Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

1994-02-16Executive Order 12898
Signed by: William J. Clinton
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Headline: Federal Agencies Must Address Environmental Justice for Disadvantaged Communities

What it does: Federal agencies must develop and implement agency-wide strategies to identify and address disproportionate health and environmental harms to minority and low-income populations.

Real World Impact:
  • Requires agencies to change programs and policies affecting minority and low-income communities.
  • Creates data collection and research duties on race, national origin, and income.
  • Establishes public meetings and translation of key documents for affected communities.
Topics: environmental justice, health disparities, federal agency policy, public participation, data and research

Summary

This order requires federal agencies to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority and low-income populations.

It creates an interagency working group led by the Environmental Protection Agency, requires each agency to produce and finalize an environmental justice strategy with specific timelines and reports, and calls for more research, data collection, public meetings, translated documents, and protections against discrimination in programs affecting health and the environment.

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