    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 128, 113th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    PROCLAMATION 9082--FEB. 10, 2014

    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

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    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.
    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.
    BARACK OBAMA