An environmental justice enforcement collaboration plan between Colorado and the EPA was released Thursday. The plan explains how the agencies will collaborate through enforcement and compliance to reduce pollution in communities overburdened by environmental and public health impacts, according to a news release from the agencies.

“We are going to leverage every tool we have to make sure that everyone has a healthy environment to be in,” said Trisha Oeth, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment director of Environmental Health and Protection. “That means prioritizing areas that have more than their fair share of pollution to reduce negative environmental impacts.”

The plan is part of the Biden-Harris Administration priority of advancing environmental justice by engaging with, and focusing on, disproportionately impacted communities across the country, according to the release.

“EPA is committed to doing more to reduce burdens in disproportionately impacted communities in Colorado by ensuring that enforcement actions result in tangible health and environmental benefits,” said Suzanne Bohan, director of EPA Region 8’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. “We are looking forward to coordinating with CDPHE in our enforcement and compliance assurance work to reduce pollution and protect people’s health and quality of life.”

The EPA and CDPHE will host a virtual community engagement session on May 1st at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the workplan in more detail and foster an open dialogue with Coloradans about holding regulated entities accountable for compliance with state and federal environmental laws. Community members can register here for the meeting and find meeting information on CDPHE’s upcoming community engagement opportunities calendar.

During the meeting CDPHE and EPA officials will talk more about the final workplan and what it means for communities across Colorado. Marcus Howell, the CDPHE Environmental Justice Ombudsperson, will also present his newly launched complaint system.

Here is where you can read the final workplan. You can read the MOU here.