Racial Equity Executive Order Deepens Federal Environmental Justice Efforts

The Biden-Harris Administration continues to build on early efforts to integrate environmental justice with federal agency actions through a new executive order, Executive Order 14091, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (the Executive Order), signed last week. Through the new Executive Order, the Biden Administration continues to institutionalize environmental justice considerations in federal agency decision-making processes by establishing equity teams across nearly two dozen federal agencies, standing up a new White House equity committee, and requiring agencies to produce annual reports documenting efforts to benefit underserved communities. The Executive Order aims to build environmental justice and equity considerations in federal agency infrastructure through durable systems that will not be easily unwound.