Environmental Justice | The Executive Order at 20

Moderator’s
Note: It has been
twenty years since President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12898,
establishing a federal environmental justice policy to address enduring
inequalities in the distribution of environmental rights and wrongs. As part of
a continuing series on the state of the environmental justice movement, I am
presenting a reflective essay by one of the founders of the movement, Charles
Lee. I briefly met Charles at the First EJ Summit in Washington, D.C. in October
1991, where the Principles of Environmental Justice were formulated and adopted. He is
not just a visionary; he is also a lifelong activist – a true change agent
engaged with social movements and political institutions.

In this brief essay, Mr. Lee provides
an overview of accomplishments made possible by Clinton’s executive order, not
the least of which is the proliferation of EJ studies and research faculties at
hundreds of universities and colleges across the country. I take a less than
completely enthusiastic view of this accomplishment since it can also represent
the co-optation of the movement by academics, too often resulting in the
eclipsing of community-based action and legitimizing the continued destruction
of the planet under the savage reign of neoliberal capitalism.

The overarching conclusion Lee arrives
at is that EJ has “gone mainstream” and this is where Charles and I part
company because, for me, this represents an unfortunate turn as academic EJ
legitimizes governmental (in)actions while the destruction of the Earth and
communities of color continues pretty much unabated despite twenty years of
federal funding and action. Mainstreaming EJ is a double-edged proposition
comprised of mixed results in the form of small victories like the defeat of
the tank farm in Austin by grassroots activists and the many larger more
profound defeats including the failure of the EPA to effectively intervene in
the control of more systemic threats
like GMOs, fracking, or climate change. In other words, as far as federal
policy goes, we really do not have that much to celebrate.

This essay first appeared on the blog
of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March 2014. The original can be
read here.

Evolving
Visions of Environmental Justice

AN
EJ PIONEER’S REFLECTIONS ON EO 12898 AFTER TWENTY YEARS

Charles Lee
| Washington, D.C.

President Clinton
signing EO 12898 at a WH ceremony February 11, 1994.

Charles Lee is third from
L, next to Dr. Robert D. Bullard. The late Dana Alston is third from the R. Photo courtesy of EPA.

In 1994, I had the distinct honor of being invited to
the Oval Office for President Clinton’s signing of Executive Order (EO) 12898
on environmental justice (EJ).  As one of
the persons who played a pioneering role in the birth of EJ, I want to
highlight some of EO 12898’s impacts after twenty years.  The EJ executive order was a product of
community activism, which formed the core of the EJ movement.  An abiding truth of EJ is that this community
activism played a leading role in inspiring and catalyzing many truly visionary
developments.  This is an underlying
thread for all the impacts highlighted.

First, EO 12898 helped to amplify the community
action that inspired the EJ executive order’s development and issuance.  The EJ movement’s inherent vision is building
healthy, equitable and sustainable communities for all people.  Communities of color, low-income
neighborhoods and tribes led participatory democratic action that significantly
influenced environmental decision-making. 
The list of examples is endless — from relocating fuel tank farms in
East Austin, Texas, revitalizing overburdened neighborhoods in Spartanburg,
South Carolina, to building “green zones” in California and Kansas.  New models emerged, from local zoning
ordinances to use of geographic information systems.  Activists, practitioners and scholars of all
ages and backgrounds have joined the quest. 
Among them was a young community organizer in the Altgeld Gardens
housing project in Chicago’s polluted southside named Barack Obama.

Far sighted groups in all sectors of society have
undertaken EJ initiatives.  The public
health field has incorporated EJ in significant ways, especially through
community-based participatory research. 
Hundreds of universities now offer EJ courses or clinics, and a Ph.D.
program in EJ now exists.  States and local
governments have legislation, policies or programs that address EJ.  Whereas EJ was virtually unheard of in 1994,
today it has an indelible foothold in the mainstream of society.

Second, EO 12898 provided direction on the integration
of EJ in federal programs. Beginning in the 1990s, EJ advocates first
articulated ideas on how to operationalize EJ in government programs. Through
the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, they developed a public
participation model plan and recommendations on using environmental statutes to
address EJ issues.  Their recommendations
on cumulative risk led to the CARE program. 
They also laid the foundation for transforming brownfields redevelopment
into community revitalization.

But it was not until the Obama Administration that
EPA developed Plan EJ 2014, a comprehensive roadmap for ensuring that EJ is, in
former Administrator Lisa Jackson’s words, “a part of every decision.” Plan EJ
2014 resulted from extensive input from communities and other
stakeholders.  Through Plan EJ 2014,
basic guidance and tools for integrating EJ into EPA’s rulemaking, permitting,
enforcement and community action efforts are being completed.  The Interagency Working Group on
Environmental Justice (IWG), established by EO 12898, was revitalized.  Other agencies also issued important EJ
guidance.  The IWG is now developing
basic analytical resources for considering EJ in the National Environmental
Protection Act (NEPA) process.  NEPA is a
touchstone of EO 12898.  In his
Presidential Memorandum accompanying EO 12898, President Clinton identified it
as an important tool for addressing EJ.

Progress has been painfully incremental and the goal
of integrating EJ in federal programs will take tenacious and long-term
effort.  EJ truly remains the unfinished
business of environmental protection.  It
is also important at this time to frame a larger vision for EO 12898 that
includes proactively providing benefits essential for building wholesome
prosperous communities, such as health care, housing, transportation, jobs,
economic development, green space and food security.  Moving in that direction will go a long way
towards truly fulfilling the vision of EO 12898 by explicitly articulating how
EJ is an integral part of the missions of all federal agencies.

Third, EO 12898 served as a catalyst for action by
states on EJ. Today more than 40 states and territories have EJ legislation,
policies or programs.  The executive
order also provided a template for state EJ efforts, which typically include a
tandem of lead office, interagency process and/or advisory committee with a
focus on public participation, environmental health or model projects.

Notable examples of state action include California’s
pioneering Environmental Justice Act (SB 115), sponsored by former State
Senator, U.S. Representative and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.  This law led to efforts to address cumulative
risks and toxic hotspots, including AB 1330. 
The state also developed CalEnviroScreen to identify overburdened areas
and promote equitable distribution of resources.  For example, it will help identify
disadvantaged areas in which to invest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund proceeds
under SB 535.  Minnesota passed
legislation requiring cumulative risk assessment for an overburdened area in
South Minneapolis.  New York State passed
the Article X Powerplant Siting Law that requires analysis of disproportionate
environmental impacts and the state’s brownfields legislation created the
Brownfields Opportunities Areas Program.

Community advocates played a significant role in
shaping these efforts.  These examples
are harbingers of the future.  They
reflect the evolving vision of EJ advocates and indeed the future direction of
policy making.  EJ legislation or policy
must go beyond EO 12898 and address substantive issues.  We must do the hard work of incorporating EJ
in multiple types of legislation or policies.

In conclusion, EO 12898 is only one step in a long
journey.  We must continuously evolve EJ
vision and action to meet the opportunities and challenges of the 21st
century.  We have certainly come a long
way since 1994 when most decision-makers were groping for answers to elementary
questions like: “What is EJ?”  Incredible
opportunities have been created by all the good work of all parties.  We must rise to the paradigmatic challenges
created by climate change, increasing health and income disparities, equitable
development, sustainable communities, globalization impacts such as goods
(freight) movement, and other issues.~3045199Challenges with use of Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act persist.  EJ issues
will be local, regional, national and international.  If we are to rise to these challenges, we
must nurture new generations of EJ leaders—knowledgeable about how to work in
both communities and institutions, armed with stellar technical and legal skills,
and most important, guided by audacious vision and commitment.

Charles Lee is the Deputy Associate Assistant
Administrator for Environmental Justice at the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). Mr. Lee is widely recognized as a true pioneer in the arena of
environmental justice. He was the principal author of the landmark report,
Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States. He helped to spearhead the
emergence of a national environmental justice movement and federal action
including Executive Order 12898, EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice,
National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and the Federal Interagency
Working Group on Environmental Justice.