Environmental Justice: DOJ Enforcement Priorities

Bracewell welcomed Matt Silverman, Chief of Environmental Litigation in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), and leader of EDNY’s recently announced Environmental Justice Team, for a conversation about the statutes, principles and priorities that guide the new administration’s directive to prioritize environmental law enforcement and Environmental Justice. According to a recent press release, Matt’s Team was created in recognition of the directive in Executive Order 14008, which mandates that “[a]gencies shall make achieving environmental justice part of their missions by developing programs, policies, and activities to address the disproportionately high and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related and other cumulative impacts on disadvantaged communities, as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts.”