by Katy Grimes, Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As appearing in the California Globe

The DOJ’s agency within an agency appears redundant

In February of 2018, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra created the Bureau of Environmental Justice within the Environment Section at the California Department of Justice. The mission of this agency within an agency is “to protect people and communities that endure a disproportionate share of environmental pollution and public health hazards. This will be accomplished through oversight, investigation, and enforcement of the law,” the DOJ website states.

“With enforcement of environmental crimes declining dramatically at the federal level, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the creation of a Bureau of Environmental Justice that will work to protect people who live in polluted communities through oversight, investigation, and enforcement of the law,” ThinkProgress reported in 2018. “The environmental justice bureau’s initial staffing will be composed of a supervising deputy attorney general and three deputy attorneys general.”

“To all who advocate for environmental justice, the California Department of Justice will work with you and fight for a clean, safe and healthy environment,” Becerra said.

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