Attorney General Ellison affirms legality and necessity of environmental-justice initiatives
Joins multistate coalition in issuing multistate guidance clarifying recent federal actions that seek to eliminate and chill environmental-justice efforts
June 18, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in issuing guidance that affirms the legality and necessity of environmental-justice initiatives. Attorney General Ellison and the coalition assert in their guidance that despite the Trump Administration’s recent efforts to brand these critical activities as illegal, public and private entities may still lawfully engage in environmental-justice work to ensure a healthy environment for all people to live, play, work, learn, and worship.
“I’m not new to environmental justice: I founded an environmental-justice organization more than 20 years ago. Environmental justice is both a longstanding concern and passion of mine and an essential component of true health, safety, and prosperity for tens of millions of people in every corner of America who have suffered and died because of environmental injustices,” Attorney General Ellison said. “For decades, state and local governments, tribes, nonprofits, philanthropy, and others have labored in and with communities to right these wrongs. Now as Minnesota’s Attorney General, I’m using the authority of my office to affirm that this work is as legal as it is continually necessary. I encourage anyone engaged in the struggle for environmental justice to read this guidance and take courage that their efforts have the support of attorneys general around the country, as well as the support of federal and state law and our nation’s constitution.”
Efforts to advance environmental justice remain essential and necessary
Both evidence-based studies and lived experience demonstrate that communities of color, indigenous people and tribal nations, low-income, rural, and unincorporated communities, people with disabilities, and non-English speaking communities routinely face disproportionate environmental and health burdens. From lead poisoning to pollution-related asthma in children, from the presence of waste dumping and contaminated sites and excessive car and truck traffic to extreme temperatures, flooding, and wildfires, overburdened communities face formidable barriers to their well-being and opportunities.
Climate change, which is causing environmental dangers that lead to greater instability, economic hardship, and shortened life spans, exacerbates the challenges these communities face. Environmental-justice initiatives aim to overcome this division by developing solutions to persistent harms and by advancing public health, safety, well-being, and prosperity across communities.
Recent federal actions do not impact the legality of environmental-justice efforts
Since January 20, the Trump Administration has issued executive orders and memoranda that attempt to undermine environmental justice, a longstanding federal policy. The Administration has terminated environmental and climate justice programs and grants; discontinued environmental enforcement actions; and called for legal challenges to state environmental justice and climate laws. These actions distort the meaning of environmental-justice work and attempt to cast doubt on the legality of it.
However, the President cannot on his own change or dismantle laws passed by Congress, nor can his executive 0rders or agency memoranda change the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution and other federal and state laws. In fact, civil rights and environmental laws continue to support public and private efforts to advance environmental justice, as does the U.S. Constitution.
The guidance that Attorney General Ellison and the coalition released today is directed to the state, tribal, and local governments, nonprofit and charitable entities, businesses, and neighborhood-based groups that are currently engaging in efforts to restore and protect environmental and public health with solutions that are informed and improved by the lived experiences of thousands of communities. Through their guidance, Attorney General Ellison and the coalition stand ready to implement and enforce the nation’s laws to advance environmental justice and will continue working in collaboration with communities and organizations to support and defend these efforts across the country.
Joining Attorney General Ellison in issuing this guidance are the attorneys general of Massachusetts, California, and New York, who led the coalition, and the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
