Projects and Research
Environmental justice cuts across E.O. 14057 goals, in particular for Federal facilities, fleets, and operations. Consistent with the Administration's ongoing commitment to advance environmental justice and equity within the Federal Government, E.O. 14057 requires that agencies incorporate environmental justice into sustainability and climate adaptation planning, decision making, and implementation.
Agencies must incorporate environmental justice considerations into operational planning and decision making regarding Federal facilities, fleets, and operations. Where possible, agencies should assess whether implementation of E.O. 14057 might create or exacerbate environmental justice concerns, or conversely, whether actions can address existing disproportionate environmental, climate, and human health burdens.
Agencies also should be aware that operational planning and decision making regarding Federal facilities, fleets, and operations may result in investments that are covered by the Justice40 Initiative established under E.O. 14008, which, seeks to provide 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments in 7 key areas to disadvantaged communities. These seven areas are climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change ; clean energy and energy efficiency; clean transit; affordable and sustainable housing; training and workforce development; the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution; and the development of critical clean water infrastructure.
Consistent with E.O. 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, and OMB Memorandum M-22-03, Advancing Equity in Federal Procurement, agencies must ensure that Government contracting and procurement opportunities for Federal fleet, buildings, and operations are equitable.
Agencies must develop, conduct, support, and promote training, education, and engagement activities that equip their workforce with the skills and tools necessary to achieve the sustainability objectives of the E.O. This includes incorporating, where practicable, environmental justice and equity topics in sustainability and climate literacy training, taking into consideration the strategies identified in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) forthcoming report, Climate Adaptation, Sustainability and the Federal Workforce: Analysis of Agency Engagement, Training and Leader Capabilities.
To facilitate reporting on agency action to achieve a climate- and sustainability-focused workforce, in FY 2022, agencies must establish systems to track strategies and actions to build agency capacity; educate, train, and engage agency staff; and incorporate sustainability and climate related goals and objectives into employee performance plans. This must include data on the number of:
- Sustainability and climate adaptation trainings, educational events, and employee engagements efforts;
- Staff participating in and receiving such training; and
- Employees whose performance plans incorporate environmental stewardship or sustainability and climate goals and objectives.
CEQ, in coordination with OMB and OPM, will consider metrics for tracking progress toward a climate- and sustainability-focused workforce no later than FY 2023.
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Regulations, Guidance, and Policy Executive Orders |
Climate Crisis; Efforts to Protect Public Health and Environment and Restore Science Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All |
| Laws, Regulations, and Agreements |
FY2024-FY2027 National Compliance Initiatives EPA's National Compliance Initiatives (NCIs) advance the Agency Strategic Plan's objectives to improve air quality, provide for clean and safe water, ensure chemical safety, and improve compliance with our nation's environmental laws while enhancing shared accountability between the EPA and states and tribes with authorized environmental programs. Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898 Full text of the 2011 MOU between EPA and other federal agencies. White House Memorandum: Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Federal Decision Making White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) jointly released a new memorandum that commits to elevating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) in federal scientific and policy processes. ITEK is a body of observations, oral and written knowledge, practices, and beliefs that promotes environmental sustainability and the responsible stewardship of natural resources through relationships between humans and environmental systems. It is applied to phenomena across biological, physical, cultural and spiritual systems. |
| EPA Guidance & Planning |
This Best Practices Guide provides EPA regional Superfund teams with best practices for oversight and enforcement of community involvement (CI) requirements at federal facility National Priority List (NPL) sites. This includes newly proposed best practices and a compilation of existing resources for successful CI. By enhancing CI at federal facility NPL sites through these best practices and the resources, EPA Regions can support EPA's environmental justice (EJ) efforts through their existing oversight role. This guidebook provides clear descriptions of the law's tax incentives and funding programs to build a clean energy economy, lower energy costs, tackle climate change, and reduce harmful pollution. The Guidebook will help users better understand how they can benefit from these investments and unlock the full potential of the law. The Guidebook walks through the law program-by-program and provides background on each program's purpose, eligibility requirements, period of availability, and other key details. EJ Action Plan: Building Up Environmental Justice in EPA's Land Protection and Cleanup Programs The plan highlights projects, tools, and practices to be applied to the Superfund, Brownfields, Emergency Response, Solid Waste Management, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action, and Underground Storage Tank programs. The EJ Action Plan is a working document, and EPA will be reporting on progress as part of a whole-of-government and EPA-wide effort to address the nation's environmental justice challenges, in-line with the priorities of Administration. Enhancing Environmental Justice in EPA Permitting Programs An April 2011 report of advice and recommendations of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (NEJAC) on enhancing environmental justice in EPA permitting programs. Environmental Justice 2020 Action Agenda The EJ 2020 Action Agenda (EJ 2020) is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2016 – 2020 strategic plan for advancing environmental justice. Environmental Justice and National Environmental Policy Act EPA EJ resource page, including: Environmental Justice Considerations In the NEPA Process,Federal Guidance on Environmental Justice, Agency Guidance Related to Environmental Justice and NEPA, Methodologies that Support Environmental Justice Considerations, and other EJ guidance information. Environmental Justice Science, Data, and Research Plan The Environmental Justice Science, Data, and Research Plan was created to support federal agencies in the advancement of environmental justice. It features high level recommendations for identifying and addressing longstanding gaps, barriers, and missing science, data, and research relevant to environmental justice. The four key recommendations include: 1)Enhancing meaningful involvement and engagement of the public. 2) Fortifying just treatment, equitable access, and protection from environmental injustice. 3) Strengthening work and partnership with non-federal entities. 4) Institutionalizing environmental justice. EPA Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting FAQs The Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting FAQs provides information to EPA, federal, tribal, state, and local environmental permitting programs on how to integrate EJ into their permitting processes. It also outlines how recipients of EPA financial assistance are obligated to comply with federal civil rights statutes, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in their permitting processes. This Strategic Plan furthers the agency's commitment to protecting human health and the environment for all people, with an emphasis on historically overburdened and underserved communities. EPA's final Plan includes a strategic goal focused exclusively on addressing climate change, as well as an unprecedented strategic goal to advance environmental justice and civil rights. The Strategic Plan outlines seven goals and four cross-agency strategies. The strategies articulate essential ways of working to accomplish EPA's goals and mission outcomes. The Plan also includes a suite of measures that will help the Agency monitor progress and ensure accountability for achieving its priorities to protect human health and the environment for all Americans. EPA Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice EPA Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice (EJ Legal Tools) is an updated and expanded compilation of legal authorities available to EPA for identifying and addressing the disproportionate impact of pollution on underserved and overburdened communities, including communities of color, Indigenous people, and low-income communities. EJ Legal Tools is intended to help EPA decisionmakers and partners understand their authorities to consider and address environmental justice and equity in decision-making, and to promote meaningful engagement. EPA Asst. Administrator memorandum, dated 30 April 2021, to the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Office Directors and Deputies, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Directors and Deputies, and Regional Counsels and Deputies, outlining steps for advancement of environmental justice goals. EPA Asst. Administrator memorandum, dated July 1, 2021, to the Office of Site Remediation Enforcement Managers, Regional Superfund Division Directors and Deputies, Regional Counsels and Deputies, setting out steps to advance EPA environmental justice goals through cleanup enforcement at private and federal facility sites, primarily through the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA Asst. Administrator memorandum, dated 26 Apr 2021, to the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Office Directors and Deputies, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Directors and Deputies, and Regional Counsels and Deputies. This memorandum charges enforcement staff and case teams to appropriately use the full array of policy and legal tools available to ensure that our country's environmental laws – and the policies to implement them – deliver benefits to all individuals and communities. EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Tribes The EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes establishes clear EPA standards for the consultation process. It defines when and how consultation takes place, designates EPA consultation contacts to promote consistency and coordination of the process, and establishes management oversight and reporting to ensure accountability and transparency. The Policy sets a broad standard for when EPA should consider consulting with federally recognized tribal governments based on Executive Order 13175 and the 1984 EPA Policy for the Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations. EPA's Equity Action Plan provides guidance on how to assess whether underserved communities and their members face systemic barriers in accessing benefits and opportunities through the federal government. This Equity Action Plan is a critical part of EPA's efforts to break through those barriers and advance equity and justice across our efforts to ensure clean water, air, and land for all communities. The plan outlines priority actions that form a critical foundation on which to build meaningful engagement with underserved communities; achieve more equitable and just outcomes, including pollution reductions in communities with environmental justice concerns; and deliver other tangible benefits to underserved communities. New Roadmap to Accelerate Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Progress and Equity The Whitehouse released a Roadmap and over 100 federal informational resources to scale-up nature-based solutions to address climate change, nature loss and inequity. The reports, announced in November during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt, respond to a call from President Biden earlier this year to identify opportunities to expand the use of nature-based solutions across the federal government. Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis The Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis is designed to help EPA analysts evaluate potential environmental justice (EJ) concerns associated with EPA regulatory actions. |
| Other Federal Agency Guidance |
DHS Environmental Justice Strategy The environmental justice program within Department of Homeland Security is co-led by the Office of the Chief Readiness Support Officer's Sustainability and Environmental Programs and the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. These offices work throughout the Department and Components to provide policy and guidance, internal and external training, and subject matter expertise while fulfilling the obligations outlined in the Environmental Justice Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898 (MOU). DOE Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan underscores the DOE's commitment to creating a workplace that celebrates Americans of all backgrounds. The plan outlines Departmental actions to sustain an inclusive and accessible work environment by strengthening recruitment, retention and promotion, while removing inequitable barriers to advancement and development opportunities. The plan represents the culmination of months of work at DOE to support President Biden's Executive Order 14035, which reaffirms that the American workforce is at its strongest when it reflects the diverse communities it serves. The U.S. Department of Energy is committed to ensuring that the principles of environmental justice are applied to all the DOE's programs, policies, and activities. Learn about the DOE's EJ goals, accomplishments, policies, objectives and events. Home for the Department of Interior's EJ strategic plan and implementation progress reports. Home for the U.S. Departement of Health and Human Services' EJ strategic plans and implementation progress reports. Environmental Justice at the DOJ Home for the U.S. Department of Justice's EJ strategy, guidance and implementation progress reports. In this fact sheet the Administration is announcing new actions across agencies to support American leadership on clean manufacturing. The industrial sector is also central to tackling the climate crisis, as it is currently responsible for nearly a third of domestic greenhouse gas emissions. By helping manufacturers use clean energy, efficiency upgrades, and other innovative technologies to reduce emissions, the Administration is supporting cleaner industry that can produce the next generation of products and materials for a net-zero economy. These same manufacturing improvements will also protect public health, by reducing releases of air and water pollutants and toxic materials that disproportionately harm low-income households and communities of color. |