First White House Environmental Justice Forum

Environmental Leaders, Cabinet Secretaries to Participate

On December 15, Obama administration officials will convene the first-ever White House Forum on Environmental Justice. Environmental leaders from across the country will attend the day-long forum featuring EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

This forum will focus on the Obama administration’s commitment to ensuring that overburdened and low-income communities have the opportunity to enjoy the health and economic benefits of a clean environment. The event will bring together environmental justice and community leaders, cabinet members, and senior officials from federal, state, local and tribal governments for a discussion on creating a healthy and sustainable environment for all Americans.

Administrator Jackson also will host an online question-and-answer session to engage with the public on the subject of environmental justice. The White House forum and the question-and-answer session will be streamed live at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live.

Information on the forum agenda is below.

WHO: Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;

Eric Holder, Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice;

Ken Salazar, Secretary, U.S. Department of Interior;

Hilda Solis, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor;

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;

Steven Chu, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy

Janet Napolitano, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

WHAT: White House Forum on Environmental Justice

WHEN: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. (EST)

WHERE: South Court Auditorium, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20500

Questions will be taken from viewers at http://apps.facebook.com/whitehouselive

AGENDA

10:00 a.m. Opening Plenary Session Lisa Jackson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency

10:20 a.m. Green Jobs, Clean Energy Session featuring opening remarks by Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor and Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy

11:40 a.m. Legal Framework for Advancing Environmental Justice Session, featuring opening remarks by Eric Holder. U.S. Attorney General

1:50 p.m. Healthy Communities and Place-based Initiatives Session, featuring opening remarks by Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services

3:15 p.m. Climate Adaptation Session, featuring opening remarks by Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior and Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security

4:25 p.m. Closing Session