EFFECT:   Provides that the recommendations issued by the task force for establishing measurable goals for reducing environmental health disparities may not impose new obligations or restrictions on rural communities, or increase the risk of, or contribute to, the loss of jobs in rural communities.

Provides that the recommendations issued by the task force for approaches to integrate an analysis of the distribution of environmental burdens across population groups into evaluations performed under SEPA may not have the effect of negatively impacting rural communities by complicating regulatory processes or increasing regulatory burdens associated with the production of food, materials, and resources in rural areas that are consumed in urban areas.

Specifies that the equity analysis methods proposed by the task force, if any, may include potential risks and benefits to, and opportunities for, rural communities, in addition to highly impacted communities and vulnerable populations.