Administrator Michael Regan Message to EPA Employees - Equity Action Plan April 14, 2022
Dear Colleagues,
On his very first day in office, President Biden issued an executive order on “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”
In issuing the order, the President said, “Our country faces converging economic, health, and climate crises that have exposed and exacerbated inequities, while a historic movement for justice has highlighted the unbearable human costs of systemic racism… It is therefore the policy of my Administration that the Federal Government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
In response, EPA launched our Agency Equity Team, drawing on expertise from across this agency, to assess barriers and issue a plan aimed at ensuring all people have equal access to the benefits and opportunities delivered by our agency. I am so grateful to the individuals who worked hard on this effort and delivered a plan that we can all be proud of.
EPA’s Equity Action Plan carries forward our work to break through barriers and advance equity and justice across our efforts to ensure clean water, air, and land for all communities.
The plan aligns with the Agency’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan and outlines six priority actions:
- Develop a comprehensive framework for considering cumulative impacts in relevant EPA decisions and operationalize that framework in EPA’s programs and activities.
- Build the capacity of underserved communities to provide their experience to EPA and implement community-led projects.
- Develop EPA’s internal capacity to engage underserved communities and implement clear and accountable processes to act based on communities’ input.
- Strengthen EPA’s external civil rights compliance program and ensure that civil rights compliance is an agency-wide responsibility.
- Integrate participatory (community) science into EPA’s research and program implementation.
- Make EPA’s procurement and contracting more equitable.
These priority actions form a critical foundation on which to build meaningful engagement with underserved communities; achieve more equitable and just outcomes, including pollution reductions in communities with environmental justice concerns; and deliver other tangible benefits to underserved communities.
Please read the Equity Action Plan and identify how you can help contribute to our progress as we seek to deliver on our mission to protect human health and the environment for all.
Michael S. Regan
Administrator