AEPA
Uniled States
Environmental Protection
Agency
In This Issue;
• Report Reveals Industry
Perspectives 1
• Urban Planning and
Environmental Justice 1
• Dispute Resolution 2
• National Meeting 3
• Action Plans •
• Headquarters Update:
OPPTS 6
• Region 4 Update ,
• New Geographic Assessment
Tool 8
Env
300N03010
ental
Report Reveals Industry Perspectives
on Environmental Justice
To ascertain the industrial sector's views
on environmental justice (EJ) issues, the
Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ)
went straight to the source, interviewing
executives and managers at 15 compa-
nies across seven industrial sectors
regarding their environmental justice
experiences. OEJ has summarized the
research findings in Moving Towards
Collaborative Problem Solving: Business
and Industry Perspectives and Practices
on Environmental Justice, released in
September 2003. The report examines
environmental justice from the perspec-
tive of the companies, with a particular
focus on issues pertaining to the siting
and permitting processes for facilities.
"This is indeed a groundbreaking study
on one of the missing links in the environ-
mental justice dialogue," said Barry E.
Hill, Director of OEJ. "It's the first time
that a broad set of industry perspectives
have been captured and shared so that
we can better understand and work with
businesses to address environmental jus-
tice issues. Communities and other
stakeholders also benefit from learning
more about industry views and best
practices."
Researchers found that companies that
had previously dealt with environmental
justice issues during the siting and per-
mitting processes expressed a greater
familiarity with environmental justice con-
cepts and solutions. In some cases, diffi-
cult past experiences with community
Continued on page 3
Urban Planning and Environmental Justice
On July 16, 2003, the National Academy
of Public Administration (NAPA) released
its third EPA-commissioned report on
environmental justice, entitled Addressing
Community Concerns: How
Environmental Justice Relates to Land
Use Planning and Zoning. Commissioned
in June 2002 by the Office of
Environmental Justice (OEJ) and pro-
duced by NAPA's Standing Panel on
Social Equity, the report focuses on how
local government decisions on zoning
and land use have affected environmen-
tal justice concerns. The study examines
the relationship among zoning, land use,
and environmental justice concerns in
five communities where environmental
justice issues have been raised.
Highlighted Communities
• Altgeld Gardens, Chicago, Illinois
• Austin, Texas
• Chester, Pennsylvania
• Huntington Park, California
• St. James Parish, Louisiana
Based on the study, the NAPA panel
established four recommendations for
communities addressing environmental
justice concerns:
• Officials responsible for planning, zon-
ing, public health, and environmental
protection must take immediate steps
to determine whether residents in
Continued on page 2
-------
Report Offers Insights on Dispute Resolution Techniques
The Office of Environmental Justice
(OEJ) commissioned a study to better
understand alternative dispute resolu-
tion mechanisms used to reconcile -
environmental issues in communities.
Traditionally, residents in overburdened
communities have responded to envi-
ronmental issues with litigation, achiev-
ing mixed results'. Alternative dispute
resolution techniques have the potential
to improve environmental conditions,
enhance community/corporate rela-
tions, and more holistically integrate the
interests of residents in what are typi-
cally low-income communities of color.
The report, entitled Using Alternative
Dispute Resolution Techniques to
Address Environmental Justice
Concerns, goes on to examine how
specific communities addressed envi-
ronmental crises and what resulted
from their involvement with various enti-
ties, such as industrial facilities. For
example, it explores whether dispute
resolution encouraged improvements to
environmental §af0ty and more active
Gitfeen roles in mitigation, monitoring,
and decision-making, ',
"We wanted'to make/ sense of early
efforts by residents, who, rather than
filing environmental justice claims,
negotiated with corporate entities,"
said Maria Hendriksson, OEJ national
program manager for communications
and outreach, 'The case studies in the
report aim to heip guide residents,
community-based organizations, elect-
ed officials, and others in the, commu-
nity when implementing their own
dispute resolution cases,"
The case studies involved field
'research, including site visits, interviews
with about 80 participants and key
players, and analysis of environmental
data from government agencies, Three
areas were studied: Contra Costa.
County, California; Houston, Texas; and
North Denver, Colorado. In each region,
two cases with substantial documenta-
tion were researched.. Each case study
shows the geography and social forces
at work within the community, the his-
tory leading up to conflict with area
industries, the development of a specif-
ic dispute, the steps taken to resolve
the dispute, and the lessons learned by
the communities from their experience.
The case studies were made possible
through a cooperative agreement with
the Consensus Building Institute,
To obtain a copy of the report,
contact OEJ at 800 962-6215 or visit
the OEJ Web site at
.
Planning for Environmental Justice
(Continued from page 1}
low-income and people-of-color
neighborhoods are exposed to
excessive pollution or other public
health hazards. They must use
legal tools to eliminate or prevent
pollution and communicate with
their citizens about when and how
these risks will be reduced or
eliminated.
• Mayors, county executives, and
governors, as well as local and
state legislative bodies, should
mobilize their land use planning
and zoning powers to address
environmental justice problems;
improve citizen participation in
decisions that have environmental
or public health impacts; and pro-
vide helpful information to the
public about land use planning,
zoning, facility siting, and permit-
ting decisions.
• Federal, state, and local officials
must cooperate when responding
to environmental justice issues
and ensure that their efforts are
mutually compatible and reinforc-
ing. They should share informa-
tion, coordinate their public
outreach and enforcement
actions, and develop joint strate-
gies for mitigating local environ-
mental and public health hazards.
• City and county officials must give
serious consideration to the envi-
ronmental and public health con-
sequences of land use planning
and zoning decisions, and they
must learn more about how their
actions could impact all communi-
ty residents.
The panel also noted similarities
between its most recent findings on
planning and zoning and the findings
of its two previous OEJ reports:
Environmental Justice in EPA
Permitting: Reducing Pollution in
High-Risk Communities Is Integral to
the Agency's Mission and Models for
Change: Efforts by Four States to
Address Environmental Justice.
Common threads across the panel's
work include the idea that ensuring
environmental justice is a basic duty
at all levels of government, that pub-
lic protest rather than proactive gov-
ernmental effort remains the primary
catalyst for environmental justice, and
that greater cooperation is needed if
environmental justice is to be
achieved.
Copies of NAPA's newest report can
be found online at
.
-------
Report Reveals Industry Perspectives
(Continued from page 1)
environmental justice issues led to
more proactive environmental justice
programs as companies seek to avoid
delays and increased costs.
Participants in the study recommended
several key elements in addressing
environmental justice challenges:
• Involve the community early In the
process: By reaching out to the
community early on, companies cre-
ate goodwill in the community from
the start, and prevent potential envi-
ronmental justice issues from
becoming reality.
• Conduct outreach appropriate to
the affected community: By assess-
ing the unique needs and concerns
of the affected communities, com-
panies can build trust. The key is
to communicate effectively, taking
into account such elements as the
language, lack of technical knowl-
edge, and cultural sensitivities of
the community.
• Go beyond the minimum communi-
ty involvement requirements: While
doing the minimum may meet legal
obligations, persistent efforts to pos-
itively involve the community through
meetings, mailings, and feedback
can pay dividends in avoiding envi-
ronmental justice conflicts.
• Maintain ongoing communication
with the community: By keeping
lines of communication open
beyond the siting and permitting
process, companies can build trust-
ing, respectful relationships with sur-
rounding communities that can
span the facility's lifetime.
• Be a good neighbor—give back to
the community: By giving back to
the communities that surround them,
companies can establish valuable,
longstanding corporate/community
partnerships.
According to the report, whiie awareness
of environmental justice across industries
is high, some companies do not distin-
guish environmental justice efforts from
their comprehensive community involve-
ment practices. Though the title "envi-
ronmental justice" may not be attached
to such efforts, interviews revealed that
companies are aware of the principles
central to environmental justice—enfran-
chising the communities that are affect-
ed by a facility, regardless of the racial,
ethnic, or socioeconomic makeup of the
population.
Industry Sectors Addressed
• Automotive/Steel Manufacturing
• Chemical Production/Processing
• Energy/Utility Providers
• Light Industrial
• Petroleum Production/Refining
• Retail Stores
• Waste Management/Disposal
Several companies choose not to iden-
tify their efforts as environmental justice
due to a belief that the term environ-
mental justice is inherently biased
against industry—implying that an
injustice has been committed, though
the project may still be in the planning
phases. In addition to the title, compa-
ny officials also noted that they had
experienced difficulty with the flexible
or ambiguous terms used to define
environmental justice—terms such as
minority, low-income, significant, or
disproportionate impacts, and mean-
ingful involvement.
In order to help clarify the environmen-
tal justice concept and to demonstrate
various ways of addressing it, OEJ
selected five case studies from the
companies interviewed to be included
in the report. These five examples
detail the successful efforts by compa-
nies to involve stakeholders, address
community concerns, and achieve
positive environmental justice out-
comes.
OEJ hopes that this report will help to
educate a variety of stakeholder—
companies, community members, and
governments—regarding industry's
perspective on environmental justice,
and that other companies can learn
from the experiences of the companies
highlighted in the study.
To obtain a copy of this report, contact
OEJ at 800 962-6215, or visit the Web
site at .
-------
National Environmental Justice Meeting Promotes Integration
and Shared Learning
As host of the 2003 National
Environmental Justice and Small
Grants Coordinators' Meeting in May,
EPA Region 7 showed off its brand
new Science and Technology Center
in Kansas City, Kansas. The 3-day
meeting welcomed 42 EPA attendees
representing all 10 Regions and most
Headquarters offices. Organized by
the Office of Environmental Justice
(OEJ) and Region 7, the meeting had
two primary focuses: (1) to promote
comprehensive integration of environ-
mental justice into each Regional and
Headquarters program, and (2) to fos-
ter better connections and shared
learning among OEJ staff and environ-
mental justice coordinators regarding
the Agency's overall environmental
justice integration initiative.
The meeting began with a focused
group discussion of how Environmental
Justice Action Plans (see "EPA Gears
Up for Next Environmental Justice
Action Plans," page 5) can be
enhanced. In presenting an assessment
of the inaugural round of action plans
from the perspective of OEJ, Maria
Hendriksson, national program manag-
er for communications and outreach,
noted that, while the action plans are a
step in the right direction, there is still
plenty of work to be done. Hendriksson
made clear OEJ's commitment to assist
EPA offices in developing and imple-
menting more effective and comprehen-
sive action plans in the future.
As a result of the interim report issued
in March 2003, OEJ has refined the
performance measures for the next
round of action plans. In a question
and answer session, environmental
justice coordinators had a chance to
ask questions and offer important
feedback about their experiences with
the action plan development process.
This exchange proved to be a shared
learning experience for both regional
environmental justice coordinators and
OEJ staff.
In a follow-up session, attendees
learned about EPA's new
Environmental Justice Geographic
Assessment Tool (see "OEJ Releases
To promote comprehensive integration of environmental justice issues into •
EPA regional and headquarters programs, policies, and activities, 42 atten-
dees gathered at EPA's National Environmental Justice & Small Grants
Coordinators', Meeting^ Kansas City, Kansas. Several topics were covered,
including erwironmentaUustice action plans, the Environmental Justice
Geographic Assessment tool, and alternative dispute resolution techniques.
New Geographic Assessment Tool,"
page 8), which was developed to
establish greater consistency in identi-
fying environmental justice regions in
the United States. The software appli-
cation utilizes geographic information
systems (GIS) technology to spatially
correlate and map environmental,
health, and socioeconomic data-
helping regions target their resources
more effectively. To provide attendees
a first-hand look at the impressive
capabilities of the tool, David Wolf of
the Office of Environmental Information
and Bonnie Figeuroa, Environmental
Careers Organization intern, provided
an online demonstration.
The second day of the meeting
addressed several topics, including
the upcoming second round of
Interagency Workgroup Revitalization
Projects, the Environmental Justice
Collaborative Problem-Solving Grant
Program, and environmental justice
outreach strategies, and featured
regional listening sessions and a pres-
entation by representatives from a
local community group about its
struggles to revitalize a neighborhood
park, A panel of representatives from
the Oak Grove community presented
their perspective regarding the pro-
posed redevelopment of a former
landfill area. The visioning and strate-
gic planning for the proposed John
Garland Park revitalization project was
made possible by an Environmental
Justice Small Grant to Associated
Youth Services.
On its third and final day, the meeting
was capped off with a day-long semi-
nar about using alternative dispute
resolution to address environmental
justice concerns, presented by Larry
Susskind, president of the Consensus
Building Institute. The seminar fea-
tured presentations and interactive
discussions about the range of dis-
pute resolution options available and
highlighting issues unique to environ-
mental justice (see see "Report Offers
Insights on Dispute Resolution
Techniques," page 2).
For more information about the meet-
ing, contact Maria Hendriksson at
202 564-1897 or
.
-------
EPA Gears Up for Next Environmental Justice Action Plans
Following on the heels of the first
comprehensive set of Environmental
Justice Action Plans, which inte-
grate environmental justice into the
Agency's policies, programs, and
activities, EPA offices are gearing
up for the next round. The Office of
Environmental Justice (OEJ) has
issued revised instructions and
templates for the submission of
updated action plans for fiscal year
(FY) 2004-2005 and a progress
report for FY 2003.
Two major changes have been
incorporated into the template: (1)
action plans will now cover a 2-year
period, and (2) common measures
of performance will help evaluate
the overall success of ERA'S
Environmental Justice Program.
OEJ hopes that this new approach
will help provide more consistency
in the Agency's environmental jus-
tice efforts while allowing flexibility
for individual programs.
OEJ's modifications to the action
plan template are based on the
findings of an interim report
developed by the Environmental
Justice Steering Committee's
Accountability Workgroup. The
report showed that some offices
had difficulty identifying measurable
results and needed a set of com-
mon measures to assess effective
environmental justice integration.
Based on the workgroup's research
on the initial round of action plans,
OEJ identified the following six
objectives:
1. Risk Reduction/Environments)
Protection and/or Public Health
Improvement: Implement envi-
ronmental laws equally to ensure
the improvement of the environ-
ment and/or public health of
affected communities.
2. Outreach and Communication:
Provide opportunities for the
public to be meaningfully
involved in environmental justice
decisions.
3. Training: Ensure that EPA man-
agers and staff can effectively
incorporate environmental justice
into daily activities.
4. Federal, State, Tribal, and Local
Government Coordination;
Effectively coordinate environ-
mental justice efforts across all
levels of government.
5. Grants and Contracts
Administration: Promote efficient
management of grants and con-
tracts to ensure environmental and
health concerns of affected com-
munities are addressed.
6. Environmental Justice
Assessment: Conduct assess-
ments of environmental justice
indicators (environmental, health,
social, and economic) within
affected communities when mak-
ing decisions.
These objectives will serve as the
framework by which progress toward
environmental justice integration can
be measured, Offices are, however,
encouraged to develop additional
measures based on special initiatives
unique to their office or program.
OEJ will assist headquarters and
regional offices in the transition to and
development of the FY 2004-2005
action plans, which are due
December 31, 2003. OEJ's Executive
Steering Committee also plans to
institute an EPA Environmental
Justice Integration Award, recognizing
those offices and regions that have
demonstrated considerable progress
in environmental justice integration.
This official recognition from the high-
est level of the Agency will be based
on the evaluation of FY 2003
Progress Reports, to be submitted by
February 28, 2004.
For more information on environmen-
tal justice action plans, contact Maria
Hendriksson, OEJ's national program
manager for communications and
outreach, at 202 564-1897 or
hendriksson.marla@epa.gov.
-------
Headquarters Update
OPPTS
Each quarter, the Office Update features a
specific office at EPA Headquarters, highlight-
ing recent activities, programs, and policies
aimed at addressing a variety of environmental
justice issues.
An Active Force in the Community
Many low-income and minority pop-
ulations face potential exposures to
toxic substances in their homes,
communities, and places ot work.
Through targeted outreach, technical
assistance, and funding, EPA's Office
of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic
Substances (OPPTS) is helping
communities understand and
address these hazards. To learn
more about OPPTS' environmental
justice activities and programs, visit
or
contact Elaine Lyon-Johnson at
202 564-0547, or
lyon-johnson.elaine@epa.gov.
Lead Awareness Program
Children who live in older, poorly
maintained housing with lead-based
paint are often at risk for lead poi-
soning. OPPTS' Lead Awareness
Program helps people understand
and minimize the risks of childhood
lead poisoning, As part of the pro-
gram, OPPTS has funded a number
of successful programs:
• The National Council of La Raza
(NCLR) - Committed to improving
life conditions for Hispanic
Americans, this nonprofit organiza-
tion developed a public service
announcement (PSA) campaign, in
Spanish, to educate families about
the importance of testing children
for elevated blood lead levels. In
association with this initiative,
OPPTS upgraded the National
Lead Information Center's toll-free
hotline to better serve Spanish-
speaking callers.
• Native American Tribal Grants -
OPPTS and regional EPA offices
are assisting Native American
tribes in their efforts to
conduct risk assess-
ments, childhood
screening, and inspec-
tions of tribal homes for
hazardous lead levels. A
recent EPA grant is
supporting the
Cherokee Nation-the
first Native American
tribe in the south central United
States with its own lead-based
paint certification and accreditation
program.
Pesticides
English is not the first language of
many of the nation's migrant farm-
workers. OPPTS has developed pes-
ticide safety materials in multiple
languages to help educate these
populations about potential pesticide
exposures and the Worker Protection
Standard—a regulation that protects
the more than 3.5 million people who
work with pesticides. OPPTS also
sponsored the Association of
Farmworker Opportunity Programs'
effort to develop a workbook on pes-
ticide safety for students to use in
English as a Second Language (ESL)
courses. To further disseminate infor-
mation about pesticide hazards,
OPPTS recently worked with the
Hispanic Radio Network to develop a
series of PSAs reaching 5 million lis-
teners nationwide.
OPPTS has also launched an initia-
tive to help health care workers rec-
ognize and treat pesticide-related
health conditions. In June, a national
forum brought together 100 health
care professionals to discuss strate-
gies for implementing the initiative.
Tribal Program
Native Americans who
practice subsistence living
can be exposed to high
levels of toxics through
their diets. OPPTS works
with tribal governments
and health care providers
to help these populations
maintain their traditional
lifestyle while also reducing
the potential risks. The Tribal
Program recently organized the 2003
Tribal Lifeways/Subsistence Technical
Workshop, in Anchorage, Alaska, to
bring together tribal experts on sub-
sistence living and gain their per-
spective for meaningful federal
program implementation, OPPTS
also provided a grant to George
Washington University in Washington,
D.C., to train tribal health care
providers about the risks and symp-
toms of exposure.
Pollution Prevention
With the help of its Environmental
Justice Through Pollution Prevention
(EJP2) Program, OPPTS has helped
people of diverse cultural and ethnic
backgrounds learn first-hand about
the value of pollution prevention.
During the past 5 years, EJP2 has
funded a wide range of programs.
For example, minority teenagers in
Miami, Florida, have conducted envi-
ronmental research. In Alaska, an
Continued on page 8
-------
Regional Corner
Region 4
- This 'column, explores exciting environmental ini-
tiatives under way In EPA regional offices. Each
quarter, we will focus on a different regional
program. EPA Region 4 covers Alabama,
Florida, Georgia,. Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee: •- .
Southeast Demonstrates Commitment to Revitalization
Through diverse community revitaliza-
tion projects and a comprehensive
training course, EPA Region 4 staff
are getting hands-on environmental
justice experience. These efforts are
among those outlined in a recent
memorandum from Regional
Administrator Jimmy Palmer Jr.,
which describes Region 4's plans for
addressing environmental issues,
both internally and in the community.
Region 4's community work aims to
holistically address the multifaceted
environmental, health, economic, and
social needs facing distressed popu-
lations. This past May, the region was
granted 4 of the 15 recently selected
federal Interagency Working Group
(IWG) Environmental Justice
Revitalization Projects:
• Anniston, Alabama - Vision 2020.
For the Children of Anniston—
Children's Health Environmental
Justice Project
Through education, early detection,
and treatment, this project seeks to
address the health issues affecting
children growing up in Anniston—a
city historically plagued by industrial
contamination and military waste.
• Belle Glade, Florida: Glades Area
Environmental Justice Training
Collaborative
A citizens' action group and a univer-
sity are teaming up to build capacity
and train citizens in the Glades area
so they can effectively address the
health and environmental impacts
affecting their communities.
• Princeville, North Carolina: The
Sustainable Redevelopment and
Revitalization of Princeville
The aim of this project is to help
Princeville—the first city in the
United States founded by former
slaves—recover from the devasta-
tion of Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and
Acting EPA Administrator Marianne
Lamont Horinko, Region 4
Administrator Jimmy Palmer, Jr., and
facilitator Timothy Fields participate
in a panel at the EPA Brownfields
conference on August 18, 2003.
achieve sustainable recovery, rede-
velopment, and revitalization.
* Rock Hill, South Carolina: The
Arcade/Westside Area Hevitalization
Project: A Community-Based
Collaboration
With the loss of its
local textile indus-
try, the community
hopes to create a
revitalized urban
core. Current proj-
ects focus on ren-
ovating two
abandoned textile
mills into a senior
citizens'
housing/activity
center and afford-
able housing and
commercial space.
Harold Mitchell, executive
director of Regenesis, pres-
ents EPA Region 4
Administrator Jimmy
Palmer, Jr. with a tribute of
appreciation for Region 4's
Spartanburg Workgroup
and its partnership with the
Regenesis Revitalizauon
Project.
Region 4 hopes
these projects will
build on the success
of its first IWG revital-
ization initiative, the
ReGenesis
Revitalization Project, which is helping
three historic neighborhoods impacted
by manufacturing plants and landfills in
Spartanburg, South Carolina. To date,
federal grants have awarded more
than $3.5 million to the project, allow-
ing for the completion of a compre-
hensive redeveiopment plan with
sequencod targets for development.
The project is now embarking on
Phase 2, which will focus on five
areas; (1) environmental cleanup; (2)
health and green space; (3) trans-
portation; (4) housing; and (5) com-
mercial development. As the lead
agency of the ReGenesis Project,
EPA Region 4 recently celebrated its
success in a ceremony attended by
EPA Acting Administrator Marianne
Lamont Horinko. To learn more about
the ReGenesis Revitalization Project,
visit .
To further integrate environmental jus-
tice within the region's internal opera-
tions and the communities it serves,
four sessions of the "Fundamentals of
Environmental Justice
Course" will be offered in
Atlanta this fail. This
learner-centered training
course is open to EPA
staff, other government
employees, community
organizations, and industry
representatives. More than
340 people have already
signed up for the course.
Participants will explore
environmental justice
issues, study relevant laws,
review analytic tools, and
meet with people who are
addressing environmental
justice concerns every day,
These are just some of
the many environmental
justice projects happening
in Region 4. To learn more about
Region 4's environmental justice pro-
gram and events, contact Cynthia
Peurifoy environmental justice coordi-
nator, Region 4, at
404 562-9649 or
.
-------
OEJ Releases New Geographic Assessment Tool
The Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) has
released the Environmental Justice Geographic
Assessment Tool, which can be accessed at
, The tool is part of a suite
of applications under the EnviroMapper software.
The Web site provides detailed instructions on how
to use the tool, as well as how to manipulate the
tool to provide custom data.
The Environmental Justice Geographic
Assessment Tool replaces the EnviroJustice
Mapper and provides information relevant to any
area in the continental Unites States. Factors rele-
vant to environmental justice assessments general-
ly fall into four sets of indicators: environmental, health, social, and economic. Once fully developed, the tool will provide
the information necessary to conduct a comprehensive preliminary analysis of any area of concern.
Headquarters Update:
OPPTS
(Continued from page 6}
environmental coordinator position has
been established.
OPPTS also brings pollution prevention
to small and medium-sized businesses
through its Design for the Environment
(DfE) program. Several DfE partnership
projects, such as the Automotive
Refinishing Project and the Garment
and Textile Project, target businesses in
urban areas, where improvements in
the workplace can also have positive
impacts on the surrounding community.
Additionally, OPPTS recently launched a
new effort with the automotive industry
to "green" its supply chain. The partner-
ship provides a forum for small and
mid-sized suppliers (many of which are
minority-owned and operated) to work
together and share best practices with
larger suppliers.
COOS
OLO-SO-N-OOS vda
00£$
ssaujsng
OQ '
(V 1-02 2)
-MN 'anueAV eiueA|Asuuad
AouaBv uoip9}QJd
------- |