The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC), a federal advisory committee to the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

, was established September 30, 1993. The Council provides advice and recommendations about broad, cross-cutting issues related to

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justic ...

, from all stakeholders involved in the environmental justice dialogue. In addition, the NEJAC provides a valuable forum for discussions about integrating environmental justice with other EPA priorities and initiatives. Margaret J. May serves as the current Chairperson. The NEJAC also has seven subcommittees to help develop strategic options for EPA. These subcommittees report to the NEJAC Executive Council. Each subcommittee consists of approximately 6 to 13 individuals knowledgeable in the subject area. Members are drawn from the NEJAC Executive Council as well as from other stakeholder organizations. The subcommittees are: Air and Water; Enforcement; Health and Research; Indigenous Peoples; International; Puerto Rico; and Waste and Facility Siting.

History

For the past 20 years, NEJAC has provided a valuable forum for discussions about integrating environmental justice into EPA's programs, policies, and activities. The NEJAC has worked to shape agency policy including recommendations for the 1996 Brownfields report on Unintended Impacts from Revitalization that created the national Brownfields conference, recommendations for improving stakeholder relations between Federal facilities and

communities, as well as the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes and Vulnerable Populations Recommendations that helped shape the agency response to the Gulf Oil Spill.

Current Organization

The NEJAC membership consists of representatives from academia, community groups, industry and business, state and local government, environmental organizations, as well as tribal governments and indigenous groups.

Achievements

Following research and advice provided by the NEJAC and

Robert D. Bullard Robert Doyle Bullard (born December 21, 1946) is an American academic who is the former Dean of the Barbara Jordan - Mickey Leland School Of Public Affairs (October 2011 – August 2016) and currently Distinguished Professor at Texas Southern U ...

President Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again f ...

signed

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

12898 in 1994, the purpose of which was to focus federal attention on the environmental and human health effects of federal actions on minority and low-income populations with the goal of achieving

and protection for all communities.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/nejac/ United States Environmental Protection Agency Environmental organizations based in the United States Environmental justice organizations