On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions) rescinding President Biden’s Executive Order 14o96, which had required all federal agencies to create and publish an Environmental Justice Strategic Plan. All federal agencies have removed those plans from their websites or issued new policies rejecting environmental justice principles.
Read these deleted plans below.
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP):
ACHP’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan set out ACHP’s commitment to advancing environmental justice by strengthening guidance and recommendations to agencies on consultation with Tribes, Native Hawaiian Organizations, other Indigenous Peoples and other communities with EJ concerns.
Army Corps of Engineers (ACE):
ACE’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan “set goals and objectives for ACE to (1) develop a workforce with the capacity to advance EJ, (2) increase access to a “healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment,” (3) strengthen relationships with Tribal nations, (4) build trust with communities with EJ concerns, and (5) review ACE policies to ensure they are aligned with EJ principles.
Department of Energy (DOE):
DOE’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan set out DOE’s goals and objectives to incorporate distributive justice, procedural justice, recognition justice, and restorative justice into the design of DOE’s programs and policies.
Department of Health & Human Services (HHS):
HHS’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan “outline[d] the HHS commitment to advancing EJ by addressing the disproportionate environmental risks to health and wellbeing that impact communities with EJ concerns.” HHS’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) separately requested public comments on how the agency could best address environmental justice in healthcare.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS):
DHS’s FY2021-2025 revised Environmental Justice Strategy outlined five goals: (1) expand Department-wide awareness of EJ considerations; (2) better integrate EJ principles to mitigation, adaptation, and resilience programs; (3) strengthen community outreach; (4) expand collaboration with interagency partners; and (5) integrate EJ principles into DHS’s climate change initiatives.
DHS’s Draft 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan set out DHS’s commitment to “ensuring under-resourced and overburdened communities’ voices, perspectives, and lived experiences are heard and reflected in the Department’s decision making with respect to its programs and activities that impact human health and the environment.”
Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD):
HUD’s 2025-2028 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan sought to “identify[] and address[] disproportionate impacts in communities HUD serves, expand[] access to resources, and enhanc[e] meaningful engagement with HUD stakeholders.” The Plan emphasized “proactively supporting and protecting environmentally underserved or overburdened communities through the enforcement of, and compliance with, fair housing laws.”
Department of the Interior (DOI):
DOI’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan implemented “the Department’s environmental justice vision is to provide outstanding management of the natural and cultural resources entrusted to it in a manner that is sustainable, equitable, accessible, and inclusive of all populations, including communities with environmental justice concerns and Tribal Nations.”
Department of Justice (DOJ):
DOJ’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan emphasized advancing environmental justice using legal tools, meaningful engagement with communities, increased education and outreach within and outside DOJ, and through DOJ’s climate adaptation efforts through procurement and real estate acquisition.
- DOJ’s 2024 Strategic Plan one pager
- Former Attorney General Garland’s Introductory Message to the Strategic Plan
- DOJ’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan (Spanish)
Department of the Treasury:
Treasury released its Environmental Justice Strategic Plan, which included three goals:
- “Supporting Clean Energy and Climate Resilience Investments
- Promoting Research and Transparency on the Economic and Financial Impacts of Climate Change
- Improving the Environmental Impact of Treasury Operations”
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
EPA’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan highlighted three goals:
- “Promote Environmental Justice and Civil Rights at the Federal, Tribal, State, Local, and Community Levels;
- Embed Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights into the EPA’s Programs, Policies, and Activities; and
- Strengthen External Civil Rights Enforcement to Protect Access to a Healthy Environment for All People.”
Office of Personnel Management (OPM):
OPM’s 2025-2028 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan focused on “adopting nature-based solutions,” aligning pay, advancement, and labor relations with equity and EJ goals, and reviewing training offerings in line with the Biden Administration’s EJ goals.
Small Business Administration (SBA):
SBA’s 2025-2028 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan included three goals:
- “Promote opportunities for and equitable benefits to disadvantaged communities impacted by disasters.
- Provide opportunities for and equitable benefits to businesses and innovators reaching climate-impacted communities.
- Incorporate environmental justice into SBA’s internal operations.”
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA):
USDA’s 2024 Environmental Justice Strategic Plan set out USDA’s goals for advancing environmental justice by addressing barriers to accessing USDA programs and services, minimizing adverse impacts on EJ communities, ensuring meaningful engagement with communities including Tribal consultation, and increasing USDA staff capacity to address EJ concerns.
White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ):
CEQ released its Strategic Planning to Advance Environmental Justice template to guide agencies in crafting their Environmental Justice Strategic Plans, as required under Executive Order 14096. Read CEQ’s Strategic Planning to Advance Environmental Justice Template.