Environmental Justice Resources

What is environmental justice?  Robert Bullard, considered the “father of environmental justice,” put it this way to The Guardian: “It’s the principle that all people are entitled to equal environmental protection regardless of race, color or national origin. It’s the right to live and work and play in a clean environment.”

Similarly, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

ASTSWMO members work every day to provide equal environmental protection to everyone in their States and Territories. This webpage provides environmental justice resources from State and Federal government programs, and other organizations.

State

Federal

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Environmental Justice Webpage

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Federal Environmental Justice Strategies

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Applying the EJ Lens in Federal Facility CERCLA Cleanups

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Availability of $100 Million through Inflation Reduction Act for Environmental Justice Grants

EPA Region 1 EJ Action Plan

EPA Region 7 EJ Implementation Plan

Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice & NEPA Committee – Promising Practices for EJ Methodologies in NEPA Review

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management – Environmental Justice Webpage

The White House, Executive Order 12898 (1994) – Federal actions to address environmental justice in minority populations and low-income populations.

The White House, Executive Order 14008 (2021) – Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad

Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (January 20, 2021)

FedCenter Environmental Justice Program Area

National Conference of State Legislators – State and Federal Environmental Justice Efforts

Other

ECOS – Environmental Justice and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act