WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a nonprofit organization committed to exposing environmental injustices and associated mitigation, commended the signing of 'Executive Order 12898: Revitalizing our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All,' by the White House.

Dana Johnson, senior director of Strategy and Federal Policy for WE ACT for Environmental Justice, pointed out:

Today’s historic announcement addresses what WE ACT has been fighting for 35 years: environmental justice is central to civil rights and environmental laws.

About the EO

“To lead the world in environmental justice, we must start at home. And two years in, we’re making real progress on the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in history. With today's Executive Order, we’ll go even further,” posted Biden through Twitter.

The Executive Order introduces a series of directives that require the 438 federal agencies to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse effects on human health or the environment of their programs, policies and activities in minority populations and low-income populations.

“The administration is implementing meaningful change to support the message we’ve known for decades: harmful pollution disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color, among other vulnerable communities. The updated Executive Order, building on the original Executive Order 12898 issued by President Clinton in 1994, will further embed environmental justice work in federal agencies to achieve real, measurable progress that low-income and communities of color can depend on,” added Johnson.

When I met with environmental justice leaders, their stories about pollution were unforgettable.

Imagine being scared to death about what the air or water is doing to your kids.

This kind of injustice goes against everything America stands for – so we’re taking action. pic.twitter.com/GOUnWnmDFS

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 22, 2023

In addition to requiring each federal agency to develop an environmental justice strategy, the Order also directs:

• Establishes the White House Office of Environmental Justice at Council on Environmental Quality
• The broadening of research data methodologies to include cumulative impacts and datasets to include more communities of color
• Additional public outreach and participation connected to federal agency actions
• New public notifications if toxic substances are released from federal facilities
• The establishment of an Environmental Justice Subcommittee within the National Science and Technology Council, led by the Office of Science and Technology Policy

“The Biden administration has issued an update of Executive Order 12898, adding to the President’s landmark work to create the Justice40 Initiative, the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council, and the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC),” noted Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC co-chair and co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

“Today, the foundation of the government’s environmental justice work has been updated to respond to recommendations made by the WHEJAC to further advance environmental and climate justice throughout the federal government. This is an important step forward as we see real investment in frontline communities,” added Shepard.