Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations [9]
President: Bill Clinton
Required agencies to identify and address disproportionate health and environmental effects on minority and low-income populations; EO 14173 later revoked it.
Status: Revoked — by EO 14173 on January 21, 2025.
Is Executive Order 12898 still in effect? No. EO 14173 revoked it in 2025.
What does Executive Order 12898 do?
EO 12898 made environmental justice a government-wide management responsibility. Agencies were to develop strategies, improve research and public participation, examine cumulative exposure and subsistence consumption, and avoid race, color or national-origin discrimination in covered programs. The order expressly created no privately enforceable right. EO 14173 revoked it on January 21, 2025, and agencies subsequently withdrew some order-specific guidance. Independent statutory duties, including civil-rights and environmental laws, were not repealed by that revocation.
Before and after
Before the order
Agencies had environmental and civil-rights duties without this common environmental-justice strategy and reporting structure.
After the order
Agencies created strategies, data practices and participation guidance until the order was revoked in 2025.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Covered agencies | Identify and address disproportionate adverse effects where practicable and lawful | While the order operated |
| EPA-led working group | Coordinate strategies, research, data and public meetings | While the order operated |
| Agency heads | Monitor internal compliance | Until revocation |
What happened next
EO 12898 established the framework.
EO 14096 supplemented and expanded federal environmental-justice policy.
EO 14154 revoked EO 14096, and EO 14173 expressly revoked EO 12898.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The order disclaimed judicially enforceable rights and required action only to the extent permitted by existing law. EO 14173 revoked the executive direction; statutory environmental review, pollution-control and nondiscrimination requirements must be analyzed separately.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 14, 2026. How we research →