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Gov. Evers uses Earth Day to create Office of Environmental Justice

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Wisconsin already has the Department of Natural Resources and an Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy. Now the state is adding an Office of Environmental Justice.

Gov. Tony Evers used his Earth Day speech at the Indian Community School in Franklin to issue an executive order creating the new office.

This is not the first time Gov. Evers has proposed an Office of Environmental Justice. Republican lawmakers removed the a previous proposal for the new office from the governor’s budget request last year.

Many of those same Republicans remain unimpressed with the idea.

“Gov. Evers is so out of touch with real problems Wisconsinites face that he thinks we need ‘environmental justice’ more than we need true justice for the victims of violent crimes in our communities,”  Sen. Julian Bradley, R-Franklin, said Friday. “If high crime, inflation, and the worker shortage crisis he created weren’t enough, his new plans will only strangle law-abiding families and businesses with more job-killing Green New Deal regulations.”

Evers executive order comes just days after he released his Clean Energy Plan that is being panned as “unaffordable and unrealistic.”

“Too many Wisconsinites have felt the effects of climate change firsthand – rural communities have had roads or bridges washed out, farmers have lost crops or livestock due to extreme weather, small business owners who’ve seen their businesses destroyed by floods, or the disparate health impacts we see due to polluted air and water,” the governor explained. “The Office of Environmental Justice will play a critical role by helping promote policies and strategies to enhance climate resilience, ensuring our communities and families can prepare for and recover from the effects of climate change, and getting resources and support to folks who need our help the most.”

But it’s not clear yet what tasks the governor intends the office to actually perform.

The Office of Environmental Justice will be housed in the Department of Administration.

This article was originally posted on Gov. Evers uses Earth Day to create Office of Environmental Justice

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