This week, President Donald Trump signed executive orders that aimed at reversing the environmental justice measures put in place by Presidents Clinton and Biden during his time away from the White House.

One significant action was the repeal of Executive Order 12898, which was introduced by President Bill Clinton to enhance federal focus on environmental justice for marginalized and low-income groups. Experts warn that this move could have serious, even life-threatening consequences.

“It clearly demonstrates a battle against equity and highlights a significant misinterpretation of what environmental justice means,” stated Peggy Shepard, executive director and co-founder of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a national advocacy organization based in New York City. “This ensures that communities of color will suffer the consequences regarding their health and welfare.”

Trump’s repeal of Clinton’s order was part of a broader directive aimed at ending what he describes as illegal discrimination while restoring a “merit-based opportunity,” reflecting his overall resistance to programs designed to rectify systemic racism.

“In light of this, I direct all executive departments and agencies to eliminate any discriminatory or unlawful preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements,” his order states.

What is Executive Order 12898?

Executive Order 12898, signed by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1994, mandated that the federal government take environmental justice and the possibility of discriminatory effects into account when making decisions. It specifically focused on how these decisions impact the health of minority, tribal, and low-income communities.

“The order instructed federal agencies to incorporate environmental justice into their core missions and to develop an environmental justice strategy,” as noted by the Department of Energy in a historical overview of environmental justice in the U.S.

Why was it created?

Clinton’s order was a response to increasing demands for environmental justice across the nation, which had already led President George Bush Sr. to establish an environmental equity group and facilitate federally sponsored discussions with community leaders on the issue, according to the DOE.

“The order acknowledged that every individual in the United States deserves safe places to live, learn, work, play, and pray, recognizing that environmental hazards disproportionately impact people of color,” explained Myrriah Gómez, an associate professor at the University of New Mexico’s Honors College who studies environmental racism.

As outlined by the DOE, one notable event that led to Clinton’s order was the 1982 decision to place a hazardous waste landfill in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Warren County, North Carolina for soil contaminated by illegally dumped toxic waste.

Nations witnessed massive protests led by the NAACP, which helped to draw national attention to the environmental justice movement and led to the creation of advocacy organizations dedicated to this cause.

What was the order’s significance?

According to the National Resources Defense Council, Executive Order 12898 marked the first significant federal action in the U.S. addressing environmental justice, giving credibility to the movement and highlighting the fact that low-income and minority communities bear a disproportionate burden from environmental pollution and its associated health risks.

“Shepard from WE ACT described it as an exciting time. “The environmental justice movement had fought for years to bring these issues to the attention of the federal government, and this established a more equitable approach to assessing the distribution of environmental pollution.”

Following this order, several states enacted similar measures, requiring their agencies to evaluate environmental justice in their decision-making processes.

In a blog post commemorating the 30th anniversary of the order, WE ACT noted that despite its well-meaning intentions, Executive Order 12898 ultimately failed to achieve much beyond raising public awareness on the subject.

However, the objectives of this order were supported and expanded upon by President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14008 in 2021 and Executive Order 14096 in 2023, which ensured that disadvantaged communities affected by pollution received a share of federal climate crisis resources and committed to a science-backed approach to these issues focusing on communities with environmental justice needs.

On Monday, Trump also revoked both of those orders.

Why did Trump revoke the orders?

Gómez commented that Trump’s decision to repeal the orders overlooks the ongoing issue of environmental racism in the U.S., including the impact of toxic waste and polluting industries on Indigenous, Black, and Latino communities.

“The current attacks on environmental justice from the Trump administration reflect a misunderstanding of the dangers posed by toxic and polluting sites in this country and their preference for capitalism over people’s health and safety,” she stated.

Shepard concurred, noting, “They claim that these environmental justice initiatives are illegal and biased when in fact, these programs are designed to counter long-standing discrimination.”

What are the potential impacts of Trump’s actions?

Gómez pointed out that seeking to revoke these orders not only endangers communities concerned about environmental justice but also limits funding and research aimed at enhancing national safety.

“Trump’s actions expose many communities to greater risks, particularly those that predominantly consist of people of color, where polluting industries are often situated,” she stated.

Shepard added that health complications in these communities are likely to worsen as a result.

“Poor water quality intensifies existing health issues,” she noted. “We are likely to see a more sickly population as a result of the disproportionate placement of polluting facilities in certain communities.”

Gómez cautioned that the implications extend beyond present-day industries; they also affect prospective industries, which could develop more rapidly if environmental regulations are relaxed.

Such regulations are vital as the nation grapples with the escalating challenge of nuclear waste management, she observed, pointing out that efforts to revive previously closed or decommissioned nuclear reactors are gaining traction amidst increasing support for small modular nuclear reactors, primarily aimed at servicing AI-related data centers.

“At this moment, the country lacks a repository for high-level nuclear waste, much less a strategy for a facility,” Gómez stated.