A new caucus launched by southern Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva and other Democrats looks to address environmental pollution issues in communities.
Grijalva introduced the newly dubbed Environmental Justice Caucus this week alongside Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Summer Lee. They say the initiative will provide a platform for lawmakers to work with local leaders, advocates and policy experts to advance environmental justice legislation.
“Representative Lee and Representative Tlaib and I represent areas in our nation that have major pollution and cleanup and the polluters weren’t held accountable, and rarely are,” Grijalva said.
During an event announcing the launch of the caucus, Grijalva said that includes the community where she grew up, on Tucson’s south side.
The area was declared an EPA superfund site in the 1980s, after a solvent called TCE used at nearby military installments seeped into the water and caused cancer and other illnesses.
Grijalva said the new caucus will work with community advocates and tribal leaders, and it’ll build on legislation her late father, Congressman Raúl Grijalva, introduced in the House in 2023.
“Especially under this administration with the gutting of so many departments — NEPA — federal policies, all oversight — it’s sort of been thrown out the window,” she said.
The 2023 legislation, called the A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice For All Act, aimed to establish requirements, advisory bodies, and programs to address environmental harms from pollution.
The same bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate, but both measures failed to pass the chambers.
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