Covanta Energy & Environmental Justice

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines Environmental Justice (EJ) as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.

In response to the need to ensure all communities have a fair and just opportunity to participate in the decision making process in matters impacting local environments, we maintain a community outreach and environmental justice policy to support our commitment to engage fully with local communities, to reduce discharges and minimize emissions and to do this in a manner which ensures meaningful community involvement. Developed with input from a variety of environmental justice experts, the policy extends our overall EJ commitment to involving local citizens in major permit activities that we may be considering in a given community at a given point in time.

Covanta Community Outreach and Environmental Justice Policy

Covanta Energy Corporation is committed to engage with and support the communities in which it has or will have facilities. Covanta believes in the meaningful opportunity for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, color, income, national origin, or education level to be knowledgeable and have the right to participate in public decisions and actions which have an impact on their environment and neighborhoods. To implement this policy, consistent with its sustainability objectives, Covanta commits:

• To reduce discharges and minimize emissions from our facilities and to reduce other potential impacts of our operations, taking into account cumulative impacts.
• To identify and engage with individuals and organizations in the communities in which we operate, or in which we may operate, that are interested in our operations.
• To have open, two-way communication with communities on issues which may be of interest or concern to them, including environmental and quality of life issues in the community. Such communication shall include participation in meetings with community members or affected groups.
• To have an enhanced public participation strategy with communities on major facility permit actions and engage in substantive conversations with community members during the early stages of the permitting process.
• To work diligently to respond to issues identifi ed by communities in which we operate.
• To promptly and effectively notify the community in the event of situations that may adversely impact the environment or their health.

For more information about environmental justice please click here to visit the EPA's website.