Assistance for Disadvantaged Farmers & Ranchers

The Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Request for Applications has been released. Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Competitive Grants ProgramThe Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Competitive Grants Program (OASDFR) provides funds to organizations to conduct outreach and technical assistance to encourage and assist socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to own and operate farms and ranches and to participate in agricultural programs.

The OASDFR will support a wide range of outreach and assistance activities in farm management, financial management, marketing, application and bidding procedures, and other areas. The primary purpose of the OASDFR is to deliver outreach and technical assistance, to assure opportunities for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to successfully acquire, own, operate, and retain farms and ranches; and assure equitable participation in the full range of USDA programs. More informaton: OASDFR

Who Is Eligible to Apply * 1862 Land-Grant Institutions * 1890 Land-Grant Institutions * 1994 Land-Grant Institutions * Hispanic-Serving Institutions * Native American Tribal Govts (Federally Recognized) * Native American Tribal Orgs, not Federally recognized Tribal Governments * Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS status, other than Institutions of Higher Ed * Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS status, other than Institutions of Higher Ed * Other or Additional Information (See below) * State Controlled Institutions of Higher Ed.

More Information on Eligibility Postsecondary educational institutions and community-based organizations, networks, or coalitions of community-based organizations that meet certain criteria. Organizations that received funding under this section before Jan. 1, 1996 are also eligible. IMPORTANT! See RFA for specific eligibility requirements.

Website

Contact Information: Dionne Toombs, Ph.D. National Program Leader Community Food and Nutrition Competitive Programs, CSREES, USDA Regular Mail (allow a minimum of 2 weeks for delivery):Mail Stop 22411400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-2241

Express Mail (for time sensitive information, use overnight delivery service):Waterfront Centre, Room 2416800 9th St., SW Washington, DC 20024 Telephone: 202-401-2138Fax: 202-401-6488 Email

CSREES' mission is to advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well being, and communities.

Also: Geraldine Herring Special Outreach Program Manager USDA Office of Outreach Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

In Memoriam: Robert J. Knox

A Legend and Giant at EPA

Robert J. Knox was a founding Deputy Director and former Acting Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Justice(OEJ). Mr. Knox was an engineer by training and he began his career in Region 4 as a manpower development specialist working on water related issues. He moved to Region 2 where he led manpower and training programs.

In the early 1980s he served as the Director of the Office of Civil Rights. Thereafter, he was the Hazardous Waste Ombudsman for OSWER. When the Office of Environmental Justice was formed in 1992, he served as the founding Deputy Office Director with Dr. Clarice Gaylord, then OEJ Director. Bob spent his last 12 years in EPA working on community engagement activities. Bob retired from EPA in December 2004. In his retirement, he began taking coursework toward a masters degree from Howard University's School of Divinity. He was also a former deacon at the Gethsemane Baptist Church.

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Meeting

The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) will meet in October.

Purpose: Discussions about differential impacts of climate change, environmental justice best practices, goods movement impacts on air quality, and other topics.

o Date: Tuesday, October 21 through Thursday, 23, 2008.

o Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day unless noted otherwise

o Public comment session:

+ Wednesday, October 22, 2008 from 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
+ Commenters must sign-up in advance or on-site to give comment
+ Comments limited to five minutes
+ Written comments also are encouraged

o Please pre-register

# Advance registration closes October 13. On- site registration starts October 21
# Contact: Ms. Julianne Pardi, ICF International
* Phone: (781) 676-4010 * Fax: (781) 676-4005
* Email: jpa@icfi.com

Environmental Justice and DNA in Maryland

The Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, Maryland NAACP, ACLU and the State Public Defenders Office are accusing Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's administration of reneging on safeguards in a new law that expands police powers to collect DNA samples from crime suspects. The conflict arises out of whether DNA samples are taken from any arrested suspect or from those formally charged for specific violent crimes. The critics say they specifically negotiated exclusion of general arrect suspects with Governor O'Malley before supporting the legislation. Now they feel betrayed. There is also concern about disposing of DNA once an arrested person is cleared. The critics want the samples expunged if charges are dropped or a suspect is cleared. The critics also believe the regulations do not give clear instructions on how to make sure the samples are removed from federal databases.

Specifically, the conflict focuses on a word because the regulations allow police to take a sample from an "arrestee," which they interpret as someone being booked but not charged. But the governor's office calls an "arrestee" a person against whom a written accusation of a crime has been made and believe it is at that point the law allows police to take a DNA sample. The regulations were issued last month and now police officers and state prosecutors are being trained to implement the new regulation. The law takes effect in January.

Although DNA testing is a very good crime-fighting tool that has also proven effective in exonerating innocent people, it seems clear that generally collecting samples from suspects when they are arrested is too intrusive and violates the civil liberties of those who are exonerated. The state's previous policy was to take samples for its database after convictions. The black caucus has called for legislative hearings on the regulations and vowed to press the administration to change them. (The Washington Post, 9/4/08)

National Black Chamber Says EJ Limits Minority Progress

Harry Alford, left, is president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and he recently wrote an article in The Washington Informer entitled, "Environmental Justice: The New "White Man's Burden," where he states:

"Environmental justice is the biggest sham in modern day political leadership. It addresses "minority communities" and presents itself as the protector of them. Never mind about civil rights aka economic development, job creation and proactive policy. Environmental Justice seeks to limit progress in minority communities via inertia through excess regulation, bureaucracy and adverse policy in regards to infrastructure and economic progress. It acts like it is there to protect us from evil corporate America and young and new Black entrepreneurs. It demands to stop all industrial activity and progress that might cause another economic shift in the demographics of our communities."

Alford believes that environmental justice legislation in Congress will erode civil rights enforcement by shifting the focus from the Justice Department to the Environmental Protection Agency. The legislation was introduced by Representative Hilda Solis (H.R. 1103) and by Senators Dick Durbin (S. 642) and Hillary Clinton (S. 2549) and will codify the original Clinton Exectuve Order 12898 establishing environmental justice policies in the Executive Branch. Alford continues:

"This would put the Justice Department's responsibilities for civil rights enforcement further into the hole. It would shift to the Environmental Protection Agency. From the US Deparment of Justice (the laws of the land) to the EPA, a quasi agency for the environment and not civil rights, this is so counter to real civil rights enforcement. Our economic future will whither on the vine. Once again, they will order the Congressional Black Caucus to step aside and the Civil Rights Community to turn a blind eye and accept federal grants ("30 pieces of silver" ala Judas). The diversion is creating a formidable infrastructure if we allow this to go on. It's time for new leadership and a return to the tried and proven Civil Rights Act enforcement."

Dana Alston: Remembering An Environmental Justice Heroine

The environmental justice movement will never be the same without Dana Alston, right. This powerful activist spoke truth to power and worked tirelessly for social and environmental justice. Dana was 47 years old when she died in 1999.

Dana Alston received a Bannerman Fellowship in 1992 in recognition of her leadership in the development of the environmental justice movement. The Bannerman Fellowship Program was founded in 1987 on the belief that the most effective approach to achieving progressive social change is by organizing low-income people at the grassroots level. In 2002, the Fellowship Program was renamed the Alston/Bannerman Fellowship Program in honor of Dana Alston. Dana died on August 7, 1999 at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Dana was a native of New York and lived in Washington, D.C. She was in San Francisco for treatment of kidney disease and consequences of a stroke when she died. Her beloved son, Khalil Alston-Cobb, resides in Washington, D.C.

Senator James Inhofe Offers Energy Justice Resolution

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, offered a Sense of the Senate resolution on Energy Justice during today’s Full Committee Business Meeting. The resolution, which was voted down by Democrats, urged that any “environmental justice policies” should only be considered in “the context of energy justice policies.”

Senator Inhofe’s Sense of the Senate revealed that “high energy prices are most burdensome on the poor and disadvantaged, and that opening access to increased energy supply and helping them to use less energy will lower energy prices for the poor and disadvantaged.”

Full Text of Senator Inhofe’s Sense of the Senate Resolution on “Energy Justice”:

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—110th Congress, 2nd Session.

To expresses the Sense of the Senate that development and implementation of environmental justice policies must be considered within the context of energy justice policies, that high energy prices are most burdensome on the poor and disadvantaged, and that opening access to increased energy supply and helping them to use less energy will lower energy prices for the poor and disadvantaged.

Whereas environmental justice can be defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income within the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental policies and laws; and

Whereas energy justice can be defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income within the development, implementation, and enforcement of national energy policies and laws with the goal to promote affordable and abundant energy; and

Whereas environmental justice and energy justice are not mutually exclusive; and

Whereas the nation is currently in the grips of an energy crisis; and Whereas according to a recent survey by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, 70 percent of households reduced food purchases, 30 percent reduced purchases of medicine, and 20 percent changed plans for either their own or their children’s education in order to cope with higher home energy and gasoline costs; and

Whereas America has ample supplies of oil, natural gas, coal, oil shale, uranium, and wind potential to meet our energy supply needs for the next century and beyond; and

Whereas drilling is currently prohibited by Congress on 85 percent of the nation’s outer continental shelf, which holds an estimated 14 billion barrels of recoverable oil or the equivalent of 25 years of imports from Saudi Arabia; and

Whereas commercial scale oil shale production is currently prohibited by Congress in the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming with nearly two trillion potentially-recoverable barrels of oil which at current rates of consumption could yield enough energy to fully meet America’s oil needs for nearly 240 years; and

Whereas energy is the nation’s lifeblood, the mostly unseen but present force that powers our economic engine, creates opportunities, and improves living standards:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that –

(1) implementation of environmental justice policies must always be considered in context with energy justice; and

(2) affordable energy is the creator of economic opportunities; and

(3) lifting Congressional prohibitions and increasing access to America’s abundant energy supply will lower the price of energy for the nation’s poor and disadvantaged.

Harry Alford To Chair U.S. Chamber of Commerce Regulatory Affairs Committee

The US Chamber of Commerce has recently appointed Harry C. Alford, left, to Chairman of the Regulatory Affairs Committee. Harry Alford is president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. This committee overseas federal regulations and laws and seeks to make improvement from a business perspective when and where necessary. The Committee will provide Mr. Alford with staff for research and initiatives. The first two projects driven by Mr. Alford will be

1. A review of Section 3 of the HUD Act: What would be the economic impact in terms of jobs, contracting and the poverty level if the US Department of HUD would efficiently implement Section 3 (here) versus the current status?

2. Environmental Justice: A thorough analysis of Environmental Justice and how it should be applied to federal programs.

EPA & Spelman College Host Sustainability Conference

Collegiate Environmental Sustainability Conference

Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia

October 23-24, 2008

Now more than ever, economic and environmental benefits are critical to the sustainability of institutions. Energy efficiency, indoor air quality, water conservation, smart land use and more are essential components for a healthier campus. Remodeling and building with sustainable materials to meet the needs of growing campuses are key to reducing the impact on the environment, health, and resources. Environmental decisions now affect us economically later.

Make the right environmental decisions: join EPA and Spelman College in learning the dollars and sense of Going Green. Learn about benefits, success stories and resources available for Colleges and Universities. The window of opportunity is now!

Click here to receive electronic updates and further conference information. Check back often, information will be updated as it becomes available! Sponsored By: US EPA Region 4 and Spelman College

Call For Papers

Environmental Justice, a new peer-reviewed quarterly journal under the direction of Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sylvia Hood Washington, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, was launched last month and the response to the inaugural issue has been very enthusiastic. We invite you to submit your best work to the Journal to be considered for publication. Manuscripts received by July 15, 2008 may be considered for inclusion in our second issue.

Read the first issue online

View the instructions for authors

Environmental Justice welcomes papers on:

1) The adverse health effects on populations that are most subject to health and environmental hazards
2) The protection of socially, politically, and economically marginalized communities from environmental health impacts and inequitable environmental burden
3) The prevention and resolution of harmful policies, projects, and developments and issues of compliance and enforcement, activism, and corrective actions
4) Multidisciplinary analysis, debate, and discussion of the impact of past and present public health responses to environmental threats, current and future environmental and urban planning policies, land use decisions, legal responses, and geopolitics
5) Past and contemporary environmental compliance and enforcement, activism, and corrective actions, environmental politics, environmental health disparities, environmental sociology, and environmental history
6) The connection between environmental remediation, economic empowerment, relocation of facilities that pose hazardous risk to health, selection of new locations for industrial facilities, and the relocation of communities
7) The complicated issues inherent in remediation, funding, relocation of facilities that pose hazardous risk to health, and selection for new locations

Q & A at The State of EJ in America 2008 Conference

Many important environmental justice questions were addressed at the conference. Some of these questions included:

1) How can environmental justice and economic development co-exist?

2) How can we improve relations between communities and industry, communities and government, and government and industry?

3) What are examples of model environmental justice activities?

4) What have been the major accomplishments of the Executive Order on Environmental Justice?

5) Has the Executive Order improved matters in environmental justice communities?

6) Are the federal agencies committed to environmental justice?

7) Are businesses and industries committed to environmental justice?

8) What are the most significant environmental justice issues facing the country?

GRAND OPENING SESSION

The Grand Opening Session: The State of Environmental Justice in America was held in the Moot Court at the Howard University School of Law. Conferees were welcomed by Dean Kurt L. Schmoke, Howard University School of Law.

The Moderator for the session was Timothy Fields, Jr. and panelists included: Sue Briggum, Harold Mitchell, Charles Lee, Bill Kovacs, Billy Reese Kee, and Velma Charles-Shannon, Closing remarks were given by Associate Dean Okianer Christian Dark, Howard University School of Law.

William Kovacs

Bill Kovacs, above, was a panelist for the Grand Opening Session: The State of Environmental Justice in America. Mr. Kovacs is the Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Planning Process

This is a very important conference in that it addresses issues and challenges from diverse views and varied interests. The planning process has been open to all. We have enjoyed the advice and support from numerous community groups, governments at all levels, private industry and the academic community. The planning committee was open to all.

The decisions were made in the open and subject to review by many. Democracy works best when people are allowed to state their views, have them respected and get a thoughtful response. That is how the planning was conducted and committee members are still speaking to each other.

National Small Town Alliance
Mayor Marilyn Murrell, Chair

Timothy Fields, Jr.

Tim Fields, above, was the moderator for the Grand Opening Session: The State of Environmental Justice in America. Mr. Fields is Senior Vice President, Tetra Tech Em Inc and former Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to the Planning Committee for their commitment and participation in planning this conference. All participants and attendees owe the success of this conference to your dedication and support for environmental justice.

Billy Reese Kee, Chairman of the Board, Forgotten People

Chairman Billy Reese Kee, above, Chairman of the Board of the Forgotten People, was a presenter at the session on Tribal Perspective on Environmental Justice. He and Forgotten People consultant Marsha Monestersky presented environmental justice issues in the Navajo Nation. Stephen Etsitty, Director, Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency also presented the agency perspective on environmental justice.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Environmental justice requires fair treatment and meaningful involvement for all in environmental decisions and actions. Fair treatment and meaningful involvement are four words with plain and clear meanings when taken at face value. However, when combined into terms and applied to issues related to environmental actions, they assume different meanings in different quarters for different people.

SPECIAL SESSION: EJ at the U.S. Department of Energy

Michael Loya, Gerald Boyd, Michael Owen, James Woolford, Jeffrey Allison

Special Session - Environmental Justice at the U.S. Department of Energy: A New Strategy and Implementation Plan

Moderator: James Woolford, Director, Office of Superfund and Emergency Response, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Panelists:

o Michael W. Owen, Director, Office of Legacy Management, U.S. Department of Energy
o Jeffrey M. Allison, Manager, Savannah River Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy
o Gerald Boyd, Manager, Oak Ridge Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Justice Strategy

On May 22, 2008 the U.S. Department of Energy announced its revised Environmental Justice Policy at The State of Environmental Justice in America 2008 Conference at the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman's message and the revised Environmental Justice Strategy may be found at DOE's Office of Legacy Management.