Assisting People with Limited English Proficiency

On August 11, 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13166 entitled, "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency." The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to examine the services they provide, identify any need for services to those with limited English proficiency (LEP), and develop and implement a system to provide those services so individuals with LEP can have meaningful access to them. The Executive Order also requires that the Federal agencies work to ensure that recipients of Federal financial assistance provide meaningful access to their LEP applicants and beneficiaries.

In compliance with Executive Order 13166, EPA is charged with:

1. drafting Title VI guidance to set forth a general outline for EPA financial assistance recipients to apply in developing guidelines to provide meaningful access to individuals with LEP who participate in their programs and activities; and
2. drafting and implementing an internal Agency LEP plan by which individuals with LEP can have meaningful access to EPA programs.

On June 25, 2004, the EPA Office of External Civil Rights Compliance (OECRC) (known then as the Office of Civil Rights) issued a Policy Guidance Document entitled, "Guidance to Environmental Protection Agency Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons." That Guidance remains in effect.

On November 3, 2023, the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR)  published an updated EPA Order 1000.32 (pdf) (348.23 KB) "Compliance with Executive Order 13166: Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency". The Order, originally issued in 2011, outlines necessary steps that the Agency needs to take in order to provide meaningful access to individuals with LEP to EPA programs, activities, and services. 

Guidance and Materials for EPA and its Recipients

• Executive Order 13166 Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (pdf) (227.15 KB)  (August 2000)
• "Guidance to Environmental Protection Agency Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons" as published in the Federal Register on June 25, 2004.
• EPA Order 1000.32 (pdf) (348.23 KB)  (November 2023)
• Information for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency 
• LEP.gov -- a federal interagency website providing guidance and linking to information, tools, and technical assistance regarding limited English proficiency and language access for federal agencies, recipients of federal funds, users of federal programs and federally assisted programs, and others. 

Please email the National External LEP and Disability Access Program Coordinator ([email protected]) to provide comments, get more information about EPA’s LEP program, or if you have questions about language assistance services.