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NTC TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
Release Date: 03/12/98
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1998
Administrator Carol M. Browner and Deputy Administrator Fred Hansen have announced the establishment of a new advisory committee to assist the Agency in its implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The new advisory committee will be headed by Elliott Laws, former EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
Under Title VI, recipients of federal financial assistance cannot conduct programs or activities that discriminate on the basis of race, color or national origin. Since 1993, EPA has received an increasing number of complaints that allege violations of Title VI due to the issuance of state pollution control permits. The new advisory committee specifically will evaluate and recommend techniques to assess Title VI concerns and, where they exist, identify avenues to address them before they become the subject of complaints.
The new advisory committee is being established as part of EPA’s existing National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology. The advisory committee will comprise state environmental commissioners, local government officials, industry representatives, academics and environmental justice leaders.
Elliott Laws, served as EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response from 1993 - 1997. Laws is currently a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Patton Boggs. During his tenure at EPA, Laws worked with a broad range of stakeholder groups to integrate environmental justice considerations into EPA decision-making. Laws was selected to chair the advisory committee because of his experience and demonstrated leadership on environmental justice issues.
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