U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Environmental Justice and Housing Conditions Initiative

Ensuring safe housing conditions is a priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Working with DOJ partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office seeks to secure environmental justice for all communities, particularly underserved communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened, including low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal and Indigenous communities, to ensure that everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to a healthy environment in which to live, learn, play and work.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, Gary Restaino, recently announce that he has named an Environmental Justice Coordinator, who will coordinate with the Department of Justice and with other federal, state, Tribal, and local agencies on civil and criminal environmental justice matters that arise in the District of Arizona.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is particularly focused on advancing environmental justice through Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and welcomes information from the public that brings to our attention possible discrimination against communities of color by local governments, including zoning and redevelopment decisions that disproportionately affect minority and underserved communities, and polluting businesses that receive municipal tax credits.

To learn more about the Department of Justice’s environmental justice initiatives, visit the Office of Environmental Justice.