Executive Order 12898

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Feb. 11 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994

the strength, the diversity of California is
staggering. And the future is bright. And I
am committed to doing everything I can to
make sure you get fair treatment and a genuine partnership and a better chance at a tomorrow from our administration.
And I thank you, and I thank you for your
probing questions. Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 3:33 p.m. via satellite from Room 459 of the Old Executive Office
Building. The press release issued by the Office
of the Press Secretary did not contain the complete opening remarks of the President. A tape
was not available for verification of the content
of this interview.

Executive Order 12898—Federal
Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations
February 11, 1994
By the authority vested in me as President
by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1–1. Implementation.
1–101. Agency Responsibilities. To the
greatest extent practicable and permitted by
law, and consistent with the principles set
forth in the report on the National Performance Review, each Federal agency shall make
achieving environmental justice part of its
mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects
of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the United States and its territories
and possessions, the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the
Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands.
1–102. Creation of an Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice. (a)
Within 3 months of the date of this order,
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (‘‘Administrator’’) or the Administrator’s designee shall convene an interagency Federal Working Group on Environmental Justice (‘‘Working Group’’). The
Working Group shall comprise the heads of
the following executive agencies and offices,

or their designees: (a) Department of Defense; (b) Department of Health and Human
Services; (c) Department of Housing and
Urban Development; (d) Department of
Labor; (e) Department of Agriculture; (f)
Department of Transportation; (g) Department of Justice; (h) Department of the Interior; (i) Department of Commerce; (j) Department of Energy; (k) Environmental Protection Agency; (l) Office of Management
and Budget; (m) Office of Science and Technology Policy; (n) Office of the Deputy Assistant to the President for Environmental
Policy; (o) Office of the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; (p) National Economic Council; (q) Council of Economic Advisers; and (r) such other Government officials as the President may designate. The
Working Group shall report to the President
through the Deputy Assistant to the President for Environmental Policy and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy.
(b) The Working Group shall: (1) provide
guidance to Federal agencies on criteria for
identifying disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects
on minority populations and low-income
populations;
(2) coordinate with, provide guidance to,
and serve as a clearinghouse for, each Federal agency as it develops an environmental
justice strategy as required by section 1–103
of this order, in order to ensure that the administration, interpretation and enforcement
of programs, activities and policies are undertaken in a consistent manner;
(3) assist in coordinating research by, and
stimulating cooperation among, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department
of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
and other agencies conducting research or
other activities in accordance with section 3–
3 of this order;
(4) assist in coordinating data collection,
required by this order;
(5) examine existing data and studies on
environmental justice;
(6) hold public meetings as required in
section 5–502(d) of this order; and
(7) develop interagency model projects on
environmental justice that evidence cooperation among Federal agencies.

Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994 / Feb. 11
1–103. Development of Agency Strategies.
(a) Except as provided in section 6–605 of
this order, each Federal agency shall develop
an agency-wide environmental justice strategy, as set forth in subsections (b)–(e) of this
section that identifies and addresses disproportionately high and adverse human
health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority
populations and low-income populations.
The environmental justice strategy shall list
programs, policies, planning and public participation processes, enforcement, and/or
rulemakings related to human health or the
environment that should be revised to, at a
minimum: (1) promote enforcement of all
health and environmental statutes in areas
with minority populations and low-income
populations; (2) ensure greater public participation; (3) improve research and data collection relating to the health of and environment of minority populations and low-income populations; and (4) identify differential patterns of consumption of natural resources among minority populations and lowincome populations. In addition, the environmental justice strategy shall include, where
appropriate, a timetable for undertaking
identified revisions and consideration of economic and social implications of the revisions.
(b) Within 4 months of the date of this
order, each Federal agency shall identify an
internal administrative process for developing its environmental justice strategy, and
shall inform the Working Group of the process.
(c) Within 6 months of the date of this
order, each Federal agency shall provide the
Working Group with an outline of its proposed environmental justice strategy.
(d) Within 10 months of the date of this
order, each Federal agency shall provide the
Working Group with its proposed environmental justice strategy.
(e) Within 12 months of the date of this
order, each Federal agency shall finalize its
environmental justice strategy and provide a
copy and written description of its strategy
to the Working Group. During the 12 month
period from the date of this order, each Federal agency, as part of its environmental justice strategy, shall identify several specific

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projects that can be promptly undertaken to
address particular concerns identified during
the development of the proposed environmental justice strategy, and a schedule for
implementing those projects.
(f) Within 24 months of the date of this
order, each Federal agency shall report to
the Working Group on its progress in implementing its agency-wide environmental justice strategy.
(g) Federal agencies shall provide additional periodic reports to the Working Group
as requested by the Working Group.
1–104. Reports to the President. Within 14
months of the date of this order, the Working
Group shall submit to the President, through
the Office of the Deputy Assistant to the
President for Environmental Policy and the
Office of the Assistant to the President for
Domestic Policy, a report that describes the
implementation of this order, and includes
the final environmental justice strategies described in section 1–103(e) of this order.
Sec. 2–2. Federal Agency Responsibilities
for Federal Programs. Each Federal agency
shall conduct its programs, policies, and activities that substantially affect human health
or the environment, in a manner that ensures
that such programs, policies, and activities do
not have the effect of excluding persons (including populations) from participation in,
denying persons (including populations) the
benefits of, or subjecting persons (including
populations) to discrimination under, such
programs, policies, and activities, because of
their race, color, or national origin.
Sec. 3–3. Research, Data Collection, and
Analysis.
3–301. Human Health and Environmental
Research and Analysis. (a) Environmental
human health research, whenever practicable and appropriate, shall include diverse
segments of the population in epidemiological and clinical studies, including segments
at high risk from environmental hazards,
such as minority populations, low-income
populations and workers who may be exposed to substantial environmental hazards.
(b) Environmental human health analyses,
whenever practicable and appropriate, shall
identify multiple and cumulative exposures.
(c) Federal agencies shall provide minority
populations and low-income populations the

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Feb. 11 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994

opportunity to comment on the development
and design of research strategies undertaken
pursuant to this order.
3–302. Human Health and Environmental
Data Collection and Analysis. To the extent
permitted by existing law, including the Privacy Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. section
552a): (a) each Federal agency, whenever
practicable and appropriate, shall collect,
maintain, and analyze information assessing
and comparing environmental and human
health risks borne by populations identified
by race, national origin, or income. To the
extent practical and appropriate, Federal
agencies shall use this information to determine whether their programs, policies, and
activities have disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental effects on minority populations and low-income populations;
(b) In connection with the development
and implementation of agency strategies in
section 1–103 of this order, each Federal
agency, whenever practicable and appropriate, shall collect, maintain and analyze information on the race, national origin, income level, and other readily accessible and
appropriate information for areas surrounding facilities or sites expected to have a substantial environmental, human health, or economic effect on the surrounding populations,
when such facilities or sites become the subject of a substantial Federal environmental
administrative or judicial action. Such information shall be made available to the public,
unless prohibited by law; and
(c) Each Federal agency, whenever practicable and appropriate, shall collect, maintain, and analyze information on the race, national origin, income level, and other readily
accessible and appropriate information for
areas surrounding Federal facilities that are:
(1) subject to the reporting requirements
under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, 42 U.S.C. section
11001–11050 as mandated in Executive
Order No. 12856; and (2) expected to have
a substantial environmental, human health,
or economic effect on surrounding populations. Such information shall be made available to the public, unless prohibited by law.
(d) In carrying out the responsibilities in
this section, each Federal agency, whenever

practicable and appropriate, shall share information and eliminate unnecessary duplication of efforts through the use of existing data
systems and cooperative agreements among
Federal agencies and with States, local, and
tribal governments.
Sec. 4–4. Subsistence Consumption of
Fish and Wildlife.
4–401. Consumption Patterns. In order to
assist in identifying the need for ensuring
protection of populations with differential
patterns of subsistence consumption of fish
and wildlife, Federal agencies, whenever
practicable and appropriate, shall collect,
maintain, and analyze information on the
consumption patterns of populations who
principally rely on fish and/or wildlife for
subsistence. Federal agencies shall communicate to the public the risks of those consumption patterns.
4–402. Guidance. Federal agencies, whenever practicable and appropriate, shall work
in a coordinated manner to publish guidance
reflecting the latest scientific information
available concerning methods for evaluating
the human health risks associated with the
consumption of pollutant-bearing fish or
wildlife. Agencies shall consider such guidance in developing their policies and rules.
Sec. 5–5. Public Participation and Access
to Information. (a) The public may submit
recommendations to Federal agencies relating to the incorporation of environmental
justice principles into Federal agency programs or policies. Each Federal agency shall
convey such recommendations to the Working Group.
(b) Each Federal agency may, whenever
practicable and appropriate, translate crucial
public documents, notices, and hearings relating to human health or the environment
for limited English speaking populations.
(c) Each Federal agency shall work to ensure that public documents, notices, and
hearings relating to human health or the environment are concise, understandable, and
readily accessible to the public.
(d) The Working Group shall hold public
meetings, as appropriate, for the purpose of
fact-finding, receiving public comments, and
conducting inquiries concerning environmental justice. The Working Group shall prepare for public review a summary of the com-

Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994 / Feb. 11
ments and recommendations discussed at the
public meetings.
Sec. 6–6. General Provisions.
6–601. Responsibility for Agency Implementation. The head of each Federal agency
shall be responsible for ensuring compliance
with this order. Each Federal agency shall
conduct internal reviews and take such other
steps as may be necessary to monitor compliance with this order.
6–602. Executive Order No. 12250. This
Executive order is intended to supplement
but not supersede Executive Order No.
12250, which requires consistent and effective implementation of various laws prohibiting discriminatory practices in programs receiving Federal financial assistance. Nothing
herein shall limit the effect or mandate of
Executive Order No. 12250.
6–603. Executive Order No. 12875. This
Executive order is not intended to limit the
effect or mandate of Executive Order No.
12875.
6–604. Scope. For purposes of this order,
Federal agency means any agency on the
Working Group, and such other agencies as
may be designated by the President, that
conducts any Federal program or activity that
substantially affects human health or the environment. Independent agencies are requested to comply with the provisions of this
order.
6–605. Petitions for Exemptions. The head
of a Federal agency may petition the President for an exemption from the requirements
of this order on the grounds that all or some
of the petitioning agency’s programs or activities should not be subject to the requirements of this order.
6–606. Native American Programs. Each
Federal agency responsibility set forth under
this order shall apply equally to Native American programs. In addition, the Department
of the Interior, in coordination with the
Working Group, and, after consultation with
tribal leaders, shall coordinate steps to be
taken pursuant to this order that address
Federally-recognized Indian Tribes.
6–607. Costs. Unless otherwise provided
by law, Federal agencies shall assume the financial costs of complying with this order.

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6–608. General. Federal agencies shall implement this order consistent with, and to
the extent permitted by, existing law.
6–609. Judicial Review. This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to, nor does it create any right, benefit, or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a
party against the United States, its agencies,
its officers, or any person. This order shall
not be construed to create any right to judicial review involving the compliance or noncompliance of the United States, its agencies,
its officers, or any other person with this
order.
William J. Clinton
The White House,
February 11, 1994.
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register,
3:07 p.m., February 14, 1994]
Note: This Executive order was published in the
Federal Register on February 16.

Memorandum on Environmental
Justice
February 11, 1994
Memorandum for the Heads
of All Departments and Agencies
Subject: Executive Order on Federal Actions
To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
Today I have issued an Executive order
on Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations. That order is designed to focus Federal attention on the environmental and human health conditions in
minority communities and low-income communities with the goal of achieving environmental justice. That order is also intended
to promote nondiscrimination in Federal
programs substantially affecting human
health and the environment, and to provide
minority communities and low-income communities access to public information on, and
an opportunity for public participation in,
matters relating to human health or the environment.