and addressing the changing climate .
• The order directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect input from farmers , ranchers , and other stakeholders on how to use federal programs to encourage adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices that produce verifiable carbon reductions and sequestrations and create new sources of income and jobs for rural Americans .
Revitalize Energy Communities
• The order establishes an Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization , to be co-chaired by the National Climate Advisor and the Director of the National Economic Council , and directs federal agencies to coordinate investments and other efforts to assist coal , oil and natural gas , and power plant communities .
• The order tasks the new Interagency Working Group to advance projects that reduce emissions of toxic substances and greenhouse gases from existing and abandoned infrastructure and that prevent environmental damage that harms communities and poses a risk to public health and safety – such as projects to reduce methane emissions , oil and brine leaks , and other environmental harms from tens of thousands of former mining and well sites .
• In addition , the new Interagency Working Group is also directed to explore efforts to turn properties idled in these communities , like brownfields , into new hubs for the growth of our economy .
Secure Environmental Justice and Spur Economic Opportunity
• The order formalizes President Biden ’ s commitment to make environmental justice a part of the mission of every agency by directing federal agencies to develop programs , policies , and activities to address the disproportionate health , environmental , economic , and climate impacts on disadvantaged communities .
• The order establishes a White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council and a White
House Environmental Justice Advisory Council to prioritize environmental justice and ensure a whole-of-government approach to addressing current and historical environmental injustices , including strengthening environmental justice monitoring and enforcement through new or strengthened offices at the Environmental Protection Agency , Department of Justice , and Department of Health and Human Services . The new bodies are also tasked with advising on ways to update Executive Order 12898 of February 11 , 1994 .
• The order creates a government-wide Justice40 Initiative with the goal of delivering 40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities and tracks performance toward that goal through the establishment of an Environmental Justice Scorecard .
• The order initiates the development of a Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool , building off EPA ’ s EJSCREEN , to identify disadvantaged communities , support the Justice40 Initiative , and inform equitable decision making across the federal government
The Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking directs agencies to make evidence-based decisions guided by the best available science and data . Scientific and technological information , data , and evidence are central to the development and iterative improvement of sound policies , and to the delivery of effective and equitable programs . Improper political interference in the scientific process , with the work of scientists , and in the communication of scientific facts undermines the welfare of the nation , contributes to systemic inequities and injustices , and violates the public trust .
The memorandum charges the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy ( OSTP ) with the responsibility for ensuring scientific integrity across federal agencies . The OSTP Director is directed to review the effectiveness of agency scientific-integrity policies and assess agency scientific-integrity policies and practices going forward . l FON
18 FEBRUARY 2021 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www . fueloilnews . com