LENEXA, Kan.– The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday released the 2023 update to its Equity Action Plan, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government equity agenda. This Equity Action Plan is part of EPA’s efforts to implement the President’s Executive Order on “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government,” which reaffirmed the Administration’s commitment to ensure equity and build an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.
“Equity is at the heart of all that we do at EPA. Striving for equity makes it possible for us to deliver on our mission to protect public health and provide a clean environment for all,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “The progress that we have made and this update to our Equity Action Plan show our continued commitment to uplifting everyone, and we are proud to be a part of this work.”
Following robust engagement with community stakeholders, EPA identified eight priority strategies, which include four previously identified priorities carried forward from the 2022 Equity Action Plan and four newly identified strategies to support communities that have been historically underserved, as well as all communities across our Nation, these eight priority strategies are:
- Improve access for Communities to Federal Assistance.
- Reduce Cumulative Impacts and Health Disparities.
- Strengthen our Civil Rights Compliance Program.
- Protect Children from Exposures to Environmental Harms.
- Address Inequitable Access to Resources for Rural Communities.
- Ensure Public Access to EPA Programs and Address Environmental Harms for People with Disabilities.
- Strengthening Community-Based Participatory Science to Achieve Environmental Equity.
- Improve Data and Analytic Capacity to Better Identify and Remove Barriers.
Since the release of its first-ever Equity Action Plan in 2022, EPA has:
- Selected 11 Environmental Justice Thriving Community Technical Assistance Centers to receive a total of $600 million dollars through the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce barriers when accessing federal grant funding and will make approximately 2,000 subawards directly impacting and addressing issues at the community level.
- Created a robust technical assistance program to help eligible organizations access the $2 billion dollars available through the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program.
- Awarded over $11 billion to date in clean water investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law under the State Revolving Funds, with at least 49% of this funding to go to disadvantaged communities.
As the backbone of work at EPA under the Biden-Harris Administration, the focus remains on ensuring no one is left behind because of the color of their skin or the zip code where they reside.
As this work continues, updates will be posted on EPA’s Equity Action Plan webpage. Learn more about the Administration’s equity work and check out all Federal Equity Action Plans.