"White House Environmental Justice Focus Casts EPA in Shadows"

"President Joe Biden’s push to elevate racial justice and the needs of disadvantaged communities is starting to overshadow a key player at the forefront of environmental justice for more than two decades: the Environmental Protection Agency.

And some say it’s about time.

President Biden has made a series of moves that diminish EPA’s role in corralling federal agencies to confront environmental justice and elevate the influence of White House offices and staff, including the Office of Management and Budget; the White House Council on Environmental Quality; and White House Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy. The changes were spelled out in his Jan. 27 executive order outlining steps for tackling climate change.

The White House takeover is long overdue, said Alabama activist Catherine Flowers, who founded the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice."

Dean Scott reports for Bloomberg Environment March 31, 2021.

Source: Bloomberg Environment, 03/31/2021