Part 1 of this three-part series on environmental justice (EJ) described how EJ made its way to the forefront of national conversation and, consequently, into the regulatory arena. While the EJ movement gains momentum in activist, academic, and private-sector circles, federal and state government actors around the country are grappling with how best to achieve EJ through policy, regulation and enforcement.

For federal and most state agencies, EJ regulatory development remains in the early stages. Many state and federal agencies have issued nonbinding EJ policy statements or administrative guidance intending to incorporate EJ into existing regulatory schemes. In practice, however, these policies are applied ad hoc and historically have lacked accountability. The Biden administration made EJ a key agenda priority, and early executive actions herald that federal action on EJ implementation is coming. Meanwhile, several states are forerunners in EJ regulation, adopting binding statutory or regulatory EJ requirements across administrative programs. The nature and scope of these state EJ requirements vary as this patchwork unfolds. But as more and more states implement EJ programs, several early themes emerge. This second article discusses those themes and provides an overview of the evolving federal and state EJ regulatory landscape.

• Specific Directives and Key Funding Commitments Propel Federal EJ Action Under the Biden-Harris Administration

In his first 90 days in office, President Joe Biden signed two executive orders aimed at accelerating federal EJ action. Executive Order No. 13990, 86 Fed. Reg. 7037 (Jan. 20, 2021), directs federal agencies to revisit and address regulations passed during the Trump administration that conflict with EJ objectives. Executive Order No. 14008, 86 Fed. Reg. 7619 (Jan. 27, 2021), aims to deliver federal EJ progress within a climate change framework by directing agencies to "make achieving environmental justice part of their missions by developing programs, policies, and activities to address" disproportionate EJ impacts. The order also creates two new councils, the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council, to advise and develop EJ implementation recommendations. These orders reflect a whole-of-government approach to addressing inequities in EJ communities.

Federal executive EJ proclamations are not new. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also issued executive orders and memoranda intended to further EJ goals. Since 1997, federal agencies have been subject to administrative guidance urging them to consider EJ in their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. This guidance was applied inconsistently and little progress was made on the ground. The little progress that was made stalled or reversed during the Trump administration.