Environmental Justice
Equity Consideration References
Definition of Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice (EJ) at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) means identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse effects of the agency’s programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations to achieve an equitable distribution of benefits and burdens.
History of Environmental Justice
In 1994, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12898, directing federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable, to identify and address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations. In 1997, the Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) issued an Order to address EJ in minority populations and low-income populations to summarize and expand upon the requirements of Executive Order 12898 on EJ. The FHWA issued its own EJ Order in 1998 (Order 6640.23A). U.S. DOT, FHWA, and other modal administrations have since updated the respective orders and continually seek to enhance their efforts to address EJ effects of their programs, policies, and activities.
Executive Order 12898 – Environmental Justice
Executive Order 12898 requires that “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….” The executive order also created the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice. (February 1994)
DOT Order 5610.2 (c) – U.S. DOT Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low Income Populations
On May 16, 2021, U.S. DOT issued the Final DOT Environmental Justice Order, which is an update to U.S. DOT’s original Environmental Justice Order (Departmental Order 5610.2(a) – Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations), which was published on April 15, 1997. The Order continues to be a key component of U.S. DOT’s strategy to promote the principles of Environmental Justice in all Departmental programs, policies, and activities.
FHWA Order 6640.23A – FHWA Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
On June 14, 2012, FHWA issued the FHWA Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations directive, which establishes policies and procedures for FHWA to use in complying with Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations (EO 12898), dated February 11, 1994.
Guidance on Environmental Justice and NEPA
On December 16, 2011, FHWA issued a memo titled Guidance on Environmental Justice and NEPA. This guidance describes the process to address Environmental Justice during the NEPA review, including documentation requirements. It supplements the FHWA Technical Advisory 6640.8A, which provides guidance for documenting the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts considered in the selection and implementation of highway projects.
Environmental Justice Reference Guide
The FHWA Environmental Justice (EJ) Reference Guide (April 1, 2015) is a resource for FHWA staff to help with EJ considerations for transportation projects. EJ at FHWA means identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse effects of the agency’s programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations to achieve an equitable distribution of benefits and burdens. This also includes the full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the transportation decisionmaking process. The EJ Reference Guide does not establish any new requirements or replace any existing guidance and, should not be used as a document reference in the environmental review process. The FHWA EJ Workgroup, comprised of staff from different offices throughout the agency, collaboratively developed this reference guide.
Environmental Justice Case Studies
FHWA has developed a series of Environmental Justice Case Studies that focus on Environmental Justice analysis during the environmental review process. The case studies highlight 10 projects where agencies addressed Environmental Justice concerns early in the NEPA process.
Screening Tools
There are many tools available to practitioners to identify project impacts on EJ communities. Some of those tools are identified in the drop down menus below:
Training
The FHWA provides formal training on the application of EJ in the transportation decision-making process through the National Highway Institute (NHI)
and technical assistance offered by the FHWA Resource Center Technical Service Teams. Pre-recorded webinars, which can provide additional training
opportunities, are included in this section. Examples of available EJ courses are listed below.
A recently enacted Executive Order (EO) concerning environmental justice (EJ) includes EO 14096—Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All (April 21, 2023). Additional information regarding this EO can also be found here: FACT SHEET: President Biden Signs Executive Order to Revitalize Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All. The new EO 14096 on EJ does not rescind EO 12898, which FHWA is implementing through the current DOT and FHWA EJ Orders. As more information becomes available regarding the implementation of EO 14096, it will be provided on this webpage.
