
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 12, 1994                   TAG: 9402120104
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

CLINTON MANDATES ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY

President Clinton directed federal agencies Friday to make sure minorities and the poor aren't disproportionately exposed to pollution and other environmental dangers.

"All Americans have a right to be protected from pollution - not just those who can afford to live in the cleanest, safest communities," Clinton said. "Today, we direct federal agencies to make environmental justice a part of all that they do."

The White House predicted the president's executive order would have a sweeping impact on lead removal in public housing, pollution control in urban rivers and exposure of farm workers to dangerous pesticides.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner said, "You can travel through any urban inner-city community in this country and see examples of environmental injustice . . . residential communities immediately adjacent to large numbers of industrial facilities, toxic dump sites."

Clinton signed the order in an Oval Office ceremony with representatives of community groups on hand.

Browner met with activists earlier in the day and said she came away with "a very heavy heart because these are people who do not feel a part of their government, who do not feel that their concerns have been heard."

The order gives federal agencies a year to develop a plan "that identifies and addresses disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies and activities."

It also requires agencies to:

Ensure minority and low-income populations have access to public information related to human health and the environment.

Conduct activities related to health and environment in a manner that does not discriminate against low-income and minority populations.

Consider disproportionate health effects in conducting research and collecting data.

Browner said one example of the order's impact would be in evaluating fish consumption on Indian reservations, where fish represent a large portion of the daily diet.

by CNB