In 1994, under Executive Order 12898, environmental justice was recognized as a federal initiative administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since then, the environmental justice movement has expanded, becoming a focus for many state regulatory agencies. The Biden Administration issued two executive orders in early 2021 directing federal agencies to proactively work toward achieving environmental justice. Recognizing that marginalized groups* including People of Color and low-income communities, bear the burden of the most polluted areas in the country, many state agencies are dedicated to ensuring equal representation in environmental issues and protecting from environmental harm.

On September 30, 2022, EPA recently published the “EJ Action Plan: Building Up Environmental Justice in EPA’s Land Protection and Cleanup Programs,” which details strategy for implementation of these directives by fully incorporating environmental justice considerations into Superfund, brownfield, emergency response, solid waste management, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective actions, and underground storage tank programs.