[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2014)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8821-8822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03380]



[[Page 8819]]

Vol. 79

Thursday,

No. 30

February 13, 2014

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 9082--20th Anniversary of Executive Order 12898 on 
Environmental Justice
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  Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 2014 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 8821]]

                Proclamation 9082 of February 10, 2014

                
20th Anniversary of Executive Order 12898 on 
                Environmental Justice

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Two decades ago, President William J. Clinton directed 
                the Federal Government to tackle a long-overlooked 
                problem. Low-income neighborhoods, communities of 
                color, and tribal areas disproportionately bore 
                environmental burdens like contamination from 
                industrial plants or landfills and indoor air pollution 
                from poor housing conditions. These hazards worsen 
                health disparities and reduce opportunity for 
                residents--children who miss school due to 
                complications of asthma, adults who struggle with 
                medical bills. Executive Order 12898 affirmed every 
                American's right to breathe freely, drink clean water, 
                and live on uncontaminated land. Today, as America 
                marks 20 years of action, we renew our commitment to 
                environmental justice for all.

                Because we all deserve the chance to live, learn, and 
                work in healthy communities, my Administration is 
                fighting to restore environments in our country's 
                hardest-hit places. After over a decade of inaction, we 
                reconvened an Environmental Justice Interagency Working 
                Group and invited more than 100 environmental justice 
                leaders to a White House forum. Alongside tribal 
                governments, we are working to reduce pollution on 
                their lands. And to build a healthier environment for 
                every American, we established the first-ever national 
                limits for mercury and other toxic emissions from power 
                plants.

                While the past two decades have seen great progress, 
                much work remains. In the years to come, we will 
                continue to work with States, tribes, and local leaders 
                to identify, aid, and empower areas most strained by 
                pollution. By effectively implementing environmental 
                laws, we can improve quality of life and expand 
                economic opportunity in overburdened communities. And 
                recognizing these same communities may suffer 
                disproportionately due to climate change, we must cut 
                carbon emissions, develop more homegrown clean energy, 
                and prepare for the impacts of a changing climate that 
                we are already feeling across our country.

                As we mark this day, we recall the activists who took 
                on environmental challenges long before the Federal 
                Government acknowledged their needs. We remember how 
                Americans--young and old, on college campuses and in 
                courtrooms, in our neighborhoods and through our places 
                of worship--called on a Nation to pursue clean air, 
                water, and land for all people. On this anniversary, 
                let us move forward with the same unity, energy, and 
                passion to live up to the promise that here in America, 
                no matter who you are or where you come from, you can 
                pursue your dreams in a safe and just environment.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim February 11, 2014, as 
                the 20th Anniversary of Executive Order 12898 on 
                Environmental Justice. I call upon all Americans to 
                observe this day with programs and activities that 
                promote environmental justice and advance a healthy, 
                sustainable future.

[[Page 8822]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2014-03380
Filed 2-12-14; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F4