President Biden on today issued an Executive Order on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All, which calls for advancing environmental justice by implementing and enforcing environmental and civil rights laws, preventing pollution, addressing climate change and its effects, cleaning up legacy pollution, investing in and supporting culturally vibrant, sustainable, and resilient communities, building an equitable, inclusive, and sustainable economy, improving equitable access to public lands and waters, and meaningfully engaging underserved and overburdened communities.
To implement a government-wide approach to environmental justice, the Executive Order directs federal agencies to take a series of actions, including:
- Addressing “disproportionate and adverse” human health and environmental effects and hazards of federal and non-federal activities
- Addressing historical inequities, systemic barriers, or actions related to any federal regulation, policy, or practice that impair the ability of communities with environmental justice concerns from achieving or maintaining a healthy and sustainable environment
- Consider adopting or requiring measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects and hazards of federal activities on communities with environmental justice concerns, addressing the contribution of federal activities to adverse effects
- Providing opportunities for “meaningful” engagement of people and communities with environmental justice concerns who are potentially affected by federal activities
- Carrying out National Environmental Policy Act reviews in a manner that, among other things, analyzes the effects of federal actions on communities with environmental justice concerns
- Ensuring adequate public access to information on federal activities when required by environmental laws
- Publishing Environmental Justice Strategic Plans by October 2024, and every four years thereafter, that among other things identify and address improvement of accountability and compliance with statutes that affect the health and environment of communities with environmental justice concerns; such measures may include increased public reporting by regulated entities, expanded use of environmental impact or compliance assessment tools, and removal of exemptions or waivers that may undermine achievement of human health or environmental standards
- Publishing Environmental Justice Assessments within 2 years of Environmental Justice Strategic Plans
- Developing research and data related to environmental justice
The Executive Order also specifically provides for the public to submit recommendations to federal agencies relating to the incorporation of environmental justice principles into federal program or policies, which in turn must be submitted by the agencies to the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council.
CEQ will issue interim guidance by October 2023 that informs agency implementation of the Executive Order, with final guidance due by October 2024.
