90 days of public comment and at least four public hearings to gather input.
- 5Final protocol and implementation timeline
- 6- The Administrator must finalize and publish the final protocol within 1 year of enactment, incorporating public feedback.
- 7- Full implementation of the final protocol is required within 3 years of enactment.
- 8Environmental justice communities and enforcement
- 9- Within 180 days, the Administrator must identify at least 100 environmental justice communities that have experienced more environmental law violations in the past 5 years than the national average.
- 10- Within 1 year, for each identified community, the Administrator must analyze root causes, engage residents, and identify measures, in coordination with state and local regulators, to reduce violations to well below the national average.
- 11- Full implementation of these measures must be completed within 2 years of enactment.
- 12Definitions to guide scope
- 13- Administrator: EPA Administrator.
- 14- Community of color: defined by higher-than-average populations of specified racial/ethnic groups and linguistic isolation.
- 15- Environmental justice community: a community with significant representation of people of color, low-income communities, or Tribal/indigenous communities that faces higher or more adverse health or environmental effects.
- 16- Low-income community: defined using a threshold based on area median income or the Federal poverty line.
- 17- Tribal and indigenous community: includes federally or state-recognized tribes and other indigenous communities in the state.