Environmental Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice’s comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy aims to ensure that all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, receive fair treatment and meaningful involvement with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.

In coordination with local, state, federal and tribal partners, as well as members of the community, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is identifying areas of environmental justice concern in Connecticut.  The Office will use all available federal civil and criminal enforcement tools, including environmental protection laws, civil rights laws, the False Claims Act, and worker safety and consumer protection statutes, to advance environmental justice by seeking timely and effective remedies for injury to natural resources, and to correct systemic environmental violations and contaminations in underserved communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened, including low-income communities and communities of color.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne F. Thidemann as the District of Connecticut’s Environmental Justice Coordinator, and Connecticut residents are encouraged to report environmental justice concerns to her at anne.thidemann@usdoj.gov.  Environmental, health and safety concerns can also be reported to the following agencies:

• For concerns about air quality, climate change, chemicals and toxics, or health, land, waste, and cleanup, report the violation to the Environmental Protection Agency at https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations
• For concerns about workplace conditions such as chemicals or noxious fumes, contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at 800-321-6742 or https://www.osha.gov/ords/osha7/eComplaintForm.html
• For concerns about the destruction of wetlands, contact your local district branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Office at 978-318-8338 or cenae-r-ct@usace.army.mil (USACE, New England District)
• For concerns about discriminatory environmental and health impacts caused by recipients of federal funds, contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-821-3700 and ask for the Civil Rights Intake Specialist.