"Members of an EPA advisory council, no longer constrained by former President Trump's executive order stifling anti-racism training, are back to seeking aggressive environmental justice policies.

The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, made up of academics, advocates and businesspeople, is one of the oldest institutions advocating for environmental justice in the federal government. Recommendations from the council, established in 1993, have led to changes to the Superfund program and greater environmental protections for communities near shipping routes and elsewhere.

Trump's September executive order, which suspended diversity training that addressed topics like "white privilege" at federal agencies and federally funded entities, severely curtailed the work the committee could do, said Richard Moore, the council's outgoing chairman and executive director of Los Jardines Institute.

"There is no way you're going to discuss the issue of environmental racism without discussing environmental racism," Moore said."

Jacob Wallace reports for E&E News March 1, 2021. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Biden Administration Promises Focus On Environmental Justice" (AP) [3]