CBC & EPA South Carolina Joint Environmental Justice Tour

EPA, Congressional Black Caucus Visit South Carolina on Joint Environmental Justice Tour

Marks second stop in nationwide tour highlighting impact of environmental issues on underserved communities

On Sunday, April 18 and Monday, April 19, as part of the joint nationwide Environmental Justice Tour between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson traveled to South Carolina to highlight challenges faced by underserved communities in the area. South Carolina marked the second stop in the nationwide tour and included meetings and public events with U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and Delegate Donna M. Christensen (D-VI) in the cities of Spartanburg, Columbia, Aiken and North Charleston.

On Sunday in Columbia, EPA and the CBC hosted an Environmental Justice Town Hall at Allen University with the participation of hundreds of community leaders, elected officials, students and religious leaders. At the town hall, Administrator Jackson announced $1.4 million in brownfields funds for South Carolina, as part of a larger national announcement of nearly $80 million to 40 states, to clean up and redevelop hazardous waste sites. These investments and jobs target local, underserved and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods – places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.

Earlier in the day, the delegation toured the ReGenesis Project in Spartanburg, a former brownfields site that a community-based organization has leveraged millions in funding for redevelopment. The project, a model for environmental justice organizations across the state, received an EPA Environmental Justice Achievement Award for its work to protect the health and environment of this community while promoting economic development.

Today, the delegation traveled to the Savannah River Site, a Superfund hazardous waste site receiving funds from the recovery act and visited an elementary school in North Charleston, which EPA is monitoring for toxic air pollution. Upcoming tour stops will include New York, Georgia, Michigan and Missouri, among other states.

Environmental Justice Blog Named Among Top 50 Public Health Blogs

From Health Sherpa:

Top 50 Public Health Blogs

"After the Haitian eqrthquake news coverage, you might have realized the issues in that situation that pertained to public health. Business, food and drugs, a natural disaster, weather and the environmental all affected the Haitian population’s health after that earthquake. We tackled those topics as categories as we built this top 50 public health blog list for you to stay on top of public health issues from a local to global basis."

NEJAC Teleconference Meeting April 28 - Register Now

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council

National Public Teleconference Meeting

Wednesday April 28, 2010

Registration Now Open

The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) will host a public teleconference call on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, from 2p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. The primary topics of discussion will be updates on EPA’s response to the NEJAC’s Goods Movement Report; and reports from the NEJAC liaisons to the Tribal Operations Commission and the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee School Siting Task Group.

The draft agenda is as follows:

2:00 p.m. Welcome, Introduction and Role Call

2:10 p.m. Updates on EPA’s Response to the NEJAC’s Goods Movement Report and Reports from the NEJAC Liaisons to the Tribal Operations Commission and the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee School Siting Task Group.

3:30 p.m. Public Comment Period

4:00 p.m. Adjourn

There will be a public comment period from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Members of the public who wish to participate on the call or to provide public comment must pre-register by 11 a.m. Eastern Time Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Individuals or groups making remarks during the public comment period will be limited to a total time of five minutes. Only one representative of a community, organization or group will be allowed to speak. Written comments can also be submitted for the record. The suggested format for individuals providing public comments is as follows: Name of Speaker, Name of Organization/Community, Address/Telephone/E-mail, Description of Concern and its Relationship to a Specific Policy Issue(s), and Recommendations or desired outcome.

Written comments received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time Monday, April 26, 2010, will be included in the materials distributed to the members of the NEJAC. Written comments received after that time will be provided to the NEJAC as logistics allow. All written comments should be sent to EPA’s support contractor, APEX Direct, Inc via e-mail at or fax at (877) 773-0779.
You must pre-register to participate on the call. To register online

New Report: Environmental Justice and the Green Economy

A Working Group representing eight organizations in six states have published two documents:

1- "Environmental Justice and the Green Economy: A Vision Statement and Case Studies for Just and Sustainable Solutions" and

2- "Stimulating Environmental Justice: How the States Can Use Federal Recovery Funds to Build a Just and Sustainable Economy."

Members of the working group include:

Bill Gallegos, Communities for a Better Environment (Los Angeles)
Denise Perry, Power U (Miami)
Kalila Barnett and Penn Loh, Alternatives for Community & Environment, Boston
Diane Takvorian, Environmental Health Coalition (San Diego)
Peggy Shepard and Cecil Corbin-Mark, West Harlem Environmental Action
Burt Lauderdale, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
Donele Wilkins, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice
Roger Kim, Asian Pacific Environmental Network (Oakland)