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Interagency Working Group
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In 1994, the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (IWG) was established under Executive Order 12898. The IWG is comprised of eleven federal agencies and several White House offices. Each agency, with leadership from EPA, is working to integrate environmental justice into its individual programs.
On November 4, 2005, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson reaffirmed (PDF 3,560KB, 2 pages) the Agency's, and affirmed the Administration's, commitment to environmental justice.
In March 2003, the IWG selected 15 Revitalization Demonstration Projects to showcase collaborative partnerships among federal agencies and other stakeholders in the area of community revitalization and environmental justice. To learn more about these projects, please see the background document (PDF 125KB, 5 pages) which includes brief descriptions of each project, the two-page fact sheets (PDF 1,420KB, 31 pages) on each project, and the request for applications (RFA) which provides in depth information on the purpose and intent of the IWG demonstration projects program and its requirements.
In May 2000, the IWG released the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda (PDF 659KB, 47 pages) which identified 15 such model programs. The action agenda insures the targeting of coordinated federal initiatives and resources to help environmentally and economically distressed communities. Together, the 12 federal agencies and departments identified 15 national environmental justice demonstration projects. The anticipated result will be dramatic improvement in the quality of life in 15 minority and low-income communities that suffer disproportionate environmental impact.
As follow-up to the Action Agenda, the IWG examined the 15 demonstration projects as they were implemented. Status Report on Environmental Justice Collaborative Model (PDF 4,300KB, 67 pages) recounts the lessons learned and successful elements of the 15 Action Agenda projects, which helped define the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model now being used by EPA.
In 2001, the EPA Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation's Evaluation Support Division conducted an evaluation (Evaluating the Use of Partnerships to Address Environmental Justice Issues) of six IWG projects to determine the value of using partnerships to address environmental justice issues. This effort included six case studies and an analysis of the: (1) project processes, activities, and outcomes; (2) key factors influencing project success; (3) value of partnering to address environmental justice issues; and (4) value of federal agency involvement in partnership efforts. A core set of findings and recommendations were also included. To learn more about this effort click on "Evaluating the Use of Partnerships to Address Environmental Justice Issues" above.
Currently, the IWG has one active task force, the Native American Task Force (PDF 258KB, 2 pages). This task force focuses on priority environmental justice concerns facing Native Americans. One such issue is the protection of tribal cultural resources and sacred places. The task force completed a compendium
of federal memorandum, policies, executive orders, guidance, and statutes on Native American sacred places and cultural properties to identify the tools which can be used to protect these resources.