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Climate change is threatening the whole world, but communities of color and lower incomes are experiencing the effects at a disproportionate rate. Exposure to toxic pollutants also typically hits low-income communities and communities of color the hardest. Green America strives to expose these disparities and to share what these communities are doing to combat the potentially deadly threats their neighborhoods face.

Environmental and climate justice calls for new policies on the climate crisis and emphasizes the need for action within the communities that are affected most by the changing climate. According to the NAACP, race is the number one indicator for the placement of polluting facilities in this country - a clear example of how change is needed on a country-wide scale.

From environmental activism, like growing community gardens, to pushing for policy change, people across the country are standing up for clean water, clean food, and clean air. By participating in efforts to decrease global warming and its effects on human health, we can do our part to fight the climate crisis.

Be inspired by what these communities are doing to make a difference, and find out what you can do to help.

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Climate change is threatening the whole world, but communities of color and lower incomes are experiencing the effects at a disproportionate rate. Exposure to toxic pollutants also typically hits low-income communities and communities of color the hardest. Green America strives to expose these disparities and to share what these communities are doing to combat the potentially deadly threats their neighborhoods face.

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Coronavirus Pandemic Highlights Environmental Injustice In Trump Era | MSNBC

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A Brief History of Environmental Justice

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Why All Americans Should Care About 'Environmental Racism’ | NowThis

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"Pollution is Segregated" Says the Father of Environmental Justice | Amanpour and Company

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Below are a select number of urban domestic EJ case studies. These particular cases were selected because they are all:

Current and unresolved

Affecting a large number of people

Being addressed by more than one group

Two cases focus on New York City because, as NYC residents, the authors of the site feel particularly connected to these issues. With the exception of New Orleans, the cases represent EJ issues that are not unique to any one city.

Illustration by: Ricardo Levins Morales

Coal-Burning Power Plants in Chicago's Two Mexican-American Neighborhoods Map courtesy of
Location and Context: Chicago, IL
Specifically the two Mexican-American neighborhoods on the southwest side: Little Village (30 on map) and Pilsen (31).

http://www.northwestern.edu/fup/The%20Experience/Maps/Pilsen.html & edited by Julie Raskin

Problems and Conflicts: Two heavily polluting, coal-burning power plants provide Chicago with most of its energy, yet disproportionately burden the local population with numerous environmental and health problems.
Issues and Claims:
-Little Village and Pilsen suffer numerous social and economic burdens: Little Village is the most densely populated neighborhood in Chicago, has the City's youngest median age, faces severe overcrowding in its public schools, and is among the poorest community areas in the City, with 22% of the families below the poverty level and an unemployment rate of 11%. Pilsen shoulders similar burdens.
-Pollution from the power plants further contributes to these burdens by creating significant health problems in these communities.
-Research done by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2001 showed that the pollution from these two plants causes 41 premature deaths, 2800 asthma attacks, and 550 emergency room visits each year.
-The community is demanding that these power plants take simple measures to update their facilities and reduce pollution.
-Unfortunately, the community has no legal leverage because both plants were built before many of the EPA's clean air regulations, and are permitted to continue using their outdated, heavily polluting equipment.
-The City of Chicago refuses to put pressure on the plants to use cleaner technology.
Stakeholders: Midwest Generation (owns the power plants), Little Village Environmental Justice Organization ( http://www.lvejo.org/coalpower.htm)
(represents community in struggle against the plants), Chicago Clean Power Coalition ( http://www.chicagocleanpower.org/) (coalition of groups working against the plants), American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago ( http://www.lungchicago.org/site/epage/36654_487.htm) (supports the community struggle to clean up the plants)

Unequal Distribution of Open Space in New York City
Location and Context: New York City, NY.
Problems and Conflicts: New York City has one of the lowest ratios of open space to residents in the country, and open space resources are unequally distributed, severely disadvantaging minority and low-income communities.
Issues and Claims:
-GIS mapping conducted by the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance revealed pronounced inequalities:
-In 37 of the 59 community districts, the City's standard for open space (2.5 acres per 1000 residents) is not being met
- Of these 37 underserved community districts, 24 are in the highest minority category and 18 are in the lowest median household income category

In Hunts Point in the South Bronx, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country, only 1.9% of land is used for park space

Many of these underserved communities are forming grassroots movements to fight for increased open space

A coalition of community groups in Hunts Point has won support for a bicycle/pedestrian greenway along the South Bronx waterfront; construction is set to begin shortly.

Stakeholders: This issue affects low-income and minority neighborhoods across the City. For more information on the issue in general, or to find out more about Hunt's Point, visit:

Inequity in the Siting of Waste Transfer Stations in New York City
Location and Context: New York City, NY

Waste transfer stations are sheds where garbage trucks dump trash so that larger trucks can pick it up and carry it out of the area.

Since the closing of Fresh Kills-New York City's only municipal landfill-in 2001, the City exports all of its garbage to landfills in neighboring states, making transfer stations a critical part of the waste management system

Problems and Conflicts: Transfer stations are integral to waste management in NYC, yet they are highly-polluting and disproportionately burden minority and low-income communities.
Issues and Claims:

Transfer stations are unsightly and noxious, and cause pollution from the associated diesel truck traffic

This pollution has severe adverse effects on the health of the local community, causing extremely high rates of asthma in the surrounding neighborhoods

Though transfer stations are located throughout the City and state, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance found that the majority are clustered in low-income and minority communities

For example, 37% of NYC's waste travels through 15 transfer stations in the South Bronx-which is a largely minority community and part of the poorest congressional district in the country

Stakeholders: Several community and City-wide EJ groups are working to address this inequality, including

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Below are a select number of urban domestic EJ case studies. These particular cases were selected because they are all: Current and unresolved Affecting a large number of people Being addressed by more than one group Two cases focus on New York City because, as NYC residents, the authors of the site feel particularly connected to these issues.

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Environmental injustice, including the proliferation of climate change, has a disproportionate impact on communities of color and low income communities in the United States and around the world. The NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program was created to support community leadership in addressing this human and civil rights issue.

In the past, and to some extent still now, when people think of environmentalism, they often think of saving the whales or hugging trees! When folks think about climate change, what often comes to mind are melting ice caps and suffering polar bears. Historically, American society has failed to make the connection in terms of the direct impact of environmental injustices, including climate change, on our own lives, families, and communities, all of whom depend on the physical environment and its bounty.

Race is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country.

Toxic facilities, like coal fired power plants and incinerators, emit mercury, arsenic, lead, and other contaminants into the water, food, and lungs of communities. Many of these same facilities also emit carbon dioxide and methane - the #1 and #2 drivers of climate change. At the same time not all are equally impacted. For example, race - even more than class - is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country. And communities of color and low income communities are often the hardest hit by climate change.

Environmental injustice is about people in Detroit, Ohio, Chicago, Memphis, Kansas City, and elsewhere who have died and others who are chronically ill due to exposure to toxins from coal fired power plants and other toxic facilities.

Climate change is about the increase in the severity of storms which means that storms like Sandy and Isaac, which devastated communities from Boston to Biloxi, will become more of the norm. our sisters and brothers in the Bahamas, as well as Inuit communities in Kivalina, Alaska, and communities in Thibodaux, Louisiana and beyond, who will be losing their homes to rising sea levels in the coming few years.

Climate change and other environmental injustices are about US.

Climate change and environmental injustice are about sisters and brothers from West Virginia to Tennessee who are breathing toxic ash from blasting for mountain top removal.

Environmental injustice and climate change are about the fact that in many communities it is far easier to find a bag of Cheetos than a carton of strawberries and this only stands to get worse as drought and flooding impact the availability and affordability of nutritious food.

The Environmental and Climate Justice Program works at addressing the many practices that are harming communities nationwide and worldwide and the policies needed to rectify these impacts and advance a society that fosters sustainable, cooperative, regenerative communities that uphold all rights for all people in harmony with the earth.

Over the years we have accomplished many endeavors aimed at advancing the leadership of frontline communities and ending environmental and climate injustices. Take a look at a few of our successes!

FOR ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE JUSTICE RELATED INQUIRIES, CLICK HERE >

Learn More About the Environmental and Climate Justice Program >

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Environmental injustice, including the proliferation of climate change, has a disproportionate impact on communities of color and low income communities in the United States and around the world. The NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program was created to support community leadership in addressing this human and civil rights issue.

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Welcome back to Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment. I'm Sammy Roth.

There were several topics I considered writing about this week, including the results of California's latest cap-and-trade auction and a bill in Sacramento dealing with the proposed Eagle Mountain hydropower project.

But after a week of protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, I realized there was only one topic I could focus on in this newsletter: environmental injustice. It's a term that describes how people of color and poor communities have borne disproportionate harm from pollution, and the discriminatory systems that have perpetuated those inequities.

Toward a more sustainable California

Get Boiling Point, our newsletter exploring climate change, energy and the environment, and become part of the conversation - and the solution.

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There are countless links between environmental degradation and inequality. Consider water contamination in predominantly black and brown communities, such as Flint, Mich., where experts say the drinking water crisis was rooted in systemic racism. Or research finding that, in the U.S., the best predictor of whether you live near a hazardous waste site is the color of your skin.

In Los Angeles, poisonous lead contamination at homes near the closed Exide battery recycling plant has yet to be fully cleaned up, hurting working-class Latino families, as my colleague Tony Barboza has reported. Black, Latino and low-income California residents are especially likely to live near unplugged oil and gas wells that can spew pollution, a Los Angeles Times investigation found. People of color are more likely than white people to live alongside power plants, oil refineries and landfills.

Rachel Ramirez discussed the roots of environmental injustice in a piece for Grist this week, noting that "some legacies of redlining - the government-sanctioned denial of home loans and insurance to communities of color - include housing stock that is disproportionately located near polluting industrial infrastructure."
The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened existing inequities.
In a story for Outside magazine, Heather Hansman explains how a lack of access to clean drinking water in the Navajo Nation has helped fuel the country's worst known COVID-19 outbreak by infection rate. My colleague Kurtis Lee has also written several pieces about the Navajo Nation's unique vulnerability to the coronavirus, as well as its lack of running water and electricity.

There's already research linking polluted air - which, in America, blacks and Latinos are more likely to breathe - with a higher likelihood of dying from COVID-19.

Marshall Shepherd, a climate scientist and former president of the American Meteorological Society, wrote that "I can't breathe" - some of the last words spoken by George Floyd as a police officer pressed a knee into his neck - seems like a theme for 2020.
"The historic coronavirus pandemic has literally taken the breath of many people," Shepherd wrote in a piece for Forbes.
Then there's global warming.

The climate crisis often hits people of color hardest, in the U.S. and around the world. It's true in cities, where black, brown and low-income people experience hotter temperatures during deadly heat waves because their neighborhoods lack tree cover and parks, or because they're near freeways or industrial facilities. It's true in Puerto Rico, where Hurricane Maria caused thousands of deaths and gave birth to a climate movement. It's true in Central America, where climate-fueled drought is driving migration.

Writing for the Guardian a few years ago, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors and fellow activist Nyeusi Nguvu argued that "the inequalities that turn an extreme weather event into a disaster or human catastrophe mirror the inequalities that cause the disproportionate loss of black and poor life globally - and the exact systems that Black Lives Matter fights against."
"Environmental injustice has always been an issue and a fight taken on by black and poor communities," they wrote. "We are the first to die, but we are also the first to fight on the frontlines."
Those ideas help explain why a growing number of activists support policy proposals, such as the Green New Deal, that tie climate change action to significant economic reforms meant to tackle inequality and racism.
Or as many folks have put it on Twitter: "Climate justice is racial justice."

A reminder that climate justice IS racial justice.

You cannot say you fight for climate justice without also fighting for racial justice. You cannot say you're a climate activist without understanding that the two struggles are inseparable.#BlackLivesMatter
- Jamie Margolin (@Jamie_Margolin) June 1, 2020

At the same time, racism can derail efforts to fight climate change, according to the marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.
"How can we expect black Americans to focus on climate when we are so at risk on our streets, in our communities, and even within our own homes?" Johnson asks in an op-ed for the Washington Post."How can people of color effectively lead their communities on climate solutions when faced with pervasive and life-shortening racism?"
As a journalist, I don't pretend to have the answers. But I know it's incumbent on me to be part of the conversation, and to shine a light on environmental injustice. So consider this week's newsletter my commitment to doing more. Hold me accountable, please.

Here's what else is happening around California and the American West:

TOP STORIES

For the first time since 1885, the U.S. got more energy from renewables than from coal in 2019. This was going to happen sooner or later, as solar and wind power are increasingly beating coal on cost. But it's still a huge milestone; here's the story from Katherine Blunt at the Wall Street Journal. Coal's decline has continued in 2020, with 13 plant closures announced this year, per Benjamin Storrow at E&E News. (For a slightly out-of-date look at coal closures in the West, here's a story I wrote in February.)

In a landmark vote, a majority of Chevron shareholders demanded that the oil giant issue a report on its climate change lobbying. The shareholder resolution is nonbinding, as Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik explains in his piece. But it's the latest sign that investors want to know how oil and gas companies plan to keep making money in a climate-constrained world.

Probably my favorite read this week was "Cash Flows: How Investors Are Banking On the West's Water Scarcity." It's a collaboration between public radio stations and other nonprofit news outlets in Arizona, Colorado and Nevada, tracking how out-of-town private investors are buying up farmland in hopes of selling rural water supplies to cities, or otherwise transferring water from agriculture to other uses. The fear of water transfers is also pervasive in California's Imperial County, as I wrote in April.

POLITICAL CLIMATE

Can a new climate consensus unite the left and boost Joe Biden? In two pieces for Vox, David Roberts makes the case that after years of disagreement between various left-of-center factions on climate change, there's an emerging policy consensus focused on sector-specific standards, public investments and a commitment to justice. Roberts also argues that embracing this consensus would help Joe Biden build support among climate activists, environmental justice advocates, unions and other key groups.

The tracks do not appear to be greased for quick construction of high-speed rail in California. Twelve years after voters approved bonds to build a bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco, environmental impact statements are still trickling in. The latest one focuses on a 14-mile segment from downtown L.A. to Burbank, as Ralph Vartabedian writes for The Times. Ralph also reports that the bullet train may need operating subsidies, contrary to what voters were once promised.

Environmental activists are pushing back against Gavin Newsom's budget proposal. With California facing a projected $54-billion budget shortfall amid the coronavirus crisis (remember the coronavirus?), Gov. Newsom has taken a sledgehammer to all sorts of climate and environmental priorities, proposing less spending - relative to his earlier budget plan - on electric vehicle rebates, oil and gas regulation and preserving wildlife habitats, as Dustin Gardiner reports for the San Francisco Chronicle.

POWER STRUGGLES

The electric truck start-up Nikola is about to go public. Here's the story by Russ Mitchell for The Times. If you've never heard of Nikola, there are a few things to know: Like Tesla, the company is named for electric grid pioneer Nikola Tesla; and unlike Tesla, the company's founder has only nice things to say about his competitor, Elon Musk. (Also unlike Tesla, Nikola plans to use hydrogen fuel cell technology rather than lithium-ion batteries. I've written about hydrogen a few times recently; see here and here.)

Let's call it a tale of two San Diegos. A new report finds that L.A.'s neighbor to the south has the second-most solar power of any U.S. city, as the San Diego Union-Tribune's Rob Nikolewski reports. (Los Angeles came in first, although San Diego has more solar per capita.) But what about transportation, the largest source of climate pollution? David Garrick reports that some San Diegans are unhappy about a plan to spend suburban development fees building bike lines and bus routes in denser neighborhoods.

AROUND THE WEST

Federal judges are pushing back against President Trump's fossil fuel agenda. It's been a rough few months for the Trump administration's efforts to open up more of the West's public lands to oil and gas drilling: Federal judges have canceled fossil fuel leases across more than 300,000 acres in Montana and Wyoming, rejected plans for new natural gas wells in Colorado, and once again blocked construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, as Matthew Brown reports in an Associated Press roundup.

The Klamath Basin is facing a severe water shortage. It's worth remembering that in a state as big as California, drought can be a regional phenomenon. So even though Southern California has gotten a good amount of rain the last few months, the state's far northern region is still quite dry - which is why the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told farmers along the Oregon border to plan for a lot less water than normal, then cut their estimates even further, as the San Francisco Chronicle's Kurtis Alexander reports.

Here's an absolutely wild story. As oil and gas drillers fight Colorado's growing push to regulate them, a University of Colorado scientist who has been monitoring emissions from fracking operations was abruptly fired by the university, as Daniel Glick reports for InsideClimate News. The school claimed he misused public funds, but Glick uncovered several holes in that explanation.

ONE MORE THING

It's been a heavy week, to say the least, so I'll end with something light and fun.

People have been telling me for years to watch "California's Gold," a public television program hosted by the late Huell Howser that explored "the state's rich history, cultural diversity, landmarks, natural wonders, amazing people and points of interest, especially lesser known and out-of-the-way places," per IMDb. I'd never seen an episode until this weekend, when I watched Huell's visit to one of my favorite places in the world, Mt. San Jacinto outside Palm Springs.

The episode focuses on two things: the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, an amazing contraption that carries visitors nearly 6,000 feet up the mountain in little more than 10 minutes; and the Colorado River Aqueduct, which bores a tunnel through the mountain on its path to deliver water from the California-Arizona border to the Los Angeles area. Huell actually gets a look inside the tunnel!

Anyway, the episode is an absolute treat. I'm looking forward to watching more "California's Gold" at the show's archives.
I'll be back in your inbox next week. If you enjoyed this newsletter, please consider forwarding it to your friends and colleagues.

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Why communities fighting for fair policing also demand environmental justice

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Welcome back to Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment. I'm Sammy Roth. There were several topics I considered writing about this week, including the results of California's latest cap-and-trade auction and a bill in Sacramento dealing with the proposed Eagle Mountain hydropower project.

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Mothers & Others For Clean Air deeply believes that access to clean air is an inherent human right. We acknowledge that communities of color often suffer from an unequal burden of toxic pollution. We offer the What does Environmental Racism Look Like in Mississippi? following resource to advance education and dialogue about Environmental Racism within the state of Mississippi. This is not a comprehensive list of issues, leaders, or organizations within Mississippi. Rather, this post highlights a few issues and resources, and thus encourages continued awareness and involvement with issues of environmental racism in Mississippi. We welcome anyone to share additional resources or thoughts with us.
Hurricane Katrina: When Hurricane Katrina struck the Mississippi coast in 2005, twelve majority Black communities were damaged by the surge. Polluting facilities located in the communities were flooded during the hurricane. The flooding of the facilities caused toxins and volatile organic compounds to leak into the soil and water around these communities. The toxins released from this flooding have had long term health effects on the community members including respiratory issues, digestive issues, reproductive effects, and cancer development.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: On April 20, 2010 the DeepWater Horizon Oil Drilling Rig in Macondo Prospect in the Mississippi Canyon exploded. As part of the clean up effort, BP collected the waste and dumped it in landfills across Mississippi. 61% of the waste was dumped in landfills located in BIPOC communities. This waste affected the mental and the physical health of the residents. Exposure to the particulates emitted from the burning of the waste at facilities led to heart disease, asthma, and ear nose and throat irritation. Exposure to the disaster and the clean up efforts led to an increase in anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other stress related concerns among the BIPOC community members.
What is Mississippi's Government Doing About Environmental Racism?
Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant v. Claiborne County: Mississippi is the only state which does not allow for the taxing of a nuclear power plant by the county. Many argue that this law exists because the county (Claiborne) in which Mississippi's only nuclear power plant exists is 80% Black. Because the county is not allowed to tax the plant, the community receives none of the economic benefits the plant could have for Claiborne county. Members of Claiborne County tried to sue the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant over claims of racial bias, but thirty years later the case has yet to be heard.
To Get Involved with Environmental Racism Advocacy in Mississippi Follow & Consider Donating to the Following BIPOC Led Organizations:
Mississippi's government has a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Each year the Mississippi DEQ presents an Environmental Justice Action Agenda which outlines Environmental Justice strategies and goals for that year. Find the 2020 Environmental Justice Action agenda here.

"One Voice grew out of the work undertaken by the Mississippi State Conference NAACP in response to housing, education, civil rights, and other related policy advocacy needs facing historically disadvantaged communities in the wake of the 2005 hurricanes. That work revealed significant needs within the non-profit sector. One such need was access to current and relevant data required to do effective policy analysis. Another need was one of connections between trained and networked community leadership and non-partisan, community-based structures through which broad public involvement could be organized and sustained."

Morse, R. (2008). ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THROUGH THE EYE OF HURRICANE KATRINA. www.jointcenter.org

Osofsky, H. M., Baxter-Kauf, K., Hammer, B., Mailander, A., Mares, B., Pikovsky, A., Whitney, A., & Wilson, L. (2012). Environmental Justice and the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articlesathttps://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articles/415.

Reilly, P. J. (2017). Mississippi Taxing - Nuclear Power And Accusations Of Racism. Forbes.Com.

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Mothers & Others For Clean Air deeply believes that access to clean air is an inherent human right. We acknowledge that communities of color often suffer from an unequal burden of toxic pollution. We offer the following resource to advance education and dialogue about Environmental R

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A Brief History Of How Racism Shaped Interstate Highways

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EAST LOS ANGELES - Miguel Dominguez didn't know what to make of the notices he started receiving from the state toxic substances department a couple of years ago. They warned about Exide Technologies, a company he'd barely heard of.

Then a community activist knocked on the door. He explained that Exide's battery recycling plant - just minutes from Dominguez's home - had been polluting the air and soil with lead and other toxic chemicals for decades.

At the beginning of this year, state workers tested the soil at his house and found that it was so contaminated it had to be replaced. And officials told him and his neighbors to keep their shoes outside and not to let their children play in the yard or their pets track in dirt.

Dominguez, a 51-year-old small businessman, got angry. He couldn't believe the state had allowed the company to continue operating despite documented violations. This would never have happened in Beverly Hills, he said.

"Here the people are more vulnerable," he said. "What I conclude is that it didn't matter if we got contaminated."

Dominguez joined a community effort to shut down the plant - and ultimately it proved successful. But now residents face an expensive and lengthy clean-up, believed to be the largest of its kind in state history.

To many community activists and public health experts, Exide's history in Los Angeles County stands out as an egregious example of environmental discrimination. The company illegally stored and disposed of hazardous waste for years, placing thousands of low-income, Latino residents at risk of lead poisoning. Even more outrageous, experts said, is that the state of California was aware of the pollution and didn't do more to protect the community.

"The fact that [Exide] was allowed to operate for so long in violation of basic environmental standards definitely makes it a poster child of environmental injustice," said Rachel Morello-Frosch, a public health professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

The disproportionate impact of environmental pollution on poor and minority communities is a much wider phenomenon, well documented by researchers. A recent study in the American Journal of Public Health showed that Latinos and African Americans are far more likely than whites to live in California communities burdened by hazardous waste sites, exposure to pesticides and traffic density.

Across the country, companies have been able to take advantage of disenfranchised communities because of the impression - or the reality - that nobody is paying attention, said Adrianna Quintero, director of partner engagement at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"Generally it's a predatory mentality of polluters who know that they are functioning with some level of impunity because so many politicians turn a blind eye," she said.

In Dickson, Tennessee, for example, poor residents spent years living with water contaminated by toxins leaked from a nearby landfill. Residents of southeast Chicago are still fighting for the removal of nearby piles of petcoke, a waste product from refining oil. And in Baltimore, children in poor, mostly African American neighborhoods continue to absorb toxic levels of lead from paint in old housing - well known to cause learning disabilities and developmental delays.

Rebecca Ruggles, director of the Maryland Environmental Health Network, a research and advocacy group, said it is tough for low-income communities to mobilize because they don't have the same access to the Internet or media as in more affluent areas, and residents may not have time to volunteer or attend meetings.

"People who do come don't have the knowledge to push back," she said.
'How much are these brown lives worth?'
The primarily Latino residents who live near Exide - in communities such as Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles and Commerce - are not wealthy and don't have a history of civic involvement. Many are more concerned about feeding their families than fighting environmental pollution. Others are undocumented immigrants, scared to speak up.

Despite the battery recycling plant's presence in the area since 1922, it employed relatively few people and many residents had no idea it even existed.

Jessica Prieto, 23, grew up in East Los Angeles, less than two miles from the plant. As a child, she and her sister played tag and ran through the sprinklers in the front yard. Her parents have lived in the area since the 1970s; her grandparents live across the street.

She said none of them knew about the Exide plant until two years ago, when Prieto graduated from college and moved home. She had studied urban planning at San Francisco State.

Suddenly, she said, "I realized I was living in this place that exemplifies bad planning."

Once word spread about the dangers of the plant, many activists and residents like Prieto started demanding action. They held protests and rallies. They accused regulators and politicians of not doing their job.

This spring, under increasing pressure, the battery recycler shut down. As part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid criminal prosecution, the company admitted to producing hazardous waste, including lead and arsenic, and to breaking the laws on safe storage and disposal. Exide agreed to demolish the buildings and help clean up the pollution.

Through a spokeswoman, Georgia-based Exide Technologies declined to comment for this story.

"This was a huge, huge victory," said Mark Lopez, who heads East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, a nonprofit that fights against industrial pollution.

Now, Lopez and others are turning their attention to the cleanup. Residents fear that the state doesn't have the motivation or the money to do it right.

The state recently announced that tests show the lead dust may have reached as many as 10,000 homes. Yet so far, just over 150 have been cleaned.

"Lead can have very insidious effects on neurological development," said Gina Solomon, deputy secretary for science and health at the California Environmental Protection Agency. "That is what makes the community concerned and that is also what makes us concerned."

The company also emitted excess arsenic into the air, raising the risk of cancer and other diseases for as many as 110,000 people, according to estimates from the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

With each home costing between $40,000 and $50,000 to clean up, the total bill could climb into the hundreds of millions. Exide has paid $9 million to decontaminate homes, and the toxic substances department received an additional $7 million from the state for testing and clean-up.

"How much are these brown lives worth?" said Lopez of the East Yard community group. "There is a price to this clean-up. We are being told the money isn't there, but the question that follows is, 'Would the money be there for another community?'"

The Department of Toxic Substances Control acknowledges that regulators should have worked together to address the problems at the plant earlier. The environmental violations dated back more than 20 years, and Exide Technologies has operated the plant since 2000. All along, the facility was allowed by the state to continue operating. "All of us could have acted sooner to develop a more complete picture of what the operations of that facility meant to the health of the residents around it," said Barbara A. Lee, who took over as director of the department late last year.

Lee said the department had tried to shut down the facility in the past but the courts blocked the effort. Armed with new information this year, the agency told the facility it planned to deny the application for a permit.

The department is now figuring out how to safely dismantle the facility and is planning to continue testing and decontaminating the surrounding neighborhoods, Lee said.

Solomon of the California EPA said she understands the community's anxiety. But she said decades of poor land use decisions and pollution have resulted in unhealthy conditions, and "it is something that is going to take a little while to fix."

"We are doing the best we can as fast as we can," she said.

That's not what Frank Villalobos, 67, wants to hear. On a recent night, Villalobos gathered at Resurrection Church with several other parishioners to discuss Exide and other environmental problems plaguing their neighborhood, including major freeways and busy railyards.

Villalobos urged his fellow church members to write letters to politicians and regulators pushing for demolition of the Exide facility to begin.

Teresa Marquez, 67, said she simply wants the state to decontaminate the rest of the homes.

"They need to come in and clean those houses - now," she said. "In my mind, I see children playing in the yard. That bothers me a lot."

Resurrection Church Monsignor John Moretta has been one of the loudest voices against Exide over the past few years. He blames the state for failing to ensure the plant was safe and urges the community itself to closely monitor the removal of lead and other toxins.

"We have to be vigilant," he said. "The clean-up is a big deal. If we don't keep up with that, then who else will?"
Blue Shield of California Foundation helps fund KHN coverage in California. The California Wellness Foundation supports KHN's work with California ethnic media.

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How One Minority Community In California Is Fighting 'Environmental Injustice'

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EAST LOS ANGELES - Miguel Dominguez didn't know what to make of the notices he started receiving from the state toxic substances department a couple of years ago. They warned about Exide Technologies, a company he'd barely heard of. Then a community activist knocked on the door.

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EPA Region 1: New England

The guiding principle of environmental justice is that everyone, regardless of race, color, national origin or income is entitled to equal protection from environmental harms and risks.

EPA Region 1 is committed to ensuring that environmental justice is integrated into all of our programs, policies and activities in order to achieve environmental and public health improvements for communities in New England that may be disproportionately burdened by environmental harms and risks, such as minority, low-income and tribal communities.

EPA Region 1 seeks to achieve environmental justice and make a visible difference in New England communities by:

Collaborating with community members, government organizations, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions and other stakeholders to address environmental and health-related challenges

Enhancing understanding of environmental and health-related issues at the community level

Providing accessible and culturally appropriate opportunities for low-income, minority and linguistically isolated stakeholders to meaningfully participate in our decision-making processes

Providing information, tools and resources to stakeholders

Improving methods for identifying, addressing, tracking and measuring progress toward achieving environmental justice

Learn more about the ways that the EPA engages with communities across New England by reading the EPA Region 1 Environmental Justice End-of-Year Report.

Please contact Marcus Holmes ( holmes.marcus@epa.gov) to receive occasional announcements about learning opportunities, funding opportunities, conferences and other environmental justice news.

Learn more about EPA Region 1.

Region EJ Highlights

EPA-Region 1 is focused on making a visible difference and improving the environment and public health in environmentally overburdened, underserved and economically distressed communities throughout New England. Examples include:

Bridgeport, CT where EPA is building on past successes and continuing to work with a diverse range of stakeholders to:

leverage Brownfields grants and other investments in the City to assess and revitalize underutilized sites in Bridgeport

perform an emergency response and cleanup of the Rowayton Trading facility in Bridgeport

promote energy and climate resiliency in the City's houses of worship

promote healthy homes programs to address hazards such as lead paint, mold, allergens and asthma triggers

Lawrence, MA where EPA is helping build a diverse, collaborative community stakeholder coalition working together to:

address litter and promote increased recycling throughout the City

protect and improve the quality of the City's iconic rivers

develop a comprehensive water strategy for the City

leverage Brownfields grants and other investments in the City to revitalize the Manchester Lawrence Rail Road corridor and provide job training in site remediation and water management careers

develop and support youth education and outreach programs

Hinsdale, NH and Brattleboro, VT, neighboring small cities, where EPA is working with a diverse range of stakeholders to:

leverage Brownfields grants to assess and cleanup underutilized sites

support flood mitigation efforts and create a resilience plan for Hinsdale's drinking water treatment and distribution system

expand capacity of citizen scientists to monitor local waterways

promote lead-safe housing

promote smart growth principles and climate-resilient redevelopment of Brattleboro's Whetstone Brook Corridor

provide storm water management training and support installation of a rain garden at the Hinsdale post office.

EPA-Region 1's Urban Environmental Program works to improve the environment and enhance the quality of life for urban residents throughout New England by building community capacity to assess and resolve environmental problems, achieving measurable and sustainable improvements in urban communities, and restoring and revitalizing neighborhoods for urban residents.

The Healthy Communities Grant Program is EPA-Region 1's main competitive grant program to work directly with communities to reduce environmental risks to protect and improve human health and the quality of life.

EPA's Brownfields program has provided nearly $250 million in grants and technical assistance to New England communities, states, tribes, and other stakeholders to prevent, assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse brownfields.

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

Director, Office of Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (OCRUA)

Sharon Wells (wells.sharon@epa.gov)

617-918-1007

Environmental Justice Coordinator

Marcus Holmes (holmes.marcus@epa.gov)

617-918-1630

EPA Region 2:

EJ is a priority for EPA Region 2. The Region 2 EJ Program works to integrate the consideration of environmental justice into all of our Regional programs, functions and activities in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our strategy is outlined in our Regional EJ Action Plan. The Region 2 Environmental Justice Program is driven by community-based work. We provide support to various community initiatives such as EPA's Making a Visible Difference in Communities effort. We strive to interact directly with communities and work with them to address their environmental and health concerns to the best of our ability and within the scope of the Agency's authority.

Region 2 also co-leads a Regional Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ RIWG) with the U.S. Health and Human Services based in New York. The EJ RIWG is a communities-based effort where federal partners come together to find creative solutions for some of the most economically- and environmentally-challenged areas in our region.

Learn more about Region 2.

Region EJ Highlights

Just one example of our community-based approach to environmental justice is a recent workshop the Region organized. With the help and partnership of the Making a Visible Difference effort, the Region 2 EJ Program successfully coordinated with state and local leaders to hold an environmental justice and education workshop in Newburgh, NY. Through the workshop, Newburgh residents and community organizations had the chance to learn, engage, discuss and build capacity to understand and address the environmental health issues that deeply impact their community.

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

EPA Region 3: Mid-Atlantic

The EPA Mid Atlantic Region's Environmental Justice Program is coordinated through the Office of Enforcement, Compliance and Environmental Justice (OECEJ). OECEJ coordinates the Region's work on issues of Environmental Justice concern internally through the Region's Environmental Justice work Group. The work group is made up of representatives from each Division/Office.

OECEJ works collaboratively to build capacity internally and externally through outreach and education in the form of training, facilitated discussions, participation in work groups and focused dialogue. We work with a variety of environmental justice stakeholders through direct work with communities and other partners on the ground. OECEJ also:

conducts EJSCREEN assessments internally

reviews documents of EJ concern

conducts training

manages grants

serves as a conduit for information

provides information in support of environmental justice activities throughout the Region.

Programs Activities:

All States EJ Working Group: Since 1999, Region 3 has chaired the All States EJ Working Group, now comprised of Region's 1-5 and their respective states. The All States EJ Working Group began by holding a face to face meeting of the EJ staff from Region 3 and the states that comprise Region 3 in June of 1999. The meeting was an information and capacity building session designed to educate and inform the attendees about Environmental Justice; as well as to encourage a further dialogue among the attendees. The session was so well received that regularly scheduled monthly conference calls were requested and have been ongoing since that time. Over time, Regions 1, 2, 4, and 5 have joined the group continuing the monthly calls and face to face sessions when possible. The calls provide a forum for discussion of issues of concern, training and capacity building opportunities, and a host of guest speaker form the states, community groups and organizations, the regions and OEJ to name a few.

EJSCREEN - OECEJ conducts EJCREEN sessions for all sites in Region 3.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) EJ Reviews - OECEJ conducts EJ reviews for Regional EIS documents.

EJ Mapping - OECEJ works with the divisions to provide digital maps and other information related to environmental justice issues and areas of concern.

Learn more about Region 3.

Regional EJ Highlights

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

EPA Region 4: Southeast

The Office of Environmental Justice and Sustainability (OEJS) is located directly in the Office of the Regional Administrator (ORA) and plays a critical role in leading and coordinating the region's environmental justice and sustainability programs. These functions are placed in the ORA to illustrate the elevated level of significance in the Region.

The mission of OEJS is to promote sustainable communities that foster improvements in human health, the environment and economic well-being for all; with a focus on minority, low-income, tribal and vulnerable communities. OEJS serves Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Six Tribes.

OEJS plays a critical role in the implementation of Plan EJ2014, the EJ 2020 Action Agenda and the Regional Interagency Working Group for Environmental Justice, as well as consultation activities throughout the region on technical issues in environmental justice communities.

Focus Areas

Partnerships

OEJS integrates sustainability and environmental justice through various external partnerships. These partnerships are essential to ensuring our communities, elected officials, industry partners, academics and other stakeholders stay abreast of the opportunities available to them at EPA and beyond. While OEJS staff is represented on a number of different partnerships, OEJS has identified eight major partnership areas.

Outreach

OEJS is committed to outreach to communities, industry, academics, elected officials and other stakeholders to help them work toward reducing environmental pollution, enhancing economic development and creating sustainable communities.

Training

Training is the means by which stakeholders make more informed decisions about their future direction. OEJS will continue to develop and deliver training to partners and to internal R4 staff to educate them about environmental justice, sustainability and pollution prevention issues.

Financial Assistance Agreements

OEJS staff is responsible for a varied list of financial agreements. These grants, contracts and cooperative agreements are awarded on an annual basis to eligible community groups, states, and federally recognized governments that are working on or planning to carry out projects to address environmental justice.

Multi-media Collaboration (internal)

Many of the issues that communities and other stakeholders face are not one dimensional; these issues cross many different EPA Programs, requiring coordination and assistance from different media (i.e., air, water, waste) offices. One method of cross program coordination is working through workgroups and councils.

Learn more about Region 4.

Region EJ Highlights

Region 4 OEJS Making a Visible Difference in Communities

Proctor Creek:
EPA continues to strengthen collaborations with communities, governmental partners and other interested stakeholders to achieve meaningful outcomes in the Proctor Creek Watershed. EPA has successfully used a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to assess the distribution of both environmental and health impacts of a proposed area-wide environmental district. The HIA helped determine how green infrastructure techniques and practices, low impact development and land-use planning can help solve the complex flooding and stormwater issues in Proctor Creek. Read more about the Proctor Creek HIA.

North Birmingham:
EPA has taken a coordinated approach to evaluate and address the environmental conditions and potential environmental hazards in low-income and minority communities of North Birmingham, including the neighborhoods of Fairmont, Collegeville and Harriman Park, as well as portions of Five-Mile Creek and the Harriman Park Ditch. This effort, which includes air, waste and water issues, is known as the North Birmingham Environmental Collaboration Project.

EPA Regional Administrator Heather McTeer Toney convened the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG), to bring federal support to address the myriad of needs in North Birmingham. Since the formation of the IWG which includes local agencies and colleges, small working groups meet regularly to further define priority projects, performance measures, community goals, and identify key stakeholders to leverage or share resources.

In July 2015, Region 4 hosted a series of Summer Camps in the North Birmingham, AL area. Through a partnership with the City of Birmingham, EPA staff educated the youth about the clean-up activities in the area and provided them with knowledge about healthy living.

"These summer camps are an excellent way, for us as the EPA, to educate the youth on what we do as an organization and show them that what we can do together as a civilization, and how our daily activities directly impact the earth and our health," stated Cynthia Peurifoy, Environmental Justice Coordinator for the EPA Region 4. More than 120 children participated in the four camps.

Region 4 EJ Showcase Community

Jacksonville, Florida is Region 4's Environmental Justice Showcase Community. EPA Region 4 OEJS worked with the City of Jacksonville and numerous local stakeholders to improve environmental and public health outcomes in an area that consists of a predominantly low income and minority population. This Jacksonville area has a number of Superfund sites, Brownfields, vacant and abandoned lots or other properties where contamination is suspected and impacted waterways. Region 4 has worked with its partners, including environmental justice community representatives, to address sites of concern and turn them into an opportunity for residents in the vicinity to collaborate with developers and revitalize their neighborhoods. Read more about Jacksonville, Florida Health Zone 1.

Region 4 EJ Programming

EJ Academy
OEJS developed the Environmental Justice Academy (EJA) to educate leaders from communities facing environmental injustices. Primarily based on EPA's Collaborative Problem-Solving Model, EJA also incorporates the concepts associated with Appreciative Inquiry (AI). AI is a change management approach to identify what is working well, analyze why it is working and take action to do more of it. Through a series of nine modules, EJA participants cultivate skills to identify environmental challenges and accomplish environmental improvement goals in their communities. Participation is open to residents as well as representatives of grassroots community organizations and academia. EJA encourages collaborative problem-solving with local government, small businesses, academic institutions and industry to create a shared vision among different stakeholders so that all parts of a community have a voice.

Community Engagement University
In 2016, OEJS will implement the Community Engagement University (CEU) Certificate Program to educate internal stakeholders about the complexities, challenges and rewards of working in communities. The CEU Program is designed to help staff do their work more effectively, fostering community engagement skills through a series of classroom and web-based courses that will be taught by EPA staff and consultants.

Earth Tomorrow
OEJS has supported the Earth for Tomorrow Summer Institute, hosted by the National Wildlife Federation, since its inception in 2001. The program engages high school students in hands-on leadership training and interaction with environmental professionals though a career fair, fieldwork and other outdoor experiences.

The program focuses on creating a new generation of leaders that will promote environmental stewardship and raise awareness about the human health impacts of environmental pollution. OEJS staff has hosted an annual "EJ Day" during the Summer Institute. Last year's EJ Day focused on the Climate Justice Movement, expanding students' understanding of climate change impacts on vulnerable populations.

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

Photo Gallery

EPA Region 5: Great Lakes

The Region 5 Environmental Justice program works regularly with community organizations in a variety of ways including by hosting and attending community meetings. Region 5 has a strong relationship with co-regulators at the state and local level. We collaborate with states on geographic initiatives and provide the states with technical support including training.

Region 5 works to achieve environmental justice in its enforcement, permitting, and community-based work, as part of a comprehensive national commitment to consider environmental justice in all aspects of EPA's decision-making process:

Enforcement programs assure compliance with federal laws that protect public health and the environment, holding all facilities to an equal standard wherever they are located and focusing our attention on areas where there are potential disproportionate impacts.

Permitting programs ensure that permits are issued in accordance with federal law and that surrounding communities are equally protected. In some cases Region 5 issues permits to facilities, in others they oversee state run permitting programs. They also offer training to states and promote best practices for effective public participation.

Community-based work brings a full range of program resources to communities living with Environmental Justice concerns. Working with community residents and organizations, we partner with other federal, state, and local agencies to address these concerns and make a visible difference.

Learn more about Region 5.

Region EJ Highlights

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts
State EJ Contacts

Region 5 actively works with our state and local co-regulators on environmental justice concerns. We work together to encourage adoption of best practices. The contacts below would like to share more information about their state EJ programs with you.

EPA Region 6: South Central

The Office of Environmental Justice, Tribal, and International Affairs works closely with communities to facilitate culturally sensitive communication, find solutions, or reduce environmental challenges. The Environmental Justice program's goal is to ensure that all people are protected from disproportionate impacts of environmental hazards by working with and on behalf of impacted communities.

Environmental Justice is about real people facing real problems and designing practical solutions to address challenging environmental issues. The environmental justice movement advocates programs that promote environmental protection within the context of sustainable development. The Environmental Justice program administers EJ Small Grants and EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) Cooperative Agreement Program.

Learn more about Region 6.

Environmental Justice State Collaborative Action Plans

Environmental Justice Forum

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

EPA Region 7: Midwest

The primary focus of the Region 7 Environmental Justice Program is to ensure that, as a Region, we are fulfilling the mandate given in Executive Order 12898 on environmental justice.

Fulfilling this mandate means ongoing efforts to both ensure that Region 7 is addressing environmental justice in all we do and ensure community awareness regarding environmental issues and the decision-making processes in areas which affect their daily lives. The program maintains its outreach and education activities where grants programs and Agency participation in community activities have produced tangible environmental benefits for low-income and minority communities.
Our Vision

Meaningful involvement of low-income and minority populations in our decision-making processes.

Greater understanding of environmental and health-related issues at the community level.

The ability to identify, address, track and measure Region 7's progress towards ensuring environmental justice at sites located in low-income and minority communities.

Collaboration with federal, state and local governments, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to ensure environmental justice.

Learn more about Region 7.

Regional EJ Highlights

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

EPA Region 8: Mountains and Plains

Region 8's environmental justice program is focused on achieving equal environmental protection so no segment of the population, regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, or income bears an undue burden of environmental pollution and to ensure that the benefits of environmental protection are shared by everyone. Region 8's EJ Team works towards advancing environmental justice by focusing on making a difference in environmental justice communities through connecting with, supporting, building the capacity of, and leveraging resources of both internal and external partners.

Region 8 is predominantly rural in character and home to some traditionally disenfranchised and historically self-reliant populations including Native Americans, migrant farm workers, Latinos, and the rural poor. These populations tend to inhabit places that are physically distant and isolated from urban centers. Indian country in the Region encompasses a large land area.

The Region 8 EJ Team's principal focus areas are to effectively integrate environmental justice into the activities of EPA Region 8, build effective partnerships with external stakeholders, and respond to challenges posed to communities impacted by oil and gas development.

Learn more about Region 8.

Region EJ Highlights

The following are examples of key efforts in Region 8 that are benefitting the Region's EJ communities:

The Recycle Conejos and Costillos Counties project made possible by an EPA Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) grant is focused on addressing illegal dumping of waste in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. EPA and other stakeholders are working with the grantee to enhance cooperation and efficiency regarding waste collection and disposal and integrate, through the development of transfer stations, the illegal dumping waste stream into recycling operations. To date, most of the site identification has been completed and analysis is underway and the team has successfully coordinated with local schools with students participating in site visits to discuss illegal dumping and an illegal dump site mapping project.

Through the Poplar, Montana / Fort Peck Reservation Making a Visible Difference (MVD) project, Region 8 is engaging the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes at Fort Peck, and the town of Poplar, MT, specifically focused on a theme of sustainable living. During summer and fall of 2015, 20 high efficiency, LEED Platinum homes are being built by the Make-It-Right Foundation and installed in the first phase of development of a new "Sustainable Village" in Poplar. EPA is providing Brownfields technical and grant assistance to address a former landfill and airport located within the Village footprint. EPA is also working with the Tribe and other partners to create healthy home, school, and work environments; assess and remove blighted properties and work towards a long-term plan to manage abandoned or damaged properties in the future; apply green infrastructure principles to manage storm water; and provide climate change mitigation, training, and adaption planning.

EPA Region 8 is supporting efforts to assess and cleanup environmental contamination and revitalize an economically distressed and historically industrial area of Helena, Montana through the Queen City Crossing & 6th Ward Neighborhood MVD project. Efforts include the implementation of livability/smart growth principles that will benefit residents in the 6th Ward neighborhood. The focus area contains the greatest number of brownfield sites and vacant or transitioning commercial properties in Helena. Partners are collaborating to redesign traffic flow, increase connectivity with bicycle and pedestrian access, facilitate mixed-use and equitable development and become a community-friendly gateway to the downtown area.

The Denver, Colorado / Sun Valley Neighborhood MVD project focuses on implementation of the Decatur-Federal Station Area Plan (developed through a HUD Sustainable Communities Grant). As a major implementation step, the Denver Housing Authority is creating a master plan for a high density, mixed income, rental and ownership community that includes mixed-use commercial space and which explores EcoDistrict solutions for multiple sustainability issues such as energy, water management, transportation and food production. EPA Region 8 is working with various partners on redevelopment of the 33 acre public housing site including a net zero district, creating a South Platte Greenway/Riverfront Park, comprehensive storm water design, healthy homes education and industrial area cleanup.

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

EPA Region 9: Pacific Southwest

EPA Region 9 supports programs and projects to help address adverse and disproportionate effects. Here you will find examples of the ways communities have used EPA funding to increase their capacity to improve their local environment. We have also provided a list of tools and resources that may be useful to environmental justice organizations and residents.

Learn more about Region 9.

Regional EJ Highlights

Region 9 Environmental Justice Small Grants Success Stories

Los Angeles Area Environmental Enforcement Collaborative

Subscribe to the Region 9 EJ Update Newsletter: EPA's Pacific Southwest Environmental Justice Network sends occasional updates about funding opportunities, conferences, events, and other information that may be of interest to environmental justice organizations and practitioners. Read previous Updates.

Join Region 9's EJ Mailing List Exitto receive occasional announcements about funding opportunities, conferences, or environmental justice news. You can always opt out of your subscription by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link found at the bottom of every email.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the EJ Executive Order, EPA Region 9 organized a "Teach-In" on March 6, 2014. More than 150 participants representing nonprofits, community organizations, academia, state and local governments, and the Region 9 workforce provided input on three key themes. Learn more:

Sustainable Development and EJ

EJ and the Law

Tools and Task Forces

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

Do you have a program-specific question about Environmental Justice? Check out the list of network members below and the EJ-related topics of interest they are knowledgeable about. If you don't find what you're looking for, please contact the EJ Coordinator.

EPA Region 10: Pacific Northwest

Serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and 271 Native Tribes

The Region 10 EJ program works to integrate the principles of environmental justice throughout the four states of Idaho, Alaska, Oregon and Washington. This is accomplished through grantmaking, direct collaboration with communities and tribes, close coordination with states and other governmental agencies and participation with universities, research centers and other entities involved in extending the discourse on environmental justice.

The program also prioritizes the integration of environmental justice within the Region 10 office through strategic planning, training and working across programs on the Agency's core work of permitting, enforcement, Superfund and other functions.

The Region 10 Environmental Justice program is currently located in the Policy and Environmental Review Branch in the Office of the Regional Administrator. Learn more about Region 10.

Regional EJ Highlights

Regional EJ Resources

Regional EJ Contacts

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Environmental Justice in Your Community | US EPA

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The guiding principle of environmental justice is that everyone, regardless of race, color, national origin or income is entitled to equal protection from environmental harms and risks.

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How Racist Housing Policy and Climate Change have Coalesced to Disproportionately Impact Communities of Color