U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Seeks Public Comment on Draft Strategy that Promotes Healthy Communities and Protects People's Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is excited to announce the release of its draft 2012 Environmental Justice Strategy. This draft strategy introduces the vision of "a nation that equitably promotes healthy community environments and protects the health of all people." HHS is committed to meeting the goals of Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations," which states that each Federal agency, with the law as its guide, should make environmental justice part of its mission.

This release is the latest step in a larger Administration-wide effort to ensure strong protection from environmental and health hazards for all Americans. In August 2011, Federal agencies signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898" (EJ MOU), which committed each agency to, among other things, finalizing an environmental justice strategy and releasing annual implementation reports. Links to the other Federal environmental justice strategies can be found on the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice Interagency website at http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/index.html. Links will be available by Friday, October 7.

The draft HHS Environmental Justice Strategy will be available for public comment for 60 days, or until 11:59pm EDT on Saturday, December 3, 2011. Comments should be submitted to ejstrategy@hhs.gov. The Department will then review comments and finalize the strategy by February 2012. After the strategy is final, HHS and its Federal partners will continue to engage stakeholders through outreach, education and stakeholder events and respond to public comments through annual implementation reports.

Draft 2012 HHS Environmental Justice Strategy: http://www.hhs.gov/environmentaljustice

Content Last Modified: 10/5/2011 2:21:00 PM

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