Executive Order 12898 – Turtle Talk

From the EPA’s press release, issued August 4 (link here):

Building on its commitment to ensuring strong protection from environmental and health hazards for all Americans, the Obama Administration today announced Federal agencies have agreed to develop environmental justice strategies to protect the health of people living in communities overburdened by pollution and provide the public with annual progress reports on their efforts. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder were joined by agency heads across the Administration in signing the “Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898” (EJ MOU).

“All too often, low-income, minority and Native Americans live in the shadows of our society’s worst pollution, facing disproportionate health impacts and greater obstacles to economic growth in communities that can’t attract businesses and new jobs. Expanding the conversation on environmentalism and working for environmental justice are some of my top priorities for the work of the EPA, and we’re glad to have President Obama’s leadership and the help of our federal partners in this important effort,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Every agency has a unique and important role to play in ensuring that all communities receive the health and environmental protections they deserve. Our broad collaboration will mean real progress for overburdened communities.”

Here’s the summary description of the MOU provided by the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice website (link here):

The EJ MOU broadens the EJ IWG, to include:

Agencies not named in Executive Order 12898 as participants

An EJ IWG Charter (PDF) (4 pp, 33K) to add more structure and efficiency to the Workgroup

Formal environmental justice commitments that agencies have made over the past year

A roadmap for agencies to better coordinate their efforts

Processes and procedures to help communities more efficiently

Effective engagement of agencies as they make decisions

Also, under the EJ MOU, each agency will be responsible for meeting various commitments, including:

Finalizing and publicizing an environmental justice strategy;

Providing the pubic with annual implementation reports that discuss progress in carrying out the Agency’s EJ commitments and responsibilities; and

Focusing on, when appropriate, the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act, implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, impacts from climate change, and impacts from commercial transportation and supporting infrastructure, or goods movement.