Environmental Justice Volume: 3, Number: 3 September 2010

The above issue is now available online from Liebert Online.

The table of contents for this issue is listed below. Click on the links below to view the abstract for each article, or click on the link above to read the table of contents online.

Community First Communication: Reversing Information Disparities to Achieve Environmental Justice
Edward A. Emmett and Chintan Desai

Environmental Justice September 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3: 79-84.Abstract Full Text PDF (122 KB) PDF Plus (123 KB)

Community-Based Approaches to Reduce Toxins in Housing: Lessons Learned From Working with Diverse Communities Erin McNally, Ian Blazina, and Stephanie A. Farquhar

Environmental Justice September 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3: 85-93.Abstract Full Text PDF (380 KB) PDF Plus (279 KB)

Linking Health Inequality and Environmental Justice: Articulating a Precautionary Framework for Research and Action
Sarah E.L. Wakefield and Jamie Baxter

Environmental Justice September 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3: 95-102.Abstract Full Text PDF (231 KB) PDF Plus (169 KB)

Healthy at Home: Latina Mothers Knowledge and Behavior Regarding Indoor Environmental Health Hazards
Tiana Wilson, Andrea Crivelli-Kovach, and Heidi Worley

Environmental Justice September 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3: 103-109.Abstract Full Text PDF (158 KB) PDF Plus (121 KB)

Excessive Air Pollution and the Oil Industry: Fighting for Our Right to Breathe Clean Air
Melissa L. Jarrell and Joshua Ozymy

Environmental Justice September 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3: 111-115.Abstract Full Text PDF (114 KB) PDF Plus (114 KB)

Book Review

China and India's New Economic Frontier, Environmental Justice, and the New Africa's Silk Road
Carolina Cabral Murphy

Environmental Justice September 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3: 117.Citation Full Text PDF (33 KB) PDF Plus (34 KB)

NEJAC Public Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) Public Meeting
November 16-18, 2010 Kansas City, Missouri
REGISTRATION is NOW OPEN

The next NEJAC face-to-face meeting will take place in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 16 through 18, 2010, at The Westin Crown Center Hotel. The meeting will include a Public Comment period.

Meeting Registration: Registration is required for everyone (including EPA and other federal employees). The registration deadline is 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Monday, November 1, 2010. Meeting materials will be prepared based on the number of participants registered on November 1. (On-site registration will be available; however, meeting materials will be distributed first to those who registered in advance. Any remaining materials will be distributed on a first-come first-served basis.)

There are four easy ways to register:

1) Online: Complete the online registration form at the NEJAC meetings page on EPA's Office of Environmental Justice Web Site.
2) By E-mail: Send an e-mail to with Register for the November NEJAC Meeting in the subject line. Please provide your name, job title, organization, mailing address, e-mail and telephone number for future follow-up as necessary.
3) By Fax: Print the Web page containing the registration form and fax to 877-773-0779.
4) By Phone: Leave a message at 877-773-0779. Please provide your name, job title, organization, mailing address, e-mail and telephone number for future follow-up as necessary.

Hotel Reservations. A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the prevailing government rate, under the group code EPA-NEJAC. If you are planning to stay at the Westin Crown Center Hotel for the meeting, you must contact the hotel directly to reserve your room. Either click here to reserve online The Westin Crown Center, Kansas City or call 800-937-8461. EPA encourages you to book your hotel room using the online Website, which will allow us to better track the information "real time." To be eligible for the negotiated room block rate, you must contact the hotel by November 1.

Public Comment Sign-Up: Members of the public who wish to speak during the Public Comment period should pre-register by 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Monday, November 1, 2010. Comments will be limited to five minutes to ensure that as many participants as possible wishing to provide a comment may do so. Only one representative of a community, organization or group will be allowed to speak. (On-site public comment sign-up will also be available; however, those who sign-up in advance will be called to speak first.)

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 or community; city and state; telephone number; e-mail address; a brief description of the concern; and what you want the NEJAC to advise EPA to do. Written comments received by 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Monday, November 1, 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 time allows. All written comments should be sent to this email address.

For more information, please contact EPA Support Contractor, APEX Direct Inc., at 877-773-0779 or Meetings@AlwaysPursuingExcellence.com

EPA Hosts Historic Meeting on Environmental Justice

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, left, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality reconvened the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG) in a meeting held at the White House. The meeting was attended by five cabinet members. This gathering marks a recommitment to advancing the mandate of Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,” which states that each agency, with the law as its guide, should make environmental justice part of its mission.

The role of the EJ IWG is to guide, support and enhance federal environmental justice and community-based activities. By coordinating the expertise and resources of federal government agencies, the EJ IWG will work to identify projects where federal collaboration can support the development of healthy and sustainable communities. The EJ IWG will also seek opportunities to provide green jobs training in communities in need and promote a clean energy economy.

Attendees at the meeting included Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Justice; Secretary Ken Salazar, Department of Interior; Secretary Shaun Donovan, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Secretary Ray LaHood, Department of Transportation; Administrator Martha Johnson, General Services Administration; Carol Browner, senior advisor to the president on energy and climate change; John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Melody Barnes, director of the White House Office of Domestic Policy; and representatives from the following federal agencies: Labor, Health and Human Services, Energy, Education, Homeland Security, Commerce, Army, Agriculture and Defense, among others.

During the meeting, some immediate next steps for the EJ IWG group were identified; these include:

· Hold monthly EJ IWG meetings, including assigning senior officials from each agency to coordinate EJ activities.
· Organize regional listening sessions in 2011.
· Hold follow-up EJ IWG Principals Meetings in April and September 2011.
· Each agency will be tasked to develop or update their EJ strategy by September 2011.
· Plan a White House forum for EJ leaders and stakeholders on environmental justice.

Administrator Jackson highlighted examples of EPA’s environmental justice efforts:

· Plan EJ 2014—A four-year roadmap to help EPA develop stronger community relationships and increase the agency’s efforts to improve environmental and health conditions in overburdened communities. The plan includes three main sections: Cross-cutting Agency Strategies, Tools Development, and Program Initiatives.
· EJ in Rulemaking Guidance—The “Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action” is a step-by-step guide that helps EPA staff consider environmental justice at key points in the rulemaking process.
· Sustainable Communities Partnership—A collaborative Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, and EPA partnership to improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide.

The principles of environmental justice uphold the idea that all communities overburdened by pollution – particularly minority, low income and indigenous communities – deserve the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, equal access to the decision-making process and a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. EPA serves as the lead for environmental justice issues in the federal government.

More information on the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice

View photos from the meeting

National Leadership Council Extends Comment Period

Work group report comment period extended through September 27!

The National Conversation Leadership Council will meet Tuesday, October 5, 2010 from 9:00am – 5:00pm (EDT) at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street NW, Washington D.C .

The Leadership Council will use this meeting to discuss key themes and recommendations to feature in the draft action agenda, drawing on draftwork group reports and the results of various stakeholder and public engagement activities. The meeting will be open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, limited by the space available. An opportunity for the public to listen to the meeting by phone will also be available. Please e-mail nationalconversation@cdc.gov if you are interested in observing the meeting in person or by phone.

As National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures draft work group reports are available for public comment. Comments will now be accepted through Monday, September 27, 2010. Six work group reports are posted, one on each of the following cross-cutting public health and chemical exposures topics:

Chemical EmergenciesEducation and Communication
MonitoringPolicies and Practices
Scientific Understanding
Serving Communities

The National Conversation is a collaborative initiative supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry through which many organizations and individuals are helping develop an action agenda for strengthening the nation’s approach to protecting the public’s health from harmful chemical exposures. RESOLVE, a non-profit independent consensus-building organization is facilitating the National Conversation process.

Earn an Environmental Science Degree

If you are interested in our environment, studying it, and helping to be a part of the solution then an online degree in environmental science is a great first step.

Environmental Science Degrees (ESD) have collected several degree programs that are tailored to people wanting to pursue a career as an environmental scientist. You can get information today from any of the colleges listed at ESD.

ESD is also featuring "50 Online Resources for LEED Certification: LEED Information and Green Building News," and the blogs and resources give a general explanation of LEED certification and what it takes to meet the industry’s green standards.

NEJAC Teleconference Meeting September 23, 2010

The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) will host a public teleconference meeting on Thursday, September 23, 2010, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The primary topics of discussion will be EPA’s charge to the NEJAC on incorporating Environmental Justice into the permitting process and EPA’s Plan EJ 2014. There will be a public comment period from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

To Register

By E-mail:

“Register for the September NEJAC Teleconference” in the subject line.

Provide your name, organization, city and state, e-mail address, and telephone number for future follow-up.

By Phone or Fax: Send a fax (please print), or leave a voice message, with your name, organization, city and state, e-mail address, and telephone number to 877-773-1489. Remember to specify which meeting you are registering to attend (e.g. NEJAC-September meeting). State whether you would like to be put on the list to provide public comment, and whether you are submitting written comments before the September 20th deadline.

Members of the public who wish to attend or to provide public comment must pre-register by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time Monday, September 20, 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 written public comments is as follows:

Name of Speaker,
Name of Organization/Community,
City and State,
Telephone Number,
E-mail address,
a Brief Description of the Concern, and
What You Want the NEJAC to do.

Written comments received by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time Monday, September 20, 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 time allows.

All written comments should be sent to EPA’s support contractor, APEX Direct, Inc., via e-mail or fax at (877) 773-1489.

California EPA & Health Hazard Office Issue Impacts Report

The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) are announcing the availability of a draft report entitled, “Cumulative Impacts: Building a Scientific Foundation.” The report presents scientific evidence for cumulative impacts, a framework for a new screening methodology for use by the Cal/EPA boards and departments, and next steps in the implementation of the framework.

Two public meetings related to the Agency’s Cumulative Impacts and Precautionary Approaches (CI/PA) project and the draft report will be held on September 2, 2010. The meetings will be held in the Sierra Hearing Room of the Cal/EPA Headquarters Building at 1001 I Street in Sacramento.

In a morning workshop, the public is invited to discuss, provide comments, and ask questions concerning the report. In the afternoon, the CI/PA Work Group will discuss and provide comment on the draft report.

Cal/EPA and OEHHA are committed to public participation throughout this process and seek to ensure that all relevant information is considered. For those wishing to provide comment on the draft document, comments may be submitted until September 16, 2010.

Cal/EPA and OEHHA will consider all comments and make revisions as appropriate before releasing the final report. In order to be considered, Cal/EPA and OEHHA request that comments be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, 2010. They encourage you to submit comments in electronic form, rather than in paper form. Comments can be transmitted via e-mail. Comments submitted in paper form may be mailed, faxed, or delivered in person to the addresses below:

Mailing Address: Ms. Jocelyn Suero, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment1515 Clay St., Suite 1600 Oakland, CA 94612Fax: (510) 622-3211 (OEHHA)

Condolences to Samara Swanston and Family

Dawn Finnigan, left, the 39 year old daughter of Samara Swanston, passed away from an asthma attack on Thursday, August 12, 2010. Dawn was laid to rest on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens, New York. A touching Eulogy was provided by Samara Swanston at Roy Gilmore's Funeral Home in St. Albans, New York. A memorial service was also held the next day in Albany, New York, where Dawn Finnigen lived.

Dawn Finnigan was born to Barry Toland Finnigan and Samara Swanston on Nobember 26, 1970. Dawn obtained a beauticians license at the age of eighteen, worked at beauty salons in New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Albany and managed a Manhattan Supercuts for two years before going on to own her own beauty salon, "The Beautiful Ones." After ten years in the beauty field, she developed occupational asthma and was advised by her doctor to change fields. She went on to teach hairdressing and styling and barber skills at the Austin Education School in Albany while she pursued her Associate Degree. She became the Dean of the Evening School and ultimately wrote the curriculum for the school. Most recently, she created the first Natural Hair curriculum for women of color at the school and her curriculum was just approved by the State Department of Education.

Dawn was on her way to an old school rap concert when she had trouble breathing and succumbed to asthma.

Dawn's mother, Samara Swanston, is a well-known environmentalist and is counsel for the New York City Council Committee on Environmental Protection.

EPA Objects to Keystone XL Pipeline on EJ Grounds

The Environmental Protection Agency is expressing concern about the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, designed to bring crude oil extracted from tar sands in western Canada to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur. EPA believes the pipeline doesn't adequately evaluate potential health impacts on minority communities near the Port Arthur refinery where some of the crude would be processed. A large minority population lives close by several refineries, chemical plants and a waste incinerator. Port Arthur was flagged as one of 10 sites with particular "environmental justice" issues. EPA is focusing on potential clean-air risks to Port Arthur residents raised by the Canadian oil.

The Carver Terrace housing project is within sight of the Motiva refinery, which is in the midst of an expansion that will make it one of the world's largest once the work is done in 2012. The refinery is one of four possible destinations in Port Arthur for the crude from the pipeline proposed by the Canadian energy company Trans­Canada Corp. Regulators have approved two segments of the 2,000-mile pipeline, known as Keystone XL. The Texas and Oklahoma portion remains under review, as does a stretch from Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska.

The U.S. State Department, which issues permits for cross-border pipelines, concluded recently that the project would cause "limited adverse environmental impacts" if TransCanada follows its plans and the law. In response, the EPA raised several concerns, including the potential impacts to Port Arthur residents, who may be exposed to greater risks from the emissions of the refineries receiving the Canadian oil. (Chron, 8/18/2010, Chron, 8/15/2010)

NEJAC National Public Teleconference Meeting

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Nat'l Public Teleconference Meeting

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) will host a public teleconference meeting on Thursday, August 26, 2010, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The primary topics of discussion will be EPA’s charge to the NEJAC on incorporating Environmental Justice into the permitting process and EPA’s Plan EJ 2014.There will be a public comment period from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

To Register

By E-mail: Send an e-mail with “Register for the August NEJAC Teleconference” in the Subject line. Please provide your name, organization, city and state, e-mail address, and telephone number for future follow-up.

By Phone or Fax: Send a fax (please print), or leave a voice message, with your name, organization, city and state, e-mail, and telephone number to 877-773-0779. Please remember to specify which meeting you are registering to attend (e.g. NEJAC-August meeting). Please also state whether you would like to be put on the list to provide public comment, and whether you are submitting written comments before the August 23rd deadline.

Members of the public who wish to attend or to provide public comment must pre-register by 11 a.m. Eastern Time Monday, August 23, 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 written public comments is as follows:

Name of Speaker,
Name of Organization/Community,
City and State,
Telephone Number,
E-mail address,
a Brief Description of the Concern, and
What You Want the NEJAC to do.

Written comments received by 11 a.m. Eastern Time, Monday, August 23, 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 time allows.
All written comments should be sent to EPA’s support contractor, APEX Direct, Inc., via e-mail or fax at (877) 773-0779.

Joint Center Climate Change Forum at CBC Conference

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (Joint Center) is hosting a forum themed, "Critical Issues in Climate Change Symposium," a special day-long symposium on climate change during the 2010 Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. The symposium will take place on Friday, September 17 in Washington, DC. Sessions will explore connecting environmental justice with science, policy and practice; how smart growth can scale up equity in transportation, housing and other related areas; and stimulating trade, investment, technology transfer and development between the U.S. and Africa. The symposium is hosted by the Commission to Engage African Americans on Climate Change in commemoration of the Joint Center's 40th Anniversary.

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Opening Plenary 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place, NWRoom 146-C Washington, DC 20001

Main Symposium 1:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.Renaissance Washington, DC, Downtown Hotel 999 Ninth Street, NW West Ballroom, Washington, DC 20001
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7:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. SESSION I Connecting Environmental Policies and Practices to Protect Our Places, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Room 146-C

Problems related to environmental justice are expected to exacerbate the detrimental effects of climate change within vulnerable communities, spotlighting the need for the science of climate change to be more closely connected with environmental law enforcement in disproportionately burdened communities.

1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. SESSION II Designing Resilience: How Smart Growth Can Scale Up EquityRenaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, West Ballroom

Through its long experience in enhancing civic and political leadership, the Joint Center supports the empowerment of people of color to participate in land use decisions and planning as a means of achieving equity within and across communities on the front lines of the environmental justice movement. Through regional development and interagency collaboration, the movement to pursue "triple-bottom line" (revenue, social, and environmental) interests through smart growth holds the potential for solutions that address the unique issues facing African Americans in urban, rural and suburban areas. This session aims to debunk the "Green versus Jobs" myth by describing how regional and cross-sectoral approaches to development that pursue equity through transportation, housing and economic growth can revitalize communities in the present while mitigating the effects of climate change in the future.

3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. SESSION III Stimulating Trade, Investment, Technology Transfer and Development: Making the Case for U.S. and Africa Energy Partnership Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, West Ballroom

Our dependence on fossil fuel combustion for energy has significantly increased global carbon emission levels, but without corresponding investment in less environmentally harmful renewable energy technology. Accordingly, populations with limited resources not only lose revenue but also suffer from lost opportunities. Given the untapped potential to expand energy infrastructure in African nations and improve energy capacity among low-income African Americans, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies realizes the significance of information sharing through partnerships in order to convey best practices and harness the collective power of these communities.

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. VIP RECEPTION 40 Years of Research ~ Empowerment ~ Engagement Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, West Ballroom Foyer

Celebrate, network and discuss innovative ways to generate an abundance of opportunities for all Americans to learn, achieve happiness and live their dreams.

Register online or call (202) 789-3519

EPA Announces $200,000 in Gulf Coast EJ Grants

EPA Announces $200,000 in Environmental Justice Grants to Support Communities Directly Affected by BP Oil Spill

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting proposals for up to eight $25,000 cooperative agreements to support the protection of human health and the environment in communities affected by the BP oil spill. Local incorporated non-profit community-based organizations—including faith based organizations and those affiliated with religious institutions, environmental justice networks, and local Native American tribal governments—located and working in areas within affected states, are eligible to apply.

EPA developed the grant program after meeting with local organizations in the Gulf Region and learning that there was a need for technical assistance to support educational outreach to communities affected by the BP oil spill. The grants will provide funding to help develop educational materials on what seafood is safe to eat, what to do if exposed to oil, and how to address and adapt to the spill’s long-term effects. Providing grant funding directly to local organizations will help to ensure that information is distributed through trusted networks of communication and from organizations that will continue to support efforts to rebuild in the wake of disaster.

Organizations that are able to provide accurate and current information to a wide geographic area in the affected region are encouraged to apply by September 13, 2010.

To read the request for proposals (RFP) and for information on how to apply

Remembering Environmental Justice Legend Dana Alston

Dana Alston was 47 years old when she died 11 years ago on August 7, 1999.

Dana Alston, left, was a leader of the original environmental justice movement that started in the 1980's. She was one of the organizers of the first National Environmental Justice Leadership Summit in 1992. She participated in the meetings to convince the U.S. EPA to open an Office of Environmental Justice. She was a committed environmental justice activist and the movement clearly benefited from her leadership. We remember you Dana. And we will never forget you.

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 son, Khalil Alston-Cobb, now 17, resides in Clinton, Maryland. He is (or was at 16) a skateboard enthusiast (see videos). Here is how Khalil describes himself on his MySpace page:

"I like Skateboarding, Playing videogames, listening to music, talking to Gurls, surfing the Web, and Chillin wit the Homies."

Khalil is also on Twitter. He has a great skateboarding video on MonsterArmy.com. He is listed on Children of the Struggle. Dana would be very proud of her teenage son. All who knew her are not surprised that Khalil is an energetic and productive young man.

EJRC Finds BP Oil Waste Going To Minority Communities

Recent findings by the Environmental Justice Resource Center (EJRC) indicate that minority communities are receiving most of the landfill-directed waste oil from the BP Oil disaster. BP’s waste plan, “Recovered Oil/Waste Management Plan Houma Incident Command,” was approved on June 13, 2010. BP hired private contractors to dispose of thousands of tons of polluted sand, crude-coated boom and refuse that washed ashore. The nine approved Gulf Coast solid waste landfills, amount of waste disposed, and the percent minority residents living within a one-mile radius of the facilities are listed below:

Alabama

Chastang Landfill, Mount Vernon, AL, 6008 tons (56.2%) Magnolia Landfill, Summerdale, AL, 5,966 tons (11.5%)

Florida

Springhill Regional Landfill, Campbellton, FL, 14,228 ton (76.0%)

Louisiana

Colonial Landfill, Ascension Parish, LA, 7,729 (34.7%) Jefferson Parish Sanitary Landfill, Avondale, LA, 225 tons (51.7%) Jefferson Davis Parish Landfill, Welsh, LA, 182 tons (19.2%) River Birch Landfill, Avondale, LA, 1,406 (53.2%) Tide Water Landfill, Venice, LA, 2,204 tons (93.6%)

Mississippi

Pecan Grove Landfill, Harrison, MS, 1,509 tons (12.5%)

According to BP’s Oil Spill Waste Summary, as of of July 15, more than 39,448 tons of oil garbage had been disposed at nine approved landfills in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. More than half (five out of nine) of the landfills receiving BP oil-spill solid waste are located in communities where people of color comprise a majority of residents living within near the waste facilities. In addition, a significantly large share of the BP oil-spill waste, 24,071 tons out of 39,448 tons (61 percent), is dumped in people of color communities. (Dissident Voice, 7/29/2010)

EJView Mapping Tool Now Available

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mapping tool, EJView, is now publicly available. EJView is designed to allow users to choose and map demographic, environmental, and health data.

EJView is an upgrade to the Environmental Justice Geographic Assessment Tool (EJGAT). It includes the same functionality as EJGAT, but is now faster and easier to use.

More information about EJView

To start using the tool

PEER Critical of EPA on Environmental Justice Guidance

The Press Release below is from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

EPA RETREATS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Convoluted Guidance Paralyzes Decisions as Priority Pollution Efforts Ebb

Washington, DC - Rather than directly confront environmental justice challenges, the Environmental Protection Agency has issued internal guidance that is so convoluted and vague that it will stymie effective action, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). At the same time, EPA is allowing affirmative approaches to relieving the air pollution burden on the urban poor to languish.

In late July, EPA released its "Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of An Action" which proclaims that it "empowers decision-makers" to "integrate EJ [environmental justice] into the fabric of EPA's" actions. The actual guidance, however, lays out a stultifying multi-step process steeped in terms that seem designed to encourage inaction. For example, a flow-chart maps out 29 possible steps for "incorporating environmental justice" including sphinx-like admonitions such as -

"Identify whether EJ concerns have been addressed. Be prepared to answer 3 core questions." and

"If applicable, address outreach, consider highlighting EJ options for comment, and address significant EJ issues in Action Memo."

"This new guidance imprisons environmental justice inside a bureaucratic Rubik's Cube that will confound even the most ardent EPA employee," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting Administrator Lisa Jackson has declared environmental justice one of her priority issues.

"This continues the pattern at EPA on environmental justice of putting process over substance."

By contrast, this June the EPA Office of Inspector General slammed EPA for a decade-long failure to implement national urban air toxics control plans, designed to alleviate a major public health threat to the nation's urban centers with concentrations of disadvantaged populations. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 required EPA to develop a strategy to reduce air toxics emissions in urban areas, particularly from small stationary sources. While the agency was required to issue new urban emissions standards in 2000 for these smaller local sources, such as cars, dry cleaners and gas stations, EPA failed to follow through. Yet EPA figures show acute risks from these local sources - potentially causing cancer in one in 28,000 Americans with two million residents in areas where the lifetime risk was one in 10,000 or greater.

"Why can't EPA make direct action to reduce the pollution load on urban poor a priority?" asked Ruch, decrying the lack of concrete results from EPA environmental justice efforts. "What good is a rhetorical commitment to environmental justice if our poorest citizens remain disproportionately exposed to toxins by virtue of where they live?"

Follow (if you can) the 29 simple steps for "Incorporating Environmental Justice" at EPA

Read the draft EPA Environmental Justice Guidance

Look at the 2010 Inspector General report on urban air toxics

See how bureaucracy trumps environmental justice at EPA

Contact: Kate Hornyan (202) 265-7337

National Institutes of Health Small Research Grants

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a new funding opportunity to support small research projects examining the differential risk factors of populations that lead to or are associated with increased vulnerability to exposures, diseases and other adverse health outcomes related to climate change. Applications may involve either applied research studies that address specific hypotheses about risk factors or population characteristics associated with increased vulnerability, or research projects to develop general models or methods for identifying and characterizing population vulnerability to climate change. The ultimate goal of this research program is to help informclimate change adaptation and public health interventions to reducecurrent and future vulnerability of various populations to the health effects of climate change.

A complete copy of the PAR (PAR-10-235) is available online. This program has been released for a three-year period with three application receipt dates. The first application receipt date is September 28, 2010. Prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent (LOI) by August 28, 2010. The earliest anticipated start date is July 1, 2011. Please contact Caroline H. Dilworth at 919-541-7727 at NIEHS if you have questions.

Plan EJ 2014 Released - Comments Requested

Plan EJ 2014, named in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the issuance of Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations PDF (6 pp, 122K), is EPA’s overarching strategy for carrying out the Administrator’s priority.

Over the next four years, EPA will implement and seek to strengthen efforts under the five Cross-Agency Focus Areas outlined in the plan:

Rulemaking;
Permitting;
Compliance;
Community-Based Action; and
Administration-Wide Action on Environmental Justice.

Visit Plan EJ 2014 and submit your comment today. Comments are due October 1, 2010.

EPA Releases Environmental Justice Guidance Rulemaking

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing an interim guidance document to help agency staff incorporate environmental justice into the agency’s rulemaking process. The document, Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action, seeks to advance environmental justice for low-income, minority and indigenous communities and tribal governments who have been historically underrepresented in the regulatory decision-making process. The guidance also outlines the multiple steps that every EPA program office can take to incorporate the needs of overburdened neighborhoods into the agency’s decision-making, scientific analysis, and rule development. EPA is seeking public feedback on how to best implement and improve the guide for agency staff to further advance efforts toward environmental justice.

To view the interim guidance and submit feedback

More information on environmental justice

EJ Summit & Call For Research Presentations

Call For Research Presentations on Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice Summit

October 15-16, 2010

Sponsored by the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NC EJ Network)

North Carolina's 12th Annual Community-Based Environmental Justice Summit will be held October 15-16, 2010 at the Historic Franklinton Center at Bricks, Edgecombe County, NC. Community members, government officials, environmentalists, students and researchers will participate. The Summit seeks to raise public awareness about environmental justice; connect communities in need with technical resources; support and encourage community-driven research; help communities and policy makers address problems of environmental injustice; and bring about positive changes in public health and the environment by promoting social and environmental justice.

This announcement is a call for research presentations on environmental justice. The NC EJ Network invites submissions that address environmental justice topics from any disciplinary perspective, including environmental sciences, social sciences, humanities, law, journalism, public health and medicine. Although most Summit participants are from NC, they welcome any submissions that have relevance to environmental injustices in NC. Researchers who have conducted community-driven or community-based research are encouraged to present in collaboration with members of community groups. Research presentations (approximately 15 minutes in length) will be given at a plenary session on Friday afternoon, October 15.

Please submit a title, author(s) and abstract (250 words or less) of your research by Friday, September 3, 2010 to:

Steve Wing Department of Epidemiology, CB#7435 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435 919-966-7416 steve_wing@unc.edu

Abstracts may be submitted by mail or e-mail. Submissions must include the following information: name, organization, street address, city, state, zip, phone, e-mail, audio/visual needs, title, authors, affiliations, and your abstract (250 words or less). Additionally, e-mail submissions should have a subject line indicating “EJ Summit Abstract.”

Abstracts will be reviewed by the Environmental Justice Summit Coordinating Committee. Notification of acceptance for presentation will be sent by September 15, 2010. Authors will be expected to submit a final version of the abstract following the Summit for inclusion in conference proceedings.

As a coalition of community-based organizations, the NC EJ Network is not able to provide travel funds to academics, researchers, and government officials. Community scholarships will be available by application.