– According to the White House, US President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order on Friday directing federal agencies to focus more on environmental policies that harm communities.
The executive order will create a new Office of Environmental Justice within the White House to coordinate efforts across the government. It would also require federal agencies to notify communities in the event that toxic substances are released from a federal facility.
Disasters such as the February derailment of a freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, which resulted in a hazardous chemical spill, have drawn attention to the environmental damage that some communities experience at a higher rate.
“For far too long, communities across our country have faced persistent environmental injustice through toxic pollution, underinvestment in infrastructure and critical services, and other disproportionate environmental harms, often due to a legacy of racial discrimination,” said the White House in a statement.
Biden will make the announcement at an event in the White House Rose Garden on Friday.
The president has frequently used executive authority in areas of focus, such as the environment and race, where a divided Congress has hampered his ability to enact new legislation.
