Environmental Justice: Federal Efforts Need Better Planning, Coordination, and Methods to Assess Progress
Abstract
Environmental justice seeks to address the disproportionately high distribution of health and environmental risks among low-income and minority communities by seeking their fair treatment and meaningful involvement in environmental policy. In 1994, Executive Order 12898 directed 11 federal agencies to identify and address environmental justice issues related to their activities and tasked an interagency working group to coordinate federal environmental justice efforts. In 2011, 16 agencies, including the 11 original agencies, recommitted to planning and reporting on environmental justice efforts by signing an MOU. GAO was asked to review federal environmental justice efforts. This report examines agencies environmental justice actions, strategic plans and progress reports, and working group collaboration. GAO reviewed agency environmental justice plans, reports, and funding data; interviewed agency officials; and compared working group collaboration to leading collaborative practices.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1173780
Entities
People
- Allen Chan
- Amber Sinclair
- Ben Licht
- Cynthia Norris
- Elise V. Winfrey
- Hannah Dodd
- J. A. Gomez
- Juan A. Garay
- Kiki Theodoropoulos
- Matthew Levie
- Peter Beck
- Rich Johnson
- Susan Lott
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office