The Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice program is facing significant challenges as workers are reportedly being placed on administrative leave. This move comes amidst federal agencies complying with President Trump's executive order to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The program, which focuses on protecting economically disadvantaged and politically marginalized communities disproportionately affected by environmental hazards, could see its future jeopardized. The news raises concerns about the potential impact on these communities and the role of Congress in safeguarding these vital programs.
Sources close to the Environmental Justice program at the Environmental Protection Agency said that workers there were told in a staff meeting on Wednesday that they would soon be placed on administrative leave. The move comes as federal agencies act to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at ending government activity related to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
Those could include the fence-line neighborhoods near petrochemical facilities on the Gulf Coast, or rural settlements near mining operations in Appalachia or on tribal lands.Tejada said those communities would lose an important voice if the Environmental Justice program were cut.'They'll go back to the back of the line to wait, potentially another generation, to receive the sort of clean environmental benefits that most people in our country take for granted,' he said.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EPA DEI PROGRAMS CONGRESS
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