Official website of the Department of Homeland Security
The United States (U.S.) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and other stakeholders in New York City (NYC), is proposing to conduct testing events to improve resiliency of urban areas and transportation systems against chemical or biological terrorist attacks (Proposed Action).
ICE has prepared this Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 4321 et seq.) and other relevant federal and state laws and regulations, as well as DHS Directive 023-01, Revision 01 and DHS Instruction Manual 023-01-001-01, Revison 01, Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act. This Draft EA discloses the environmental impacts that would result from the Proposed Action and alternatives.
The climate crisis poses a multi-level threat to the American people, the global community, and DHS operations at home and abroad. It is vital for the Department to provide leadership and act to minimize its own environmental impact, to promote resilience against the risks posed by climate change, and to facilitate adaptation, so as to reduce harms and threats to the American people and abroad.
The DHS Climate Change Action Group is a coordinating body comprised of the Department’s senior leadership that drives urgent action to address the climate crisis and reports directly to the Secretary.
This Environmental Justice Strategy is intended to promote a comprehensive, consistent, and adaptive method for identifying and addressing environmental justice through the activities, policies, and programs of DHS Operational and Support Components. The Office of the Chief Readiness Support Officer and the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) began updating the DHS Environmental Justice Strategy in the fall of 2019, with the assistance of the DHS Environmental Justice Working Group. Through this process, DHS Components provided input on strategic goals and objectives to ensure alignment and consistency with Department priorities. From September 24, 2020 to November 5, 2020, DHS made the draft Environmental Justice Strategy available to the public in five languages by posting on a public website19 and distributed it among the CRCL stakeholder email list. One anonymous comment was received via email, and all comments have been taken into consideration.
Altitude observed during Project JUSTICE activities is 400-feet above ground level (AGL). However, altitudes up to 6,000-feet AGL are accessible/attainable if needed for Project JUSTICE UAS evaluation operations. Project JUSTICE test and evaluation scenarios have been developed in conjunction with Mississippi State University Raspet Flight Research Laboratory to research, develop, test, and evaluate third-party vendor UAS.
integration of environmental justice principles throughout the enterprise and at all levels of government. Chaired by the EPA with participation from 16 federal agencies and the White House, the Environmental Justice Intra-agency Working Group strives to engage and support local communities in addressing environmental and human health impacts of federal programs, policies, and activities by promoting comprehensive solutions for addressing environmental justice.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas spoke at the Leaders Summit on Climate where he reaffirmed the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) commitment to adapt and respond to the climate emergency, including by announcing several steps the Department is taking to address this crisis.
The deactivating effects of heat and sunlight on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are consistent across different variants of the virus, according to new research from DHS S&T.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science (DHS) Technology (S&T) Directorate hereby gives Notice of the Availability for the draft Environmental Assessment to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with the continued testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) under the Joint Unmanned Systems Testing in Collaborative Environment (Project JUSTICE).
