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On June 8, 2023, the Ocean Policy Committee (composed of members from the Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Science and Technology Policy) published a Request for Information, seeking input on developing an “Ocean Justice Strategy.” This strategy will focus on environmental justice (“EJ”) concerns for communities residing near the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes, and it may impact how federal agencies evaluate actions that occur in those areas.

As explained in the Federal Register notice, the Ocean Justice Strategy will:

  1. assess how the Federal Government should define ocean justice;
  2. describe barriers to and opportunities for ocean justice;
  3. describe how ocean justice should apply to the scientific enterprise of knowledge building, including the appropriate consideration, inclusion, and application of Indigenous Knowledge;
  4. describe how ocean justice should apply to access to and management of the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes; and
  5. describe how ocean justice will be implemented by the Federal Government to build on and expand the work of Tribal, Territorial, State, and local governments, Indigenous communities, the private sector, and the public.

This strategy is in its infancy, and the Request for Information provides an opportunity for voluntary comments on how to define ocean justice; what barriers and opportunities are associated with ocean justice; what research and knowledge gaps exist; what new tools are needed for ocean justice and whether the government can harness existing tools such as EJScreen for ocean justice; and what partnerships would help advance ocean justice. Comments are due by July 24, 2023.

This action builds on the Biden Administration’s continued EJ efforts. The recent Executive Order 14096, “Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All,” signed April 21, 2023, defined EJ to broadly mean “the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment….” It also directed the Council on Environmental Quality to issue new guidance on how agencies should implement the expanded definition of EJ and updated agency directives contained in the order, including evaluating updated EJ considerations during NEPA review of federal actions.

Similarly, the proposed Ocean Justice Strategy, once developed, will likely impact how federal agencies evaluate ocean justice considerations in federal offshore and coastal activities, including the issuance of federal permits.

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Photo of Emily von Qualen Emily von Qualen

Emily is an environmental litigator practicing in the firm’s New Orleans office.

Prior to joining the firm, Emily practiced complex business law in the litigation group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Houston.  Immediately after law school, she clerked in…

Emily is an environmental litigator practicing in the firm’s New Orleans office.

Prior to joining the firm, Emily practiced complex business law in the litigation group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Houston.  Immediately after law school, she clerked in the Western District of Louisiana with Judge Minaldi.

Emily received her Juris Doctor from Tulane University Law School in 2016, graduating first in her class.  During law school, she also served as a judicial extern to the Honorable James L. Dennis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable James Brady of the United States District Court, Middle District of Louisiana.

Photo of Clare M. Bienvenu Clare M. Bienvenu

Clare Bienvenu is an environmental regulatory and litigation lawyer who has practiced in both Louisiana and California, working with clients across the United States. Clare counsels clients regarding complex environmental regulatory, enforcement, and permitting issues spanning the range of federal and state environmental…

Clare Bienvenu is an environmental regulatory and litigation lawyer who has practiced in both Louisiana and California, working with clients across the United States. Clare counsels clients regarding complex environmental regulatory, enforcement, and permitting issues spanning the range of federal and state environmental laws. Clare additionally facilitates the permitting and regulatory aspects of developing new facilities on behalf of energy, petrochemical, and industrial clients. Her substantive environmental experience includes air permitting, hazardous waste regulation, land remediation, land use regulation, coastal regulation, carbon sequestration projects, and renewable energy projects.

Clare has played a key role in various administrative matters, proceedings, and enforcement actions. She has participated in consent decree negotiations and the termination of consent decrees with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice, as well as settlement negotiations with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the California Air Resources Board. Clare has also represented clients in permitting matters involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Coastal Management. She also advises on environmental justice considerations in the context of agency permitting.