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In his first month in office, President Biden signed an executive order, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” recommitting the federal government to climate action and environmental justice. In April 2023, an additional executive order, “Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All,” reinforced the administration’s commitment to a “whole-of-government approach to environmental justice.” The renewed commitment to environmental justice is gratifying for all who care about these issues — and the challenge of accomplishing whole-of-government implementation is real. Among numerous complicating aspects of this shift, one key challenge is state resistance — even outright hostility — to federal environmental justice priorities.

In Alabama, the EPA has proposed a denial of the state’s application for delegated authority to administer a coal ash permit program in the state under section RCRA Section 4005(d). Although the connection to environmental justice may not be as immediately clear as in Louisiana (see Part 1 of this post), the administration’s environmental justice commitments provide a critical backdrop to the agency’s stance.

This post was written by CPR Member Scholars Joseph P. Tomain & Uma Outka. With advancements in hydraulic fracturing technology, shale gas has dramatically altered domestic energy in the United States.  Some commentators claim that shale gas can address all of our major energy problems. Some consider natural gas a bridge fuel to a clean […]