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Preface
I am pleased to share with you the Environmental Justice 2004 Biennial Report: Integrating
Environmental Justice. This report highlights the efforts of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to begin integrating environmental justice into its programs, policies, and activities.
This report is based on the environmental justice action plans of each EPA office and region-first
developed and implemented in 2003. These action plans serve as strategic tools to help managers
and staff ensure that environmental justice considerations are integrated into all of the Agency's
work and result in measurable environmental and public health outcomes. Although this report
does not identify all of EPA's environmental justice initiatives, it discusses a wide range of
approaches and projects being pursued by the Agency to effectively implement environmental
justice Agency-wide.
EPA looks forward to working with all stakeholders involved in the environmental justice dialogue
to ensure that all people are able to live in a clean and healthy environment. Thank you for your
continued interest in environmental justice. We welcome your participation in, and support for, our
efforts to integrate environmental justice considerations into the work we do every day to protect
the environment and human health of all communities, including minority and/or low-income
communities.
Barry E. Hill, Director
Office of Environmental Justice
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Risk Reduction 1
Children's Health 1
Clean Air 6
Safe Drinking Water 9
Water Quality 12
Waste Management 15
Toxics 16
Enforcement and Compliance 22
Multimedia 27
Chapter 2: Outreach and Communication 33
Children's Health 33
Clean Air 34
Water 34
Solid and Hazardous Waste 38
Toxics 40
Enforcement and Compliance 43
Multimedia 44
Other 51
Chapter 3: Environmental Justice Training 55
General 55
Enforcement and Compliance 60
Air 61
Other 61
Chapter 4: Federal, State, Tribal, and Local Government Coordination 63
Federal 63
State 65
Tribal 70
Local 73
Contents
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
Chapter 5: Grants and Contracts 77
General 77
Grants Writing/Management Training 79
Air-Related 80
Water-Related 81
Other 82
Chapter 6: Environmental Justice Assessments 83
General 83
Solid and Hazardous Waste 88
Enforcement and Compliance 89
Appendix A: Environmental Justice Coordinators 91
Contents
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Introduction
At the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), our vision is for all
people in all communities to enjoy the same
degree of protection from environmental risks
and health hazards and to have equal access
to the government's decisionmaking processes
regarding environmental and public health.
The overarching goal for the Agency's
Environmental Justice Program is to integrate
environmental justice considerations effec-
tively into all EPA programs, policies, and
activities, to achieve measurable benefits to
the environment and/or public health of
affected communities.
On August 9, 2001, former EPA Administrator
Christine Todd Whitman issued a memoran-
dum expressing the Agency's commitment to
environmental justice. This memorandum
directed EPA offices and regions to incorporate
environmental justice throughout the Agency,
including the planning and accountability
process. To respond to the Administrator's
request, the Office of Environmental Justice
(OEJ) and the Environmental Justice Executive
Steering Committee-an EPA senior-level man-
agement committee representing all EPA pro-
gram and regional offices-requested each
Headquarters office and each region to submit
an environmental justice action plan detailing
environmental justice-specific commitments to
integrate environmental justice more fully into
the Agency's work.
EPA recognizes that in order for the environ-
mental justice action plans to be effective, the
Agency must modify its approach to adminis-
tering its regulatory programs. To effectively
implement the environmental justice action
plans, the Agency is
focusing on the following
six objectives:
2.
Risk Reduction - To
ensure equal implementa-
tion of environmental
laws to achieve significant
risk reduction in affected
communities.
Outreach and
Communication - To pro-
vide opportunities for
meaningful involvement
and ensure effective com-
munication between
Agency decisionmakers
and stakeholders, includ-
ing all affected communities.
Environmental }ustice
Action Plans
The Agency's first compre-
hensive environmental jus-
tice action plans were
developed in FY 2003.
Inherently strategic in
nature, the action plans
outline environmental jus-
tice commitments for the
next five years. For a copy
of the various environmen-
tal justice action plans,
visit: .
3. Training - To educate EPA managers and staff
on ways to incorporate environmental justice
considerations into their decisionmaking
processes.
Introduction
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
4. Federal State Tribal/Local Coordination - To
ensure effective coordination across all levels
of government to address the environmental
and public health concerns of affected com-
munities.
5. Grants and Contracts Administration - To pro-
mote effective and efficient management of
all grants and contracts related to environ-
mental justice activities.
6. Environmental Justice Assessment - To con-
duct an assessment of the environmental jus-
tice indicators (e.g., environmental, health,
social, economic) within affected communities
as part of the environmental decisionmaking
process.
EPA's 2004 Environmental Justice Biennial
Report documents key developments, activi-
ties, and accomplishments created and/or
implemented by each program and regional
office during the 2003 and 2004 calendar
years. This report highlights the Agency's
efforts-in collaboration with its state and
tribal co-regulators-to provide environmental
and public health protection for all communi-
ties where people live, work, and play, includ-
ing minority, low-income, and tribal
communities. This report is not intended to
capture all of the Agencies' environmental jus-
tice work, but is intended to stimulate
thought, discussion, and action to provide for
environmental justice throughout the country
by enabling others to learn from the Agency's
efforts and build upon its successes.
This report is organized into six chapters, cor-
responding to the six objectives of the envi-
ronmental justice action plans. Within each
chapter, project descriptions are organized
into three categories: Headquarters, regions,
and international. For more information on
the specific items discussed in this report,
please contact the appropriate environmental
justice coordinator listed in Appendix A.
Introduction
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Chapter 1: Risk Reduction
The Agency's understanding of risk
reduction has evolved significantly over the
past decade from a focus primarily on natural
sciences and risk assessment, to evaluating
cumulative risk and the role of social sciences
and ethics (e.g., cultural impacts, pathways of
exposure, vulnerabilities, and trans-genera-
tional equity).1 EPA recognizes that risk reduc-
tion involves a range of interrelated elements.
This chapter describes the Agency's efforts to
reduce risk and thereby better protect public
health and the environment in all communi-
ties, including minority, low-income and tribal
communities. EPA is engaged in many activi-
ties to reduce risks, such as the Clean School
Bus USA initiative, Lead-Safe campaigns, pes-
ticide reduction projects, air toxics pilot proj-
ects, and safe drinking water initiatives. The
Agency seeks to ensure equal enforcement of
environmental laws to reduce risk and thereby
improve the environment and/or public health
of affected communities.
Children's Health
Headquarters
Children's Health Valuation Handbook
The National Center for Environmental
Economics, along with the EPA Office of
Children's Health, published the Children's
Health Valuation Handbook2 in November
2003. The handbook is a reference tool for
those conducting economic analyses of EPA
policies that could affect children's health. The
document makes recommendations that are
meant to be informative, rather than prescrip-
tive, as economic science has not reached
conclusion on many issues related to children.
Some of the discussions contained in the
handbook include:
4 Guidance on qualitatively describing the likely
over- or under-valuation of reduced child risk
resulting from the transfer of risk values esti-
mated for adults to children.
4 A description of how economic methods used
to assess values for adult health effects can be
applied to value children's health effects.
4 Instructions on when and how to transfer
value estimates derived for adults to scenarios
involving children, as an alternative to actual
child values.
Voluntary Children's Chemical Evaluation
Program
The Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
(OPPT) is developing the Voluntary Children's
Chemical Evaluation Program (VCCEP) to
assess the risks to children from 20 chemicals
to which they are disproportionately impacted.
1 "Toward Integrated Environmental Decision-Making," USEPA Science Advisory Board, Integrated Risk Project Steering Committee, 2000
2 This document can be found online at http://yosemite.epa.gov/EE/epa/eed.nsf/pages/HandbookChildrensHealthValuation.html.
Chapter 1
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
VCCEP's Peer Consultation Documents (i.e.,
hazard, exposure, and risk assessments) for
four chemicals (vinylidene chloride, pentabro-
modiphenyl ether, decarbromodiphenyl ether,
and octabromodiphenyl ether) were submitted
to EPA and underwent peer consultation in FY
2003.
National Children's Study
Substantial public health and related environ-
mental justice concerns exist regarding the
effects of contaminants on children's health
and development. Children, especially those
located in substandard living environments
(e.g., living near heavy concentration of indus-
tries/traffic and resulting air pollution) can be
more vulnerable to environmental threats, but
little comprehensive research exists to identify
which factors are harmful, harmless, or help-
ful. Research with a "life-course approach"
is needed to explore the links between
multiple exposures over time and multiple
health outcomes.
EPA's Office of Research and Development
(ORD) is involved in the National Children's
Study, which will "...investigate basic mecha-
nisms of developmental disorders and envi-
ronmental factors, both risk and protective,
that influence health and developmental
processes." A sample size of approximately
100,000 participants is planned to allow the
evaluation of links between low-level environ-
mental exposures and social and behavioral
factors with less common outcomes, as well
as the interaction between genetics and the
environment. The study will focus on chil-
dren's environmental health themes of major
public health concern that are best suited to
this type of longitudinal study, such as preg-
nancy outcomes, neuro-behavioral develop-
ment, asthma, obesity and altered physical
development, and injury. Pregnant women
from across the United States will be enrolled
as early as possible in pregnancy (or before
pregnancy), and their children will be evaluat-
ed during prenatal development, through
birth, childhood, and into adulthood. Strong
partnerships between federal and non-federal
scientists and community, parent, advocacy,
and industry groups are being emphasized
throughout the planning process. This study
will provide a legacy for future generations on
the role of environmental factors on children's
health, development, and well-being.
Clean School Bus USA
In April 2003, EPA launched Clean School Bus
USA, a new children's health initiative aimed
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Risk Reduction
I at reducing air pollution
from school buses. The pro-
gram is an outgrowth of
EPA's Voluntary Diesel
Retrofit Program. Across
the country, 24 million chil-
dren ride school buses daily to and from
school. The average time spent on these buses
can range from 20 minutes to several hours a
day. Unfortunately, older buses can pollute up
to six times more than buses using clean tech-
nology. Children are especially vulnerable to
the effects of diesel emissions, which can
cause respiratory disease and exacerbate long-
term conditions, such as asthma. Reducing
pollution from school buses will help improve
local air quality and reduce children's expo-
sure to diesel exhaust, particularly in commu-
nities with environmental justice concerns.
Clean School Bus USA has three primary
goals:
Reduce unnecessary school bus idling by 100
percent by 2010.
Retrofit and upgrade 100 percent of existing
1990 to 2003 diesel buses by 2010.
Replace 100 percent of pre-1990 buses with
clean buses.
To financially support this effort, $5 million
was included in EPA's FY 2003 budget for a
cost-shared grant designed to assist school
districts in upgrading their bus fleets. EPA's
Office of Air and Radiation awarded 17
demonstration grants across the country in
October 2003. In FY 2004, Congress allocated
an additional $5 million to school bus demon-
stration grants.
Region 3
Compliance Assistance to Schools
Region 3 is piloting an Integrated Strategy for
Schools to reduce and prevent potential
health and environmental hazards to students
and school personnel by measurably improv-
ing their understanding of requirements, com-
pliance, and environmental performance at
schools. Regional staff conducted surveys of
schools throughout the region and found that,
in general, they lacked knowledge of environ-
mental regulations that exist to prevent or
reduce potential hazards to students and
school personnel. Some of the areas of con-
cern relate to proper handling, storage, and
disposal of chemicals and disposal of labora-
tory wastes, asbestos management require-
ments, toxics leaking from fluorescent ballasts,
lead in drinking water, pesticides application,
and permitting requirements for boilers.
EPA has been working with the Washington,
DC Department of Health, the Maryland
Department of the Environment, and the
Philadelphia School District to address con-
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
cerns with the potential for health hazards at
schools. Region 3 will be measuring the effec-
tiveness of the outreach by tracking the num-
ber of schools reached through training,
measuring the increased awareness of the
importance of compliance with various regu-
lations to prevent problems, measuring under-
standing after workshops, and surveying the
schools to determine if their understanding
has increased and whether any changes have
occurred as a result of the outreach.
Region 4
Vision 2020—Children's Health Project,
knniston, Alabama
Region 4 awarded a CERCLA (Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act, otherwise known as Superfund)
Research Grant to Vision 2020-For the
Children ofAnniston: Children's Health
Environmental Justice Project located in
Anniston, Alabama. This award is benefiting
the children's health project by advancing its
early detection and early intervention research
initiative. In January 2004, Vision 2020 held a
ceremony to celebrate the $65,000 award at
Anniston's City Hall. Additionally, on July 17,
2004, Region 4 staff and other state and local
agencies participated in a Children's Health
Fair in Anniston sponsored by Vision 2020. The
fair focused on children's health and social
and environmental concerns. This event was
the third outreach educational event to link
children to identified health care services in
Calhoun County and West Anniston, Alabama.
Chapter 1
Vision 2020 is continuing to develop its
capacity to provide project sustainability.
Region 5
Working Toward a Lead-Safe Cleveland
EPA, the city of Cleveland, the Ohio
Department of Health, the Centers for Disease
Control, and the Department of Housing and
Urban Development have been attempting to
curb the incidence of childhood lead poison-
ing for more than 30 years. Significant
progress has been made, as measured by the
reduction of Cleveland children with elevated
blood lead levels. Whereas 47 percent of
Cleveland children tested in 1994 were found
to have elevated blood lead levels, only 16
percent of the children tested in 2003 reached
the action level. Nevertheless, the nearly 2,500
Cleveland children that were found to have
elevated blood lead levels in 2003 are still
at risk for a variety of possible maladies,
including delayed intellectual development,
loss of IQ points, anemia, and future
behavioral concerns.
Recognizing the critical nature of the health
concerns associated with exposures to lead
and the uneven distribution of exposures to
lead, the city of Cleveland and EPA undertook
a project in 2004 to assess and address con-
tinued lead hazards in at-risk communities.
EPA and the city have identified target neigh-
borhoods/census tracts based on elevated
blood lead level data and other available
demographic data. The city, working in close
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Risk Reduction
partnership with local organizations such as
community development corporations, will
systematically assess lead hazards in housing
units in the target areas. The project goal is to
conduct approximately 1,500 housing unit
assessments over the two-year project period.
Region 6
Childhood Pesticide Exposure Reduction
Project, Terns-Mexico Border Region
Region 6 has funded the Childhood Pesticides
Exposure Reduction Project with the goals of
evaluating pesticide exposure in a sample of
children, conducting public education on
exposures to pesticides, and empowering fam-
ilies in a rural community (colonia of Rio
Bravo) to take actions to reduce exposure and
improve children's health. The project is being
conducted by Texas AftM System Health
Science Center School of Rural Public Health
in Bryan, Texas.
Asbestos-in-Schools Inspections in New
Mexico and on Tribal Lands
The asbestos-in-schools (Asbestos Hazard
Emergency Response Act (AHERA)) regulations
were promulgated in the mid-1980s to protect
children from the hazards of asbestos expo-
sure, as well as to notify maintenance, janitor-
ial, and school staff of the potential hazards in
their workplace. The regulations require all
schools (public, private, and secondary) to
determine the presence of asbestos-contain-
ing building materials (e.g., floor tile, acoustic
ceilings, spray-on acoustic, mastic), to manage
the materials accordingly, and prepare man-
agement plans that recommend the best way
to reduce the asbestos hazard.
Region 6 has initiated a targeted enforcement
strategy to inspect and provide compliance
assistance to public, private, and secondary
schools in New Mexico and on tribal lands.
Funding for this effort was partially provided
by EPA's Office of Children's Health, State and
Tribal Air Grants, and the Compliance
Assurance and Enforcement Division.
Inspectors targeted schools in the states of
Arkansas and New Mexico for compliance
with the AHERA regulations. In New Mexico,
during FY 2003 and FY 2004, inspections were
completed in 58 schools-14 on tribal lands or
at the Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. In
Arkansas, a total of 55 schools were inspected.
Improved compliance with the law means that
fewer children will be exposed to asbestos
hazards. More than 80 percent of the schools
inspected were in partial compliance or
Chapter 1
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
noncompliance with the regulations, indicat-
ing a more widespread issue for the states
and tribes.
Clean Air
Headquarters
Detroit Exposure and Aerosol Research Study
The Detroit Exposure and Aerosol Research
Study is a residential and personal exposure
monitoring study being conducted by ORD
over a three-year period, from 2004 to 2007.
The primary goal of the study is to evaluate
and describe the relationship between air toxi-
cs, particulate matter, particulate matter con-
stituents, and particulate matter from specific
sources measured at a central site monitor,
and measurements of residential and personal
concentrations. Emphasis is placed on under-
standing the impact of local sources (point
and mobile) on outdoor residential concentra-
tions and the impact of housing type and
house operation on indoor concentrations.
Personal monitoring will be conducted to
determine the impact of time spent in
nonresidential locations and personal
activities on exposure.
Monitoring will be conducted at 120 resi-
dences for five consecutive days in a summer
and winter season. Measurements of air
toxics, particulate matter mass, and particulate
matter constituents will be made indoors and
outdoors at each home and from one partici-
pant in each home. The data will be used by
Chapter 1
ORD epidemiologists, who are interested in
using central site monitoring data to quantify
health risks to particulate matter and air
toxics, and to better extrapolate those data to
local neighborhood and household exposure
scenarios. EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards will also use these data to
develop standards that are protective of
human health for particulate matter, particu-
late matter components, and air toxics.
Air Quality Training for Tribes
ORD has established a new cooperative agree-
ment with the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona
(ITCA). This agreement provides funding for
onsite training for tribal communities on asth-
ma, second-hand smoke risk reduction, indoor
air quality, and mold. To date, more than 100
tribal council members, other tribal represen-
tatives, or service providers have been trained.
Health Effects of Air Pollution
In July 2004, EPA awarded the University of
Washington a $30 million grant to study the
connection between air pollution and cardio-
vascular disease. The grant is the largest ever
awarded by the EPA for scientific research and
will contribute to a better understanding of
the long-term health effects of breathing air
contaminated by particulate matter and other
pollutants. The study will track 8,700 people,
ranging in ages from 50 to 89, from varied
ethnic groups and from cities across the
country. The researchers will evaluate whether
long-term exposure to fine particles is associ-
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Risk Reduction
ated with specific changes in atherosclerosis
(buildup of plaque in the arteries) and other
factors associated with heart disease.
Premature death and other health problems
are strongly related to sulfates in the air and
ambient concentrations of fine particles less
than 2.5 micrometers. Long-term exposure to
ambient, airborne particulate matter is associ-
ated with increased mortality, largely due to
cardiovascular causes and serious respiratory
problems. In addition, chronic exposure to
particulates can cause decreased development
of lung function among school-age children.
The work is relevant to environmental justice
communities because they are often located
near sources of air pollution, such as heavy
concentrations of industry and traffic.
The grant is funded through ORD's Science
To Achieve Results (STAR) competitive
grants program.
Region 6
Air Quality Improvement in Beaumont/Port
Arthur, Terns
The Community In-Powerment Development
Association (CIDA), which represents minori-
ties in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area of
Texas, along with several other environmental
groups, Region 6, the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and five local
industrial facilities, entered into an innova-
tive, collaborative effort to improve the air
quality in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area and
ensure that it meets the ozone standard in a
timely manner. As a result of this precedent-
setting agreement, the five industrial facilities
in the area voluntarily agreed to reduce emis-
sions beyond what would otherwise be
required by law. In addition, these industries
committed to fund a series of workshops for
the local community to examine the sources,
controls, and effects of local air pollution, and
purchased two state-of-the-art air quality
monitors, which are under the ownership of
the community. This equipment and training
will allow CIDA to independently verify
ambient pollutants and understand the
impacts of pollution.
Air Toxic Assessment in Cormles, New Mexico
With support from EPA Region 6, the New
Mexico Environment Department (NMED)
conducted an air toxics assessment for the vil-
lage of Corrales. The objective of the project
was to work cooperatively with the local and
county governments, residents of Corrales,
and area industrial complexes to identify and
analyze potential air quality health risks due
to toxic air pollution in Corrales. This project
was initiated in response to citizen concerns
regarding health effects from emissions in the
area. A task force consisting of interested
stakeholders was formed, and a series of facil-
itated public meetings and forums were con-
ducted to provide community input for the
direction and focus of the project work plan.
From December 2002 to June 2004, 21 task
force, subcommittee, and public meetings
were held in the Corrales and Rio Rancho
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
areas. Based upon available data, NMED did
not find evidence that any of the modeled or
measured chemicals are associated with
increased acute or chronic health risks.
Region 9
West Oakland Community Air Toxics Pilot
Project
The West Oakland Community, located in the
city of West Oakland, California, is a predomi-
nately low-income and minority community.
The area has significant levels of air emissions
and high rates of childhood asthma. The com-
munity is surrounded by major freeways and
is the site of several major industrial uses,
including the Port of Oakland. In 2003, Region
9 continued its air toxics reduction-related
activities that began in 2002. Significant envi-
ronmental results were attained, including: 1)
One of the major sources of air emissions
-Red Star Yeast-has closed, 2) a $70,000
community study of options for reducing the
impacts of diesel trucks at the port is under-
way; and 3) an additional $70,000 will be used
to address all diesel emission sources and to
support more stakeholder involvement in a
collaborative problem-solving process.
Barrio Logan Environmental justice
Demonstration Pilot Project
Since 2000, Region 9, the California
Environmental Protection Agency, and San
Diego's nonprofit Environmental Health
Coalition (EHC) have participated in a Federal
Interagency Working Group for an
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Environmental Justice Demonstration Project
to assist the Barrio Logan neighborhood of
San Diego, California. This project mobilized all
levels of government, as well as community
and local business, to improve Barrio Logan's
air quality and public health. By 2003, this
collaborative project had made substantive
progress. A chrome, nickel, and cadmium plat-
ing facility next door to homes was found to
emit high levels of airborne hexavalent
chromium, a carcinogen by the state of
California. After receiving several citations for
violating hazardous waste regulation, the
facility closed in October 2002. EPA and other
government partners provided technical sup-
port during the removal of toxics from the
site. Community residents have reported that
since the shutdown health conditions have
improved. They have also reported fewer asth-
ma attacks, respiratory illnesses, and hospital
visits. In addition, the partnership has worked
with the community to address air quality
issues related to truck idling and parking in
residential areas and near schools, which
resulted in changing the local parking
enforcement policy to minimize truck
parking and idling.
International
Clean Fuels and Vehicles
Since September 2002, EPA has been a com-
mitted partner with governments, internation-
al organizations, industry, and
non-governmental organizations in the
Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles
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Risk Reduction
launched at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development. EPA and its partners have
implemented many projects that promote
clean fuels and vehicles and the adoption of
cleaner vehicle technologies. Many developing
countries have achieved, or are working to
achieve, the elimination of lead in gasoline
and the phasing out of sulfur in diesel and
gasoline fuels. In South Africa, the unleaded
gasoline target date is 2006, and more than
16 other African countries are either already
using unleaded gasoline or working toward
the same goal.
United States—Mexico Border Air Monitoring
As part of the Border 2012 Program, EPA
signed a binational air monitoring agreement
and committed up to $13 million toward the
cleanup of a wastewater treatment plant in
Mexicali, Mexico. This project will remove up
to 20 million gallons of raw sewage per day
from the New River, a binational river that
originates in Mexicali, Baja California, and
ends at the Salton Sea in Imperial Valley,
California. To date, EPA has contributed
approximately $475 million to more than 50
water and wastewater projects along the
United States-Mexico border, providing access
to potable water and sanitary treatment sys-
tems for some 6.5 million area residents.
To promote coordination, a number of region-
al workgroups and policy forums collaborate
with local communities to set priorities and
plan and implement projects. These groups
also assist in establishing objectives, defining
indicators, and measuring progress. For exam-
ple, the Environmental Health Workgroup
seeks to address environmental health con-
cerns to reduce exposures and other factors
associated with the increase in disease rates
along the border. The workgroup's focus
includes strengthening health surveillance
capabilities, conducting research on high-pri-
ority issues that have binational and border-
wide applications, and enhancing training,
education, and communication.
Safe Drinking Water
Headquarters
Arsenic Rule Training for Water System
Advisors
The Office of Water (OW) developed and
implemented satellite training for interested
stakeholders on the Arsenic Rule at 10 loca-
tions across the country in FY 2003. A Stage 1
Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts
Rule "Train-the Trainer" course was developed
to train technical advisors for small water sys-
tems. Tribes attended both the Arsenic Rule
and the Train-the-Trainer course.
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
Region 3
District of Columbia Lead in Drinking Water
Failed corrosion control treatment in the
District of Columbia's drinking water system
has resulted in lead levels substantially above
the allowable levels prescribed in the Lead and
Copper Rule (LCR). While water treatment
changes have been implemented to correct
the problem, lead levels are not expected to
show a decline for at least six months to one
year. Ensuring a resolution to the problem
remains among Region 3's highest priorities.
The relatively abrupt rise in lead levels coincid-
ed approximately with a switch in disinfection
chemicals used by the Washington Aqueduct.
The new chemicals are
being used to reduce
levels of disinfection
byproducts in treated
water to comply with
prospective EPA stan-
dards. This correlation of
events prompted many
to speculate that this
change caused the lead
increases, although the
actual cause remains
unclear.
EPA established a
Technical Expert Working Group (TEWG) in
February 2004 to step up investigations of the
cause and potential solutions to the problem.
OW also established an independent Peer
Chapter 1
Review Panel, consisting of additional experts
to advise the TEWG deliberations and Region 3
actions. The health effects of lead are espe-
cially significant for pregnant and nursing
women and young children. EPA and the
District of Columbia Water and Sewer
Authority (WASA) signed a Consent Order on
June 17, 2005, which commits WASA, among
other actions, to provide water filters (and
replacements) to homes with lead service lines
or demonstrated high lead levels, accelerate
replacement of lead service lines, and enhance
public education and outreach.
Region 6
Mescalero Apache Tribe Drinking Water
Compliance Assistance
Since the inception of the Safe Drinking Water
Act (SDWA), 14 community water systems
owned and operated by the Mescalero Apache
Tribe in New Mexico have been in and out of
compliance over many years. These systems
provide potable water to a variety of publicly
utilized facilities, including housing, camp-
grounds, casinos, and restaurants.
Approximately 85 percent of the total popula-
tion of the 4,350-member Mescalero Tribe
receives drinking water from community
water systems. A successful collaboration
among Region 6, the Office of Enforcement
and Compliance Assurance (OECA), the
Mescalero Apache Tribe, and Indian Health
Service (IMS) staff has resulted in a dramatic
reduction of violations under the SDWA in the
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Risk Reduction
public water systems. Region 6 staff discussed
water quality problems and Orders on Consent
with the Mescalero Apache Tribe officials and
the Indian Health Service representatives on
several occasions throughout FY 2003 and FY
2004. Technical and compliance assistance
was provided to the Mescalero Tribe by Region
6 and the Environmental Finance Center (EFS),
an EPA contractor at New Mexico Tech
University. This is the first time in 15 years
that the people of the Mescalero Apache Tribe
are enjoying safe and clean drinking water-a
positive milestone for the tribe in achieving
environmental excellence.
Region 9
Pacific Island Efforts
In 2003, the Marpi landfill opened in Saipan,
making it the first fully compliant landfill in
the Pacific Islands. In Guam, the Ordot dump
closed as a result of an EPA lawsuit.
Additionally, after the Department of Justice
(DOJ) filed on behalf of the Region to place
Guam Waterworks Authority (GWA) under
receivership in 2003, Region 9 worked with a
federal judge, the government of Guam, and
DOJ to sign a stipulated order. Under the
order, GWA agreed to take numerous steps to
improve its water service. For decades, GWA
had been unable to provide one of the basic
services most Americans take for granted-
access to safe, reliable drinking water. Guam
residents have seen improvements in drinking
water as a result of the actions.
International
United Nations Millennium Development
Coal
In 2003 and 2004, projects have continued
through the United Nations Millennium
Development Goal, which aims to reduce the
risk of sickness and death worldwide by halv-
ing the number of people without access to
safe drinking water and sanitation in key
countries by 2015. More than 2.2 million peo-
ple-mostly children-die each year from pre-
ventable waterborne diseases. EPA continues
to work in many countries on this issue.
Specifically, in the Americas, cooperation with
counterpart organizations in Central America,
Mexico, and Canada has improved the quality
of shared water bodies, such as the Rio
Grande, as well as the capacity of institutions
to monitor drinking water quality, protect
source waters, and implement cost-effective
solutions that lead to improved protection of
human health.
Safe Drinking Water in Africa
EPA initiated its "Water for Africa Program" to
improve access to safe drinking water in
urban and peri-urban areas through commu-
nity-based capacity building. In Phase 1 of the
program, EPA, in partnership with Water for
People, a Denver-based non-governmental
organization (NGO), provided grants to NGOs
in five countries (Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Zambia) to build capacity of
communities in a variety of different ways.
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
Approaches that these NGOs took included
community mobilization, health and hygiene
education, advocacy training, and public infor-
mation dissemination. Notable results include
the establishment of Community Water
Committees that are working to sustainably
manage and operate water kiosks and main-
tain the kiosks through the reinvestment of
water charges. The project has resulted in the
maintenance of piped-in water for communi-
ties, lowering the cost of water for poor com-
munities. As a result of the success of Phase 1,
additional resources are being leveraged to
build upon this work.
Water Quality
Headquarters
Colonias Self-Help Project
"Colonies" is a designation that is applied to
low income, unincorporated subdivisions in
Texas and New Mexico along the United
States-Mexico border, characterized by inad-
equate or lack of safe, potable water and
sewage disposal systems.
More than 1,400 colonies
exist along the border with
an estimated population of
more than 400,000. EPA's
Office of Waste water
Management works with
the Rensselaerville
Institute, a nonprofit
organization that provided
$900,000 in funding in
Chapter 1
2003 to implement a methodology to assist
colonies residents in solving their water and
wastewater infrastructure challenges through
self-help projects. The objective of the project
is to utilize resources and expertise in the
community to build sustainable partnerships
and protect the environment and the public
health at considerable cost savings. The self-
help approach to local water pollution prob-
lems has been implemented in 600 projects
across the United States.
Tribal Workshops on Preparing Nonpoint
Source Control Management Programs
OW has developed detailed multi-day tribal
workshops to assist tribes in preparing
Nonpoint Source Pollution Control
Management Programs under the Clean Water
Act section 319. The workshops are also
intended to help tribes become eligible for
obtaining program grants available to all fed-
erally recognized tribes and to implement suc-
cessful watershed projects. These workshops
cover requirements that must be met before
tribes become eligible for project grants
authorized by Clean Water Act sections 319(h)
and 518. In addition, as more and more tribes
have attained eligibility for and received
Section 319 grants (more than 70 percent of
Indian country is now eligible), the workshops
are increasingly focusing upon the develop-
ment and implementation of watershed proj-
ects. Since 1998, almost 20 tribal workshops
have been held throughout Indian country.
OW has also increased the amount of Section
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Risk Reduction
319 funding for tribes, from $6 million in FY
2003 to $7 million in FY 2004.
Region 2
Health Initiative for Harm Prevention Among
Vulnerable Populations in the San }uan Bay
Estuary System
Region 2 awarded a grant to the Caribbean
Environment and Development Institute (CEDI)
to conduct socio-cultural research on expo-
sure prevention practices among vulnerable
populations. CEDI is partnering with the
University of Puerto Rico School of Public
Health to focus on those practices concerning
the recreational water usage and biota prod-
ucts (consumption) of the San Juan Bay
Estuary System. A culturally relevant health
communication model will be produced.
Region 3
Chesapeake Bay Environmental }ustice
Forum
The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Justice
Forum, held in March 2003 in Washington,
DC, was a multi-stakeholder meeting designed
to highlight the diverse group of partners
active and participating in various environ-
mental justice-related activities around the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed. An Environmental
Justice Listening Session was one of the activ-
ities conducted by the Task Force as a part of
the day's activities. The forum and listening
session were joint activities sponsored by
Region 3, the District of Columbia Department
of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA),
the Maryland Department of the Environment
(MDE), the West Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality (WVDEQ), the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (PADEP), the Delaware Department
of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control (DNREC), the Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality (VADEQ), and the
Chesapeake Bay Task Force.
The forum focused on fish consumption and
water quality issues, and a historical perspec-
tive of blacks in the Chesapeake Bay was pre-
sented as one of the keynotes. Panels discussed
issues, research, and future visions related to
the various aspects of the consumption of fish
and shellfish. In addition, a number of com-
pelling issues related to water resources, such
as access to basic services, agricultural and
industrial runoff, water quality assessment, and
efforts to protect and renew bay resources
were discussed. A highlight of the forum was
the compelling presentation by a Bay View,
Virginia, resident regarding her community's
efforts to obtain public sewer and water servic-
es for the first time, and to raise the standard
of living and quality of life in Bay View. After
receiving an Environmental Justice Small Grant
from Region 3 and working with environmental
groups and organizations around the state, the
citizens of Bay View were able to educate
themselves and others regarding the water and
sewer issues in the community. The state of
Virginia funded the improvements for Bay View,
and the community's accomplishments were
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
highlighted on the July 15,2003 edition of the
CBS News Show 60 Minutes (see
)
Region 6
Tribal Drinking Water System Performance-
Based Training
Region 6 began a performance-based training
pilot program with six New Mexico Pueblos
(Isleta, Jemez, Sandia, Santa Ana, Santa Clara,
and Tesuque), teaching tribal drinking water
system operators to optimize the performance
of their public water systems, thereby improv-
ing public health protection for the tribal
communities they serve. The training, offered
quarterly over 18 months, teaches operators
problem-solving skills and assigns homework
for tribal operators to complete before and
report during the following quarterly meeting.
Four sessions were held in 2003 and 2004.
Economic Development and Tribal Health
Training
The Rural Community Assistance Corporation,
under a Region 6 grant and guidance, deliv-
ered a three-day workshop in November 2003
to help tribal administrators understand the
linkage between sound drinking water infra-
structure and economic development of their
communities. Topics included master water
planning, drinking water system management,
operations and maintenance, accessing fund-
ing, and developing a scope of work for infra-
structure projects.
Chapter 1
Region 9
Mercury Emission Reduction
As a result of a $128,000 settlement for
stormwater violations at five auto-wrecking
and recycling yards in Chula Vista, Santa
Paula, Sun Valley, and Wilmington (California),
the Pick Your Part Auto Wrecking Company
agreed to start removing and recycling mercu-
ry in switches from salvaged vehicles at its
nine California yards-the first such program
in the state. In the United States, an estimated
10 tons of mercury are released to the envi-
ronment each year from mercury-containing
light switches during the shredding and
crushing of old vehicles.
Region 10
Development of Tribal Fish Consumption
Survey Software
EPA's National Health and Environmental
Effects Research Laboratory is supporting
efforts by Region 10's Office of Environmental
Assessment (OEA) to assist tribes through a
project funded by the Agency's Regional
Applied Research Effort (RARE). Scientists will
work to develop tribal fish consumption sur-
vey software that can be used to assist tribes
with making regulatory decisions to protect
water quality and provide a means for devel-
oping standards using the best possible scien-
tific fish consumption data. The primary
objective is to develop and test an easy-to-use
survey instrument and database to collect fish
and shellfish consumption information. This
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Risk Reduction
survey instrument and database would be
based on commercially available software with
analytical and report-making capabilities to
facilitate easy compilation of the data for use
by tribes. The project began in 2003 with
development of the survey instrument, data-
base, and ancillary guidance materials.
International
W/iite Water to Blue Water
At the World Summit for Sustainable
Development, the United States announced
the establishment of the White Water to Blue
Water Initiative (WW2BW) for the Gulf of
Mexico and the Wider Caribbean Region. The
WW2BW partnership is working to: 1) protect
human health, watersheds, and sensitive
coastal and marine resources, 2) promote sus-
tainable coastal development, and 3) improve
capacity of countries throughout the region to
implement best management practices for
environmental strategies.
Waste Management
Headquarters
National Partnership for Environmental
Priorities
Using information from the Community
Action for Renewed Environment Workgroup
and the TOXMAP Tool, the Hazardous Waste
Management and Minimization Division of the
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response (OSWER) works to find facilities that
generate high volumes of priority chemicals
and are located on or near environmental jus-
tice communities. Once communities with
possible environmental justice issues are iden-
tified, the division uses this information to
identify potential National Partnership for
Environmental Priorities (NPEP) members, and
the regions can use these data to select facili-
ties to pursue for enrollment.
Region 6
Tex. Tin Corporation Supetfund Site, Texas
City, Texas
The Tex. Tin Superfund site is located in Texas
City, Galveston County, Texas. The city of La
Marque lies approximately 2,000 feet west
and northwest of the site. The site is a former
tin and copper smelting facility that was con-
structed for the federal government during
World War II to provide a source for tin mate-
rial. The facility operated from 1941 through
1991. The site was listed on the National
Priorities List on September 18, 1998. On
August 25, 2004, cleanup activities for all four
operable units of the Tex. Tin Superfund site
were completed. The former smelter site
encompasses approximately 140 acres, and
plans call for the redevelopment of the site as
a cargo container facility in conjunction with
the $600 million expansion of the Texas City
International Port Terminal. This redevelop-
ment is expected to create hundreds of job
opportunities for the local community.
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
Amarillo Mercury, Amarillo, Texas: N0H-NPL
Emergency Removal Action
On September 10, 2004, Region 6 initiated an
emergency response at five residences and
one school in Amarillo, Texas. Five Hispanic
families, including 25 people (16 children) had
mercury releases in their homes after children
found and brought home containers of mer-
cury from an unsecured junk/scrap yard.
Region 6 mobilized the Emergency Response
Removal Services contractor to the site to col-
lect and secure free mercury, as well as set up
temporary relocation assistance for three of
the families. It was determined that these
families could not safely reside in their homes,
which exhibited mercury vapors above EPA
screening levels. The other two homes will
also require some decontamination efforts. No
mercury vapor levels above EPA screening lev-
els were detected in the school where a
teacher initially reported that the children
were in possession of mercury.
Region 9
Metales y Derivados Cleanup Project
Region 9 worked closely with the regional
border effort to encourage increased commu-
nity participation and involvement related to
the cleanup process for the Metales site.
Through active consultation with community
members, leaders, and community organiza-
tions, the region supported an agreement
establishing a joint community and govern-
ment Working Group to plan and monitor the
cleanup process. Composed of members of the
Chapter 1
Colectivo and officials of Mexico's environ-
mental program (Secretaria de MedioAmbiente
yRecursosNaturales- SEMARNAT), the Office
of Integral Projects for Hazardous Materials
and Activities, and the Office of Ecology, the
Working Group was officially formed on July
7, 2004. As noted in the agreement, the
Working Group is charged with overseeing the
Metales y Derivados cleanup project.
Toxics
Headquarters
Environmental }ustice Process for Reviewing
Chemicals
The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) within
the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic
Substances has continued work to ensure that
all the risk assessments it prepares to register
or re-register pesticides account for routes
and patterns of exposure encountered by
minority or other population sub-groups, such
as migrant workers. Specifically, the Special
Review and Re-registration Division (SSRD)
now has an environmental justice process in
place for reviewing all chemicals. The process
includes outreach to stakeholders and regis-
trants to determine if usage patterns might
lead to disproportionate exposures. SRRD also
has incorporated environmental justice-relat-
ed questions in the rulemaking public partici-
pation process by asking for public comments
regarding communities that might be
disproportionately impacted by the use of
a specific pesticide.
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Risk Reduction
Lindane Review
OPP began using environmental justice con-
siderations in the registration and re-registra-
tion process. For example, during the
re-registration process, OPP identified that
Alaska Natives were disproportionately
exposed to lindane (i.e., they have a much
higher estimated exposure to lindane in their
diet than Americans in the lower 48 states).
Lindane is a persistent organic pollutant, so
these exposures might occur as a result of
uses thousands of miles away. The Agency
took action to lower the rate of lindane use,
and several uses of lindane were cancelled.
Although EPA's actions were not taken to
address the subsistence diet population expo-
sure, they will result in reduced exposure
overall.
Elimination of Lead Poisoning by 2010
In 2004, OPPT reevaluated pending actions to
reach the goal of eliminating lead poisoning
by 2010. OPPT concluded that additional
attention was needed to address lead poison-
ing in high-risk populations and areas. The
office laid the groundwork to expand pro-
grams toward these areas and populations in
the future, including developing a new grant
program targeted to vulnerable populations.
Increase Awareness of Worker Protection
Standards
In July 2003, the OECA provided training to 17
EPA headquarters and regional attendees, 10
state attendees, and one tribal representative
on the worker protection standards (WPS) of
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The purpose of the
training was to develop WPS enforcement
infrastructure in the states, regions, and tribes.
WPS are aimed at reducing the risk of pesti-
cide poisonings and injuries among agricultur-
al workers and pesticide handlers. The WPS
generally entail a state-authorized program,
and many states have incorporated the federal
regulations. Most of the attendees were case
developers and attorneys who are responsible
for developing and prosecuting WPS cases.
Region 2
Healthy Homes Study—Trenton, New )ersey
Region 2 awarded a grant to Isles, Inc. to
improve substandard housing conditions in the
Canal Banks section of Trenton, New Jersey, in
partnership with the University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey. Isles will perform
research and develop a report on the extent of
multiple contaminant exposures that might
exist in the area's older housing stock. As part of
this effort, Isles will increase community capaci-
ty to address this problem by training commu-
nity members in the collection of dust wipe
samples (for metals, pesticides, and lead) from
75 homes. The university laboratories will ana-
lyze the samples. Information collected, along
with the resulting data, will be communicated
to occupants/renters, landlords, community and
faith-based groups, and local officials to raise
awareness and to encourage changes in house-
hold cleaning and maintenance practices.
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
Region 5
Cooperative Partnership Detecting Illegal
Pesticides and Unlicensed Applicators
In December 2004, Region 5 worked with the
Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to
provide a two-hour basic training session on
pesticides to some 45 field inspectors from
the city of Chicago Department of Public
Health. The training provided an introduction
to poisoning symptoms and better methods to
advocate for pest control. The purpose of this
training was to solicit the assistance of the
city lead and radon residential inspectors,
public health nurses, and restaurant food pro-
tection inspectors in their detection of illegal
pesticide products or illegal applicators during
their normal routine environmental work. EPA
and IDPH are working to foster relationships
with many state and local agencies to secure
assistance in this effort as a proactive means
to prevent future pesticide misuse crises, as
was experienced with methyl parathion mis-
use in Chicago.
Region 7
Informing People on Pesticides—Migrant
Farm Workers Project
In 2002, Region 7 began work to research,
identify, and address environmental and
human health issues and concerns that face
migrant and seasonal farm workers and their
families living and working in the region.
Harvest America Corporation (HAC) partnered
with EPA to educate and inform migrant and
Chapter 1
seasonal farm workers in Kansas on pesticide
safety and exposure risks through the
Informing People on Pesticides (IPOP) Project.
The IPOP Project identified healthcare gaps in
many farming communities in Kansas, a prob-
lem that plagues many farming communities
in the United States. The data collected
through IPOP also reinforces the fact that
pesticides are being used in traditional agri-
culture as well as in non-traditional agricul-
tural settings (e.g., feedlots) throughout
Southwest Kansas. IPOP revealed disparities in
pesticide education and awareness by the
many people who
apply pesticides, a
problem exacerbated
by language deficien-
cies. Through bilingual
educational presenta-
tions, the people
involved showed the desire and ability to learn
pesticide safety. One of the goals of the proj-
ect was to increase the knowledge gained by
participants after a worker protection safety
presentation. Participants experienced a 50
percent increase in knowledge in pesticides
awareness as a result of the training.
Kansas City Targeted Lead Campaign
In the summer of 2004, Region 7 partnered
with the Kansas City (Missouri) Health
Department to conduct a pilot project called
the Kansas City Targeted Lead Campaign. The
campaign worked to educate communities in
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Risk Reduction
Kansas City, Missouri, about the dangers of
lead poisoning and the importance of having
children between the ages of two and six
years old screened for lead poisoning. Two
targeted zip codes were selected because they
had the highest number of elevated blood lead
levels in children under six years of age and
the highest number of houses built before
1969 in Kansas City.
The campaign included outreach and educa-
tion to children in daycare settings, parents
and adults, and faith-based organizations. To
reach children in daycare settings, the cam-
paign included early childhood demonstra-
tions that featured interactive, hands-on lead
awareness activities. During the campaign, a
total of 123 children were educated about the
dangers of lead. Adults and parents were pre-
sented with a more detailed lead awareness
curriculum. Results from pre-tests showed
that the majority of parents had no knowl-
edge on the subject matter. The workshop
post-test results indicated that the parents
who had little to no knowledge on lead poi-
soning were able to grasp the concept on how
to protect their family members from lead
poisoning.
Region 7 also provided lead publications in
church bulletins at seven churches within the
area, reaching more than 4,000 people. In
addition, the campaign conducted a direct
mailing to 10,000 residents, placed newspaper
articles and advertisements, and developed
radio public service announcements. The cam-
paign concluded with a health fair sponsored
by EPA, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater
Kansas City, and the health department.
In total, this project reached approximately
78,000 people within the Kansas City
metropolitan area.
Region 8
Increasing Migrant Farm Worker Protections
Region 8 is undertaking a complex, multi-tiered
effort to reduce migrant farm workers' expo-
sure to pesticides and contaminated drinking
water. There are approximately 45,000 migrant
farm workers in Colorado, and this group con-
stitutes one of the least powerful and most
vulnerable populations in the state. The average
migrant worker's income is about $7,500. In
addition, access to health care is limited, and
working conditions can be hazardous. Also,
great differences exist in the social, cultural,
economic, political, and regulatory positions of
Chapter 1
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
each of the major stakeholder groups-growers,
workers, and regulators. The tensions created by
these differences make developing trust among
all stakeholders a critical element in the success
of this project. In 2004, EPA awarded $100,000
to the Colorado Onion Association, the Farm
Bureau, and Colorado Legal Services to train
and educate the farm worker community on
the Federal Worker Protection Standards.
Region 10
Health Risks from Bioaccumulative Shellfish
Toxins
Region 10 has been involved in an initiative to
understand and respond to health risks from
bioaccumulative shellfish toxins in the
Swinomish Tribal Community. As a result of
subsistence consumption and cultural and
religious practices, tribes are often exposed to
higher levels of contaminants in the environ-
ment than other Americans. ORD has funded a
$1.1 million grant to the Swinomish Tribal
Community to study the presence of, and
potential adverse impacts from, low-level
chronic exposures to bioaccumulative toxins in
shellfish from traditionally harvested areas.
Twenty-one such areas have been selected for
shellfish and sediment sampling. All of the
samples will be analyzed for polyaromatic
hydrocarbons, chlorinated dioxins and furans,
polychlorinated biphenyls, and heavy metals.
Researchers will use tribal shellfish consump-
tion rates for Puget Sound to determine any
connection between the calculated health risks
Chapter 1
from the toxics and prevalent health issues on
the Swinomish Reservation.
The results of this project are expected to help
improve the health of tribal communities
under evaluation, as well as provide a basis for
further evaluation of these communities and
other tribes in the Northwest. In general, these
projects will identify the extent of contamina-
tion of tribal environments, and the extent to
which this contamination can result in adverse
risks to tribal health and culture. With appro-
priate communication, risk management
approaches will be developed to reduce health
and ecological risks to tribes and on tribal lands.
Protegiendo Nuestro Futuro/Protecting Our
Future
In March 2004, four Catholic parishes in the
Diocese of Yakima, Washington, began train-
ing farm workers on protecting themselves
from pesticide exposure on farms and in their
homes. Churches in Royal City, Mattawa,
Toppenish, and Yakima are participating in
Protegiendo Nuestro Futuro/Protecting Our
Future, which targets the education specifical-
ly towards women and teen Hispanic farm
workers.
The training material was developed by a
number of agencies, including the Washington
State Department of Agriculture, Washington
Department of Health, Washington Labor and
Industries, and EPA Region 10 Office of
Ecosystems, Tribal and Public Affairs. Parish
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Risk Reduction
volunteers are trained in the EPA WPS and
present the material in Spanish, accompanied
by a visual slide show. A verbal questionnaire
is conducted during the class, which provides
an opportunity for open discussion. Farm
workers attending the class received a WPS
card, a requirement for employment in areas
where pesticides have been used. Funding has
been provided in part by the U.S. Catholic
Conference of Bishops.
Community Action for a Renewed
Environment
In FY 2004, the Community Action for a
Renewed Environment (CARE) awarded a
$35,000 grant to expand the Spanish lan-
guage program for Hispanic orchardists to
include hands-on
experience with irri-
gation management
strategies that can
reduce pesticide
inputs and improve
water quality. Staff
from Capacity
Assurance Plan (CAP)
and faculty from the
Wenatchee Valley Community College
Hispanic Orchard Employees Program will pro-
vide training workshops in the future. These
groups are uniquely qualified to conduct the
site-specific agricultural production training in
a language and culture appropriate for the
Hispanic farmers. A portion of the funding will
be made available to cost-share on irrigation
monitoring equipment for four model farms in
the region, which will be used in the training
sessions. Desired outcomes of the training
sessions will be increased familiarity with irri-
gation management techniques, identification
of resource needs on Hispanic orchardists'
farms, and increased success in receiving Farm
Bill financial assistance to address resource
concerns including pest management and
water quality.
International
NAFTA Pesticides Safety Training Program
To address the risks and needs of the agricul-
tural labor flowing between the United States
and Mexico, EPA collaborated with a consor-
tium of interested parties from Mexico to
develop a pesticide safety training program
under the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). More than 2,000 workers
have been trained under the program.
Arctic Council Action Plan
Under the Arctic Council Action Plan (ACAP),
a multilateral project on environmentally
sound management of obsolete pesticide
stocks in the Northern regions of Russia was
implemented in FY 2003 and FY 2004. Eleven
Russian regions that directly impact the
Arctic were selected to participate in the first
inventory, screening analysis, collection,
repackaging, and temporary storage of
obsolete pesticide stocks. The project's ulti-
mate objective is environmentally sound
destruction of obsolete pesticides stockpiles
Chapter 1
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
to remove the threat to the public health
and the environment.
Enforcement and
Compliance
Headquarters
Environmental Justice—OECA Priority
OECA now includes environmental justice as a
required element in each of its National
Program Priorities for FY 2005 through 2007.
Previously, environmental justice was a self-
standing priority for OECA. OECA's National
Program Managers Guidance to the
Headquarters and Regional Offices (May 2004)
explains that integrating environmental justice
into each National Program Priority will
improve the ability of the Agency to protect
minority, low-income, and tribal communities.
The performance-based strategies developed
by the implementation teams will also incor-
porate environmental justice into each of their
associated measures and target commitments.
The specific national enforcement priorities
were selected after consultation with the
Enforcement Subcommittee of the National
Environmental Justice Advisory Council
(NEJAC) and other stakeholder groups.
First OECA Environmental justice Policy
On January 12, 2004, OECA issued its first
environmental justice policy, which describes
how the office will support the Agency's envi-
ronmental justice goal of "ensuring that no
community is disproportionately placed at risk
Chapter 1
from environmental and human health
threats" through integration of "environmen-
tal justice as an operating principle through-
out OECA's programs, policies, and activities."
It calls on OECA to emphasize the use of data,
compliance tools, and enforcement actions to
identify and address problems in communities
with environmental justice concerns to
achieve optimal environmental outcomes. It
also requires that environmental justice be
integrated fully into OECA's planning and
budgeting processes and calls for OECA-wide
training for staff and managers who are asked
to ensure that environmental justice is inte-
grated into OECA's programs.
Expansion and Clarification of the
Supplemental Environmental Projects Policy
On June 11, 2003, OECA issued the
Memorandum, "Expanding the Use of
Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs),"
which urged enforcement personnel to con-
sider every opportunity to increase the use of
SEPs, particularly those that are environmen-
tally significant. On January 5, 2004, OECA
issued a second memorandum, Recommended
Ideas for Supplemental Environmental
Projects," which included suggestions for
types of potential SEPs that might benefit
communities impacted by violations and
which have environmental justice concerns.
Taken together, these memoranda lay the
foundation for more aggressive use of envi-
ronmentally significant SEPs in communities
with environmental justice concerns.
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Risk Reduction
Environmental justice-Focused Initiative
Under the Lead Paint Rule
OECA continues its leadership role in the fed-
eral interagency initiative to investigate and
promote compliance with the Lead Paint
Disclosure Rule, under the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA). In FY 2003, there were 11
settlements nationwide that included lead
abatement SEPs. Penalties totaled $395,264,
and an estimated 2,982 units have now been
certified as lead-free. Many of these units
were in minority or low-income communities
or were significant because they were occu-
pied by young children. In FY 2004, there were
15 administrative settlements under the
Disclosure Rule, which included SEPs aimed at
eliminating lead-based paint, for a total value
of $4,254,057.
Lead-Based Paint Abatement Wor/e As a SEP
On January 22, 2004, EPA's Office of
Regulatory Enforcement issued the
Memorandum, "Treatment of Lead-Based Paint
Abatement Work as a Supplemental
Environmental Project in Administrative
Settlements," which endorsed extending the
use of SEPs beyond judicial settlements to
administrative settlements as well.
Environmental justice SEPs
EPA achieved 14 SEPs specifically aimed at
addressing environmental justice concerns in
FY 2003. EPA also achieved 26 environmental
justice SEPs in FY 2004. For example, Sithe
New England agreed to undertake five envi-
ronmental justice SEPs
at a total cost of
$5,129,385. Of particu-
lar note is Sithe New
England's commitment
to spend $3,254,496
retrofitting 500 Boston
school buses with par-
ticulate matter filters
and supplying them
with ultra-low sulfur
diesel fuel to reduce
particulate matter and
other harmful air pollu-
tants from diesel fuel
exhaust.
What Is a Supplemental
Environmental
Project (SEP)?
A SEP is an environmentally
beneficial project that a vio-
lator of an environmental
regulation agrees to under-
take in lieu of a portion of
the monetary penalty from
enforcement. SEPs are vol-
untary activities, and cannot
be imposed upon violators.
They are designed to com-
pensate communities that
are put at risk from the envi-
ronmental violations.
Settlement from Oil
Production Activities Effecting Tribes
EPA and the Department of Justice reached a
settlement of $5.5 million with Mobil
Exploration and Producing U.S. Inc. for numer-
ous water spills from its oil production activi-
ties in the Navajo Nation in southeastern
Utah. The settlement includes a $515,000
penalty and requires the company to spend
about $4.7 million of injunctive relief on field
operation improvements to reduce spill inci-
dences. Mobil will also spend approximately
$327,000 on SEPs, including building sanita-
tion facilities and constructing a drinking
water supply line extension. This extension will
provide running water to 17 of the remote
residences located on oil production fields,
whose occupants have had to drive as long
Chapter 1
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
as an hour to fill 55-gallon drums with
drinking water.
Region 1
Creative Settlement with the Massachusetts
Bay Transportation Authority Promotes
Environmental }ustice
In 2004, Region 1 reached a $1.4 million
enforcement settlement with the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
(MBTA) that will bring significant clean air
benefits to the Boston area by reducing MBTA
bus idling, reducing pollution from commuter
rail trains, and providing land for a bike path.
MBTA is the oldest and fourth largest mass
transit system in the country. It has a poor
record of compliance with environmental
laws. The settlement stems from a federal
enforcement action against MBTA for numer-
ous violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA)
and Clean Air Act (CAA), including illegal dis-
charges of process water; unpermitted
stormwater discharges into six Boston-area
rivers; and failure to develop and implement
oil spill prevention, control, and countermea-
sure for at least 10 MBTA facilities. The CAA
violations are for excess idling of diesel buses,
as diesel exhaust is a probable carcinogen that
can also trigger asthma and respiratory illness.
Boston has one of the highest added cancer
risks from diesel exhaust in the country, and
several MBTA bus yards are concentrated in
poor areas of Boston with asthma hospitaliza-
tion rates up to 178 percent above
the state average.
Chapter 1
Region 6
Settlements Result in
Cleaner Air for
School Children
The Houston
Independent School
District in Texas and
the Calcesieu Parish
School Board in Louisiana will now be able to
purchase new school buses or retrofit older
diesel school buses as a result of three air
enforcement cases in Region 6. Ultra-low-sul-
fur diesel fuel for the bus fleet will also be
purchased. Children are particularly suscepti-
ble to the harmful impacts of ground-level
ozone and smog. Clean burning fuel buses will
prevent emissions that contribute to children's
air toxic exposure.
Continental Carbon Company, Ponca City,
Oklahoma
In response to concerns from the Ponca Tribe of
Oklahoma and from PACE International Union
AFL-CIO concerning allegations of noncompli-
ance at Continental Carbon, Region 6 and the
Oklahoma Department of Environmental
Quality (ODEQ) jointly conducted a multimedia
inspection at Continental Carbon on June 10
and 11, 2003. The inspection reports indicate
potential air violations, such as failure to meet
permit and Title V requirements, potential solid
waste violations, and potential stormwater vio-
lations, including failing to meet stormwater
permit requirements by having carbon black
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Risk Reduction
residue outside the stormwater permitted area.
As a result of the inspection, ODEQ issued a
Notice of Violations, and ODEQ's Air Quality
Division issued a Request for Information to
address areas of concern noted during the
inspection for the air, solid waste, and
stormwater programs. Continental Carbon
coordinated with ODEQ to take appropriate
steps to address the potential violations.
Region 8
Addressing Environmental }ustice Through
the National Environmental Policy Act
As a cooperating agency, Region 8 and the
project lead agencies (i.e., Federal Highway
Administration, Colorado Department of
Transportation, Regional Transit District, and
the city and county of Denver) prepared an
environmental impact statement (EIS) for
major actions significantly affecting the quali-
ty of the environment and human health of
communities along the 1-70 East Corridor, the
Northwest Corridor, and the US 36 Corridor.
EPA is participating in the EIS review process
by facilitating and attending project and pub-
lic meetings. Region 8 will review the EIS to
determine if unacceptable levels of environ-
mental impacts will result from the proposed
project or decision and ensure that Executive
Order 12898 is implemented in the National
Environmental Policy Act/EIS analysis.
Community-Based Supplemental
Environmental Projects
Region 8 encourages the inclusion of SEPs in
the settlement of enforcement cases across
the region. Where possible, the region encour-
ages the consideration of community-based
SEPs to bring resources directly to local neigh-
borhoods. This process is yielding positive
results, such as the following two examples:
1. The Sand Creek Urban Trail in Denver,
Colorado, is a 13-mile long trail that gives
urban residents greater access to nature and
wildlife. Through funds from a SEP, this trail
will be enhanced to include interpretive
signage and plantings and will support
volunteer efforts.
2. Open Airways for School in Pueblo, Colorado, is
the only statewide asthma education program
in Colorado. This program will use SEP funds to
expand the program to reach 220 asthmatic
children and their families to educate them
about management of their condition. It will
also conduct two Asthma 101 sessions.
Chapter 1
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
Region 9
Sewage Case Settlement Involving
Community
In one of the largest sewage cases in U.S. his-
tory, EPA, the Department of Justice, the Los
Angeles Water Quality Control Board, Santa
Monica Baykeeper, and a coalition of Los
Angeles community groups reached a $2 bil-
lion settlement with the city of Los Angeles
over years of sewage spills. This settlement
includes a total of $8.5 million in SEPs for
projects throughout the city to restore
streams and wetlands and to capture and
treat polluted storm drain flows. Under the
terms of the historic agreement, the city of
Los Angeles will rebuild at least 488 miles of
sewer lines, clean 2,800 miles of sewer annu-
ally, enhance its program to control restaurant
grease discharges, increase the sewage sys-
tem's capacity, and plan for future expansion.
With approximately 6,500 miles of sewer lines
serving almost 4 million residents, the city
operates the largest sewage collection system
in the country. Since 1994, the city has experi-
enced more than 4,500 sewage spills.
South Phoenix Multimedia Toxics Reduction
Project
Region 9, in collaboration with the Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality, the city
of Phoenix, Maricopa County, and Arizona
Department of Health Services embarked on a
project to reduce toxic pollutants and neigh-
borhood exposures from multiple sources (air,
Chapter 1
water, and waste) in the South Phoenix area
of Arizona. The area is home to mixed-use
development of industry, residential, solid
waste landfills, and commercial properties. In
partnership with the community representa-
tives, the groups formed a Community Action
Council (CAC) to set priorities and develop
pollution reduction strategies. The project has
been instrumental in identifying early pollu-
tion reduction activities, including developing
a partnership with a neighborhood brick-mak-
ing facility to identify strategies to reduce
toxic pollutants and odor.
Region 10
Enforcement of the Lead
Disclosure Rule to Protect
Tenants
Region 10 settled a
Toxic Substances and
Control Act (TSCA) case
against a landlord for
violations of Section 1018, Title X, of the
Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard
Reduction Act of 1992 after working for more
than a year on the case.
A tip and complaint against several Portland,
Oregon, landlords came from tenants through
the Portland Urban League, which had
received a Region 10 environmental justice
small grant for health-based outreach. The
tenants of the building-who had not been
informed of the lead-based paint hazards
when they moved in-were concerned that
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Risk Reduction
lead-based paint could pose serious health
threats to children or pregnant women. The
properties are located in low-income neigh-
borhoods in Portland where there is an
increased likelihood of children having elevat-
ed blood-lead levels from deteriorating lead-
based paint. Region 10 alleged violations at
four different properties, which resulted in an
agreement to pay a $32,000 penalty to settle
the case.
This case involved interactions with the
Department of Housing and Urban
Development and the U.S. Attorney's Office. It
serves as Region 10's first significant deter-
rent, and administrative penalty, failure to dis-
close lead-based paint hazards where children
and pregnant women are involved. It is
expected that this settlement will encourage
others to provide the required notification
and prevent poisoning where children live
and play.
Multimedia
Headquarters
Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment
ORD sponsors and coordinates the Agency
Risk Assessment Forum, which is a standing
committee of senior EPA scientists established
to promote Agency-wide consensus on con-
troversial risk assessments. In 2003, the Forum
completed its guidance document, Framework
for Cumulative RiskAssessment, which identi-
fies the basic elements of the cumulative risk
assessment process and provides a flexible
structure for conducting and evaluating
cumulative risk assessment and for addressing
scientific issues related to cumulative risk.
In 2004, EPA's National Environmental Justice
Advisory Council (via its Cumulative
Risks/Impacts Work Group) completed work
on a report titled Ensuring Risk Reduction in
Communities with Multiple Stressors:
Environmental Justice and Cumulative
Risks/Impacts. The Work Group states that
combining the Agency's new Cumulative Risk
Framework with a collaborative problem-solv-
ing approach is the fastest and surest way to
bring about tangible and sustainable benefits
for disproportionately impacted communities
and tribes. The framework is important
because, for the first time, it opens the scope
of risk assessment to include the environmen-
tal, health, social, and cultural factors that are
key to understanding community risk. Within
this framework, the community can enter into
a dialogue about risk that realistically incorpo-
rates the factors experienced by disadvan-
taged, underserved, and environmentally
overburdened communities and tribes.
Tribal Information Management System
In FY 2004, the Office of Environmental
Information worked with the American Indian
Environmental Office (AIEO) to expand the
Tribal Information Management System (TIMS)
to incorporate data from other federal agen-
cies, such as the Bureau of Reclamation and
Chapter 1
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
the Indian Health Service. The purpose of TIMS
is to integrate data across media and agencies
to provide EPA and tribal man-
agers a holistic picture of environ-
mental conditions and
environmental programs. This
information can be used by tribal
leaders to set priorities for
addressing the environmental and
public health concerns facing
communities on the reservations.
Tribal LtfeLine Risk Assessment Project
In 2004, EPA completed its Tribal Lifeline Risk
Assessment Project. Working with a consor-
tium of Alaska Native Villages and the
Blackfeet Nation in Montana, EPA developed
software modules to accurately model dietary
and other pesticide exposures encountered in
these two unique living situations. The Agency
can now conduct a risk assessments for those
groups based on their traditional lifestyles. The
next step is to modify the software so it can
be applied to other tribes.
Region 2
Rochester Community Environmental Project,
New Yor/j
The Rochester Community Environmental
Project (RCEP), which began as an environ-
mental justice geographic initiative in Region
2, is a multi-program initiative, mixing volun-
tary and regulatory programs, aimed at mini-
mizing and/or reducing environmental
pollutant exposures among local residents,
especially children.
To date, regional accomplishments of the
RCEP include: 1) conducting more than 150
inspections in the area (covering each sector
of the regulated community), 2) strengthening
collaboration with the Rochester City School
District on the Agency's voluntary health and
environmental programs to sample school
drinking water for lead and reduce asthma
triggers in schools and homes where students
learn and live, 3) providing $71,000 in EPA
grant assistance to the Rochester City School
District for removal of potentially dangerous
chemicals from school labs and for the school
district to implement an environmental man-
agement system, 4) offering compliance assis-
tance to small businesses to better understand
regulatory requirements, 5) engaging the
Rochester Institute of Technology as a partner
to identify pollution prevention opportunities,
and 6) administering an effective outreach
campaign to local community and
business organizations.
Region 3
Cumulative Risk Workshop
In 2003, Region 3 held a highly successful
Cumulative Risk/Impacts Workshop in
Philadelphia, attended by more than 100 peo-
ple representing federal, state, and local agen-
cies; community organizations; academic
institutions; professional organizations; and
Chapter 1
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Risk Reduction
other interests. Representatives from Johns
Hopkins University School of Public Health
and Hygiene, the Food and Drug
Administration, EPA-Research Triangle Park,
the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia,
private law firms, West Harlem Environmental
Action, the Philadelphia Asian American
Community, Jefferson Medical College, Temple
University, Exelon, and Region 3 staff served
as presenters and moderators for the work-
shop. The presentations focused on identifying
potential methodologies that can lead to risk
reduction, improved identification and assess-
ment of risk, and improved communication
and cooperation among impacted and inter-
ested parties. A proceedings document was
made on the Region's Web site at:
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Environmental }ustice Biennial Report
Department of the Environment's (MDE's) per-
mitted/regulated facilities databases. MDE and
Region 3 are working together to address the
problems auto body shops present in this
community through an integrated strategy.
This project involves: 1) identifying the uni-
verse of facilities in this geographic area, 2)
conducting inspections at a statistically valid
number of randomly selected facilities to
obtain a compliance rate for this sector in this
particular area, 3) providing compliance assis-
tance and pollution prevention outreach to
the entire universe of auto body shops in Park
Heights, 4) conducting a self-certification pro-
gram, and 5) measuring the results of the
compliance assistance efforts. MDE has
received funding through EPA grants and has
received assistance from Region 3 to imple-
ment this strategy.
EPA's inspectors have conducted approximate-
ly 46 inspections in an effort to determine a
baseline of compliance and have conducted
the follow-up inspections to measure the suc-
cess of the compliance assistance. The Park-
Reist Corridor Community Organization, which
has been working with MDE, EPA, and the city
of Baltimore and which first brought the con-
cerns to light, is the recipient of a $100,000
Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-
Solving Grant awarded by EPA's Office of
Environmental Justice.
Chapter 1
Region 4
Community Ranking Analysis
Region 4 completed a Community Ranking
Analysis for minority and low-income com-
munities. The Community Ranking Analysis
was generated using the Risk Screening
Environmental Indicators model, which is
based on the relative risk-related values of
each county's air releases. Relative risk-related
values were generated by factoring Toxic
Release Inventory releases with chemical toxi-
city weighting, the potentially exposed popu-
lation, the surrogate dosage for individuals
within that population, and local meteorologi-
cal and geographical models. The results are
relative risk-related values that can be com-
pared to other relative risk-related values to
rank geographical communities or, in this
case, counties within EPA Region 4. Region 4
staff identified the top 40 counties in the
region with the highest relative risk-related
values. Community demographics information
and a set of health and environmental indica-
tors were added to the 40 counties to provide
a set of indicators that could be used to
screen priority communities within the region.
Indicators used were: 1) cancer rate trends,
2) minority population, 3) economic condi-
tions, which include unemployment rates,
4) concentration and location of Superfund
sites, 5) Clean Air Act major and synthetic
minor facilities, and 6) the National Ambient
Air Quality Standard Designation for Ozone.
The Community Ranking Analysis is being
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Risk Reduction
used as a tool to select new regional geo-
graphic initiatives and risk reduction projects.
These areas are also looked upon as priorities
for education and outreach initiatives and
community capacity-building efforts.
International
Technical Assistance Projects—China
EPA is working on more than 25 technical
assistance projects in China to help the coun-
try manage the environmental impacts of
rapid urbanization and economic develop-
ment. Cooperative activities focus on reducing
risk by managing air pollution, including vehi-
cle emissions and tobacco smoke, protecting
watersheds and sources of drinking water,
reducing industrial pollution, and the con-
sumption of water.
Chapter 1
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Chapter 2: Outreach and
Communication
Through outreach and communi-
cation activities such as regional listening ses-
sions, conferences, public meetings, Web sites,
and informational materials, EPA seeks to pro-
vide opportunities for meaningful public
involvement and ensure effective communica-
tion between Agency decisionmakers and
stakeholders, including all affected communi-
ties. This chapter describes the various
approaches and methods used by different
Agency program offices and regions to pro-
vide effective outreach and communications
to address a range of environmental justice
issues and advance the integration of environ-
mental justice within EPA.
Children's Health
Region 5
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
Conference
In September 2004, more than 250 state and
local agency staff and managers from Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and
Wisconsin participated in the annual meeting
of the Region 5 Childhood Lead Poisoning
Prevention Programs, "Zeroing in on
Elimination." The meeting was held at Region
5's office in Chicago and was jointly hosted by
Region 5 and the Chicago Department of
Public Health. The objectives of the meeting
were to examine initiatives developed to elimi-
nate childhood lead poisoning by 2010,
explore and critique techniques to evaluate
the effectiveness of programs, discuss primary
prevention activities aimed at high-risk groups
for lead hazard exposure, examine strategies
to improve blood lead screening, and develop
and maintain collaborative relationships
among programs. One of the highlights of the
two-day conference was the dialogue among
federal partners (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), Department of Housing
and Urban Development, and EPA) that share
the 2010 Elimination Goal. Plenary speakers
included representatives from the CDC Lead
Poisoning Branch, the Cincinnati Children's
Environmental Health Center, the University of
Cincinnati, and the Alliance for Healthy
Homes.
Region 7
Children's Health Protection Month
In October 2003, Region 7 planned and coordi-
nated Children's Health Protection Month, a
month-long calendar of activities aimed at
educating and highlighting EPA's efforts
towards enhancing the lives of children.
Included in the activities were: two brown bag
sessions with the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society and the Asthma and Allergy
Foundation, a presentation with Farm Safety 4
Just Kids, outreach and education at Lincoln
University, and the Children's Health Protection
Symposium. The Children's Health Protection
Symposium was an opportunity for Region 7 to
highlight projects and activities that work
Chapter 2
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
towards children's health pro-
tection. Region 7 invited the
Area Resources for
Community and Human
Services, a 2003 environmen-
tal justice small grantee, to
participate in the symposium
and share information regard-
ing its grant and to educate
people about the importance
of including children in envi-
ronmental education.
Clean Air
Headquarters
Tribal Air Training
In FY 2003, EPA's Office of Radiation (OAR)
and Indoor Air began work with the Institute
for Tribal Environmental Professionals at
Northern Arizona University and the Tribal Air
Monitoring Center (TAMS) to develop training
in environmental radiation monitoring. A
quarterly outreach newsletter was developed
as a segment of this work. The newsletter
includes relevant articles on the mission of
TAMS as well as ongoing projects and events
and is distributed to tribal air coordinators.
Region 3
Community Listening Sessions in Baltimore
In FY 2003, OAR's Office of Transportation and
Air Quality (OTAQ), the Baltimore Urban
League, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council,
and the National Transportation Center at
Morgan State University initiated a project to
Chapter 2
identify and develop practices and tools to
complete an analysis of environmental justice
and transportation-related issues in the
Baltimore area. The goal of the project is to
integrate environmental justice into trans-
portation planning as an ongoing and daily
activity with meaningful community involve-
ment throughout the project. OAR has fully
funded the first phase of the project, which
consists of a series of community listening
sessions to identify regional environmental
justice issues related to transportation.
Depending upon the findings of the first
phase sessions, as well as research exploring
other model efforts to address these issues
and the availability of future resources, the
second phase will consist of refining or devel-
oping new analytic tools to be used in the
regional transportation planning process.
Water
Headquarters
Annual Forum on Contaminants in Fish
The "Annual Forum on Contaminants in Fish"
took place January 25-28, 2004, in San Diego,
California. Representatives of 48 states, 14
tribes, seven federal agencies, several
Canadian provinces, and other interested
organizations attended the forum. The forum
provided an opportunity for risk managers to
meet and discuss the latest science and public
health policies regarding the risks and benefits
associated with fish consumption. One of the
primary agenda topics for the forum was
-------
Outreach and Communication
assessing effective outreach strategies for
reaching high-risk populations, such as
women and children and minority, as well as
low-income, and tribal populations.
Mapping Tools
EPA has developed several mapping tools that
can bring together water program data from
multiple offices. For example, the National
Pollution Discharge Elimination System pro-
gram has created a mapping tool that allows
users to screen permitted facilities for dis-
charges to impaired waters and identify
whether these discharges might contain pol-
lutants that contribute to the impaired waters.
National Environmental Training Center for
Small Communities
The National Environmental Training Center
for Small Communities creates significant
positive impacts in small and rural communi-
ties by developing and delivering training
courses on wastewater, drinking water, and
solid waste to environmental trainers and
state and local officials. EPA provided approxi-
mately $4 million in grant funding to support
the activities of this center from FY 2001
through FY 2004.
Rural Community Assistance Program
The Rural Community Assistance Program, a
network of nonprofit organizations, provides
community-specific information and technical
assistance at no cost. The goal of the program
is to improve the ability of rural communities
to plan, design, operate, and maintain waste-
water systems. EPA provided $6.5 million in
grant funding to support the activities of this
program from FY 2001 through FY 2004.
During the past four fiscal years, this program
has provided assistance to 728 wastewater
projects and held more than 50 workshops for
rural communities in 45 states, serving more
than 400,000 rural residents.
Source Water Protection Outreach by
National Black Environmental }ustice
Network
In FY 2004, EPA's Office of Water provided a
$25,000 grant to the National Black
Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN) to
develop a consortium addressing source water
protection in communities with environmental
justice issues. The NBEJN is a consortium of
grassroots organizations that work nationally
on environmental justice issues. NBEJN has an
interest in drinking water issues from an eth-
nic and rural perspective. NBEJN also partners
with black farmers to focus on farming and
source water issues.
Outreach to Local Disadvantaged
Communities Regarding Aquatic Resources
One of the most effective ways of achieving
environmental justice is for community mem-
bers to better understand the importance of
water quality to their health and neighbor-
hood. Such understanding encourages the
community to take a direct role in protecting
its aquatic resources. EPA's Office of Water
Chapter 2
-------
Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
(OW) has an active program of conducting
outreach to schools and other organizations in
low-income and minority communities. For
example, for the last three years, OWs
Wetlands Division has partnered with Region
3, the District of Columbia Department of
Health's "Living Classrooms," and others to
conduct a "Wetlands Day" at a Washington, DC
youth camp. OW also looks for opportunities
to work with communities interested in restor-
ing their wetlands and other aquatic resources.
For example, staff worked with a group of
fourth and fifth graders from PR Harris
Education Center on an educational project to
restore wetlands plants at Kingman Lake on
the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. In
addition, OW participates in community fairs in
lower-income and minority communities.
Region 3
Environmental }ustice/Chesapeake Bay
Listening Sessions
An environmental justice listening session was
held in conjunction with Region 3's
Environmental Justice Forum, held in March
2003. Approximately 40 stakeholders repre-
senting community groups and organizations
across the region; federal, state and local gov-
ernments; academic institutions; business and
industry; and private citizens attended the
event. Action items included: 1) developing
strategies to ensure the participation of
minority and low-income residents in
Chesapeake Bay activities, 2) identifying basic
resource needs in low-income and minority
Chapter 2
communities around the Bay, and 3) continu-
ing to educate and reach out to minority and
low-income communities in the Bay water-
shed. Information regarding fishing advisories,
fish consumption, water resources, and water
quality provided attendees with valuable
information regarding the risks associated
with the consumption of locally caught fish,
exposure to contaminants in Bay watershed
waters, and opportunities to participate in
projects designed to address these concerns.
Outreach to Academic Institutions
A major part of Region 3's environmental jus-
tice program is its outreach to academic insti-
tutions. The regional office believes that this
outreach is important because it provides
education and training to faculty and students
on various issues related to environmental
justice, and it provides opportunities to devel-
op additional partnerships around the region.
Over the years, the region has developed last-
ing and meaningful relationships with faculty
and students attending these presentations.
For 2003 and 2004, the region participated in
forums, gave class presentations, and interact-
ed in other ways with Morgan State
University, the University of Delaware, Temple
University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Region 6
Hildalgo County, Texas, Safe Drinking Water
Project
Through an Interagency Agreement, EPA's
Office of Research and Development (ORD),
-------
Outreach and Communication
OW, and the Department of Health and Human
Services/Health Resources and Services
Administration co-funded a project to educate
health care providers, promo tores and resi-
dents of Hidalgo County, Texas, on issues relat-
ed to drinking water contamination. Within the
first year of funding, the Hidalgo Safe Drinking
Water Project helped educate 50 health care
professionals, 23 promotores, and more than
500 households. The program included estab-
lishing a Border Safe Drinking Water Council,
comprised of local water supplier officials,
Texas Department of Health epidemiologists,
physicians (Hidalgo County and Mexico), nurs-
es (including school nurses), promotores, and
representatives from sister cities in Mexico.
Water Science for Schools VJeb Site
As part of an ongoing commitment to foster
an informed, educated, and supportive public
sector, Region 6 and
the U.S. Geological
Survey collaborated to
provide a Spanish
.9.1
P q» fr j '- i
i_ —JJ .r.
U Owd* M Jfki pan Emfai
•taibLj. •*•»! vi ***••_• ,rv»"M ^
translation of an Web
site named "Water
Science for Schools."
This educational
resource contains a
wealth of information
for anyone seeking to
understand water resources. Teachers, stu-
dents, community members, elected officials,
and water professionals can find information
tailored to their interests. The site includes
photographs, maps, an interactive center to
test users' water knowledge, and numerous
links to other reliable sources of information.
The site can be reached at:
http://water.usgs.gov/gotita/ (Spanish) or
http://water.usgs.gov/droplet (English).
tribal Drinking Water Newsletter
Region 6 began publishing and distributing a
tribal drinking water newsletter for all Region
6 tribes that own or operate public water sys-
tems. The newsletter contains articles submit-
ted by EPA-funded water quality technical
assistance providers regarding technical assis-
tance successes and future training opportu-
nities for tribal water system operators. The
newsletter also graphically presents tribal
drinking water compliance trends over the
previous 24-month period, discusses drinking
water regulatory compliance issues, and high-
lights tribal drinking water utilities and tribal
water system operators that are improving the
quality and safety of drinking water served to
their communities.
Region 7
Mercury Risk Communication and Fish
Consumption Workshops
On July 8, 2004, Region 7 coordinated two
Mercury Risk Communication and Fish
Consumption workshops in collaboration with
ORD. More than 50 people attended the work-
shops, which were intended to inform and edu-
cate people about the risk of mercury
contamination in fish. Consuming fish that
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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
contain mercury has the
potential to cause health
effects, especially for vulnera-
ble populations such as
women of childbearing age,
pregnant women, and anglers
that eat their catch. While
ORD contractors facilitated
the workshops, regional experts in mercury
from EPA and the Missouri Department of
Health and Senior Services served as additional
resources.
Solid and Hazardous
Waste
Headquarters
Annual Brownfields Conference
EPA's Office Solid Waste and Emergency
Response (OSWER) sponsored an annual
Brownfields Conference in 2003 and 2004. The
conferences included a session on environ-
mental justice and community caucus, which
afforded conference participants the opportu-
nity to meet with OSWER senior managers on
issues that directly affect low-income and
minority Brownfields communities. The con-
ferences effectively incorporated community-
based perspectives into a majority of the panel
sessions.
All-Appropriate Inquiry Rule
OSWER's Office of Brownfields Cleanup and
Revitalization (OBCR) held the Agency's first
regulatory negotiation in more than a
Chapter 2
decade. OBCR formed a federal advisory
panel to assist in the development of the All-
Appropriate Inquiry Rule. The advisory panel
included representatives from locally and
nationally based environmental justice
organizations.
Region 3
Pittsburgh Brownfields Pilot
In July 2004, Region 3 gave a presentation as
part of a training for the Pittsburgh
Brownfields Pilot Project that focused on envi-
ronmental justice, Brownfields assessment and
cleanup, and public and environmental health
concerns. The training merged Brownfields and
environmental and public health goal-setting
objectives into a community development con-
text. It also facilitated learning actual real
estate development skills and techniques that
can be deployed to redevelop Brownfields. The
trainees included community organizations
and community development corporations
interested or engaged in redevelopment issues
and projects. The workshop focused on: 1)
environmental justice and community vision-
ing, 2) environment and public health in the
context of cleanup standards and environmen-
tal assessments, and 3) Brownfields financing
via public and private sector funding
sources/mechanisms including loans, tax
incentives, and programs and grants.
Approximately 25 people from community
groups and organizations participated in the
program, as well as state and local govern-
mental personnel.
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Outreach and Communication
Region 6
Booker Landfill, Houston, Texas
Region 6 conducted stakeholder meetings that
included the Bureau of Epidemiology, the
Texas Department of Health, the Texas
Commission of Environmental Quality
(Houston and Austin regions), Harris County
Water Production, the Harris County Health
Department, and representatives from the
Houston Mayor's office. The regional office
also conducted a site assessment of the
Booker Landfill located in Houston. An 800
number was established for the benefit of the
local impacted community, which has an 80
percent minority population and a 30 percent
low-income population.
Region 10
Lower Duwamish Waterway Supetfund Site
In Region 10, the Georgetown community
near the Lower Duwamish Waterway
Superfund site is comprised of a low-income,
minority, and tribal population. To help
respond to the environmental justice concerns
of the community, EPA created a document
called Environmental Justice Resources for the
Duwamish Community in March 2003. This
document lists the EPA and Washington State
Department of Ecology resources and was
provided to a number of community contacts
and posted on the EPA Web site. Also in
March 2003, six EPA employees met with the
director of the Community Coalition for
Environmental Justice (CCEJ), a local commu-
nity-based organization, to provide informa-
tion about cumulative risk studies. After that
meeting, EPA provided additional information
to CCEJ, including a report on air toxics moni-
toring in Georgetown. Due to the diversity of
the community, many of the educational and
informational materials on the EPA site were
translated into a variety of languages.
International
Solid Waste Management Planning in South
Africa
As a result of the post-apartheid change in
government in South Africa, formerly segre-
gated communities now function as parts of
newly integrated municipalities. Due to this
new organization, areas that once received lit-
tle or no municipal solid waste services are
now part of larger municipal solid waste plan-
ning districts. In February 2003, two represen-
tatives from Region 3 traveled to Cape Town
and Hermanus, South Africa, to conduct
municipal solid waste management planning
training for provincial, municipal, and local
governmental officials, the Municipal
Councilors, community and non-governmental
organizations, and other impacted parties. This
training was then followed by a facilitated
planning discussion lead by EPA staff,
designed to assist the Cape Town Regional
governments in developing a municipal solid
waste management needs assessment and
management plan for developing an integrat-
ed solid waste management plan for the
entire area.
Chapter 2
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Toxics
Headquarters
Toxics Release Inventory Report
EPA's Office of Environmental Information
(OEI) manages the Toxics Release Inventory
(TRI), which is a publicly accessible EPA data-
base containing information regarding toxic
chemicals that are being used, manufactured,
treated, transported, or released into the
environment in the United States. This infor-
mation is useful to those who feel their com-
munity might be a victim of environmental
injustice. OEI created a report on how citizens
and others can use TRI to understand infor-
mation about toxic and hazardous chemicals
in their communities. The report, How Are the
Toxics Release Inventory Data Used? can be
found at: .
Pesticides Safety Training and Education
In 2003, more than 50 educators received
training on pesticide safety as well as out-
reach techniques. These educators then used
their knowledge to reach out to approximately
20,000 farm workers to provide safety train-
ing. Begun in 1995, this training is one of the
Office of Pesticides Programs' largest pro-
grams to train farm workers. Through grants
to the Association of Farm Workers
Opportunity Programs, which trains full-time
educators to teach agricultural workers and
their families on how to reduce the risks from
pesticide hazards, nearly 350,000 farm work-
ers and their families have been trained.
Pesticides Guidelines for Health Care
Providers
For the past five years, EPA has been working
in partnership with the National
Environmental Education and Training
Foundation on a national initiative to improve
the recognition, management, and prevention
of pesticide-related health conditions by
health care providers in the United States. As
tools to help reach this goal, the National
Pesticide Competency Guidelines for Medical
and Nursing Education and the National
Pesticide Practice Skills Guidelines for Medical
and Nursing Practice were published in 2003.
Region 3
HUD 2004 National Fair Housing
Conference
In June 2004, a Region 3 representative served
on an environmental justice panel at the 2004
Department of Housing and Urban
Development's (HUD's) National Fair Housing
Conference held in Washington, DC. More
than 2,000 participants representing HUD
offices and facilities around the country
attended the event. Representatives of two
communities participated in a panel that
focused on the history of environmental jus-
tice, case studies, environmental and public
health, and visions for the future.
Chapter 2
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Outreach and Communication
Region 5
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, Healthy
Environments Conference
In September 2004, Region 5 co-sponsored
the "Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, Healthy
Environments" Conference for nurses and
other health professionals. The conference was
a result of a collaborative effort, led by the
Great Lakes Center for Occupational and
Environmental Health and Safety, and includ-
ing Health Care Without Harm, the Maternal
and Child Health Program at the University of
Illinois School of Public Health, the Mid-
America Public Health Training Center, Region
5, and others. The goal of the conference was
to raise the awareness of nurses to reduce
toxic waste generation in healthcare settings
and to provide education about environmental
risks to pregnant women and young children
due to lead and mercury exposure and asth-
ma. Approximately 60 attendees participated
in the conference, including representatives
from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the
Mille Lacs Band of the Ojibwe Tribe.
Region 6
Nail Salon Project
In July 2004, Region 6, in collaboration with
EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
and Office of Administration and Resources
Management, released a booklet titled Pollution
Prevention Practices for Nail Salons: A Guide to
Protect the Health of Nail Salon Workers and
Their Working Environment to educate nail
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salon workers and owners about the potential
hazards of chemical substances present in nail
products and recommend best management
practices to reduce or eliminate health and
environmental risks in their shops. About 5,000
English and 13,000 Vietnamese copies have
been printed and distributed to nail care stake-
holders nationwide.
Chapter 2
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Region 7
St. Louis Environmental justice Listening
Session
Region 7 held an environmental justice listen-
ing session in St. Louis to provide an opportu-
nity for the public to engage in meaningful
dialogue with EPA to share their environmen-
tal justice concerns related to the environ-
ment, health, and quality of life. The listening
sessions are a series of interactive, solution-
oriented dialogues conducted with the com-
munity and in partnership with government
representatives. Some of the major concerns
identified and discussed were: 1) high blood
lead levels in children, especially in minority
and low-income populations, 2) air quality
issues, 3) subsequent health problems such as
asthma, and 4) community revitalization. As a
result of the session, participants were able to
voice their concerns to EPA and agreed to col-
laborate to address the issues most important
to them. The Missouri Department of Natural
Resources-a key participant-and EPA are
continuing to work with the public to listen to
and address concerns. Region 7 will continue
to host listening sessions throughout the four
states in the region.
Region 10
For Healthy Kids/Para Nina Saludables
In Region 10, the "For Healthy Kids/Para Nina
Saludables" project brought pesticide safety
education into Hispanic farm worker homes in
the Yakima Valley, Washington. This interven-
Chapter 2
tion program was a combination of toxicology
and sociology to qualitatively assess the pesti-
cide residues taken home by farm workers to
their children on clothing and in dust.
Intensive, culturally appropriate educational
messages delivered by local pmmotores in
homes, in churches, and through community
activities relayed work and home safety prac-
tices that the workers could implement to
help protect their families.
Region 10 participated on the Community
Advisory Board, developed by the project
coordinators at the University of Washington
Center for Children's Environmental Health
Risks and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center. The second phase of the
project was approved by ORD and the
National Institutes of Health in 2003, and a
grant award was finalized in 2004. This second
phase will continue to evaluate the patterns
of pesticide exposures in farm worker families,
but it will expand to Hispanic workers on fruit
packing lines and also look at exposure levels
in non-agricultural populations of the Yakima
Valley to establish background levels. A kickoff
of the work was held on October 13, 2004.
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Outreach and Communication
Outreach and Education to Hispanic
Populations in Northern Oregon
Region 10 has been involved with several out-
reach and education efforts, along with local
partners, for the Hispanic population in the
area. In 2004, information about perchlorate
contamination of ground water in Ambitiously
and Morrow Counties was translated into
Spanish, carried in the Spanish media, distrib-
uted at Spanish-speaking churches, and dis-
tributed at a Cinco de Mayo event. In this
same geographic area, a neighborhood educa-
tion effort on nitrate in ground water, includ-
ing a focused component for Spanish-
speaking populations, was designed in FY
2004 and will be implemented in FY 2005.
According to the 2000 census, 16.1 percent of
Ambitiously County and 24.4 percent of
Morrow County are Hispanic/Latino-
approximately 15,000 people.
International
Lead Awareness Theater Production
Since September 2003, the Office of
International Affairs has sponsored an annual
theater production designed to reach the 60
percent of South Africans who cannot read or
write. This comedic play relays the risks and
dangers of overexposure to lead and educates
citizens on South Africa's plan to phase out
lead in gasoline by January 2006. EPA plans to
professionally videotape the play for distribu-
tion to other African countries that are also
making the transition to unleaded gasoline.
Through this project, community awareness of
lead is rising and health effects of lead, partic-
ularly on children's health, are being commu-
nicated to the affected community.
Enforcement and
Compliance
Headquarters
Community Involvement in Supplemental
Environmental Prolects
On June 17, 2003, EPA's Office of Enforcement
and Compliance Assurance issued the Interim
Guidance for Community Involvement in
Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs).
This document encourages EPA personnel to
involve communities in SEPs by seeking their
ideas for potential SEPs or identifying envi-
ronmental or human health issues facing their
communities that might be addressed through
a SEP. Although not specifically an environ-
mental justice initiative, this guidance is
expected to help create bridges between EPA
and communities with environmental
justice issues that may be affected by
facility violations.
Enforcement and Environmental Compliance
Effort, Paterson, New Jersey
Identifying a high number of regulated busi-
nesses located in close proximity to residential
neighborhoods in the city of Paterson in
Passaic County, the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection launched a two-
phase compliance and enforcement effort in
September 2003. The initial effort focused on
Chapter 2
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
community outreach and on providing assis-
tance to the city's known and potentially reg-
ulated individuals, businesses, and government
operations. The New Jersey's Department of
Commerce, the Paterson Chamber of
Commerce, and Region 2 conducted a total of
98 compliance assistance visits and provided
425 facilities with assistance materials or
informational sessions. The second phase of
the enforcement effort, which was conducted
with assistance from the Passaic County
Health Department, the Passaic Valley
Sewerage Commission, and EPA, involved a
large-scale inspection of more than 1,000
sites throughout the city.
Region 6
Border Compliance Assistance Center
In partnership with Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance and the National Center
for Manufacturing Science, Region 6 provides
support to the Border Compliance Assistance
Center. The Border
Center is an inno-
vative resource for
providing compli-
ance information
(in both English
and Spanish) to
maquiladorassnd
small businesses
involved in import-
ing hazardous
waste from Mexico
to the United
Chapter 2
States. The purpose of the center is to elimi-
nate the hesitancy of regulated entities in
seeking information and assistance when try-
ing to comply with environmental regulations.
By doing so, the center seeks to ensure that
hazardous waste is properly handled so that
the communities in the area are not negatively
impacted. Other partners in this program
include Region 9, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, the U.S. Department of
Transportation, and the four border states of
California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. To
help evaluate its effectiveness, the center post-
ed a survey and is seeking input from the pub-
lic on its FY 2004 services and information.
Multimedia
Headquarters
Facility Registry System Improvements
The Facility Registry System (FRS) is a centrally
managed database available on the EPA Web
site that responds to the increasing demand
for access to high-quality information and the
public need for one source of comprehensive
environmental information about any geo-
graphic location in the United States. FRS is set
up to: 1) reduce the long-term reporting bur-
den for facilities, states, tribes, and programs,
2) improve data quality by helping to reduce
errors in state, tribal and Agency facility infor-
mation, 3) provide better tools for cross-media
environmental analysis, 4) provide better public
access to the Agency's environmental informa-
tion, and 5) give facilities the flexibility to
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Outreach and Communication
review and update their identification informa-
tion. OEI recently completed a four-tiered
strategy that includes near-term steps to
improve data through acquiring better street
source data, develop a locational application
tool, integrate the locational tool into the
Central Data Exchange, improve the locational
policy and standards associated with collecting
locational information, and ensure that this
policy is implemented in new technologies,
such as global positioning systems. These
improvements will help both the Agency and
the public to better assess the potential
impacts of facilities on communities. This
information is useful to those who feel their
community might be a victim of environmen-
tal injustice.
Research Apprenticeship Program for High
School Students
Together, ORD in Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina, and Shaw University in Raleigh cre-
ated a Research Apprenticeship Program for
high school students in 1990 to address the
under-representation of minorities in the
fields of science and engineering. The objec-
tive of the program is to encourage students
to pursue advanced degrees in math, science,
and engineering. This goal is accomplished by:
1) enriching the scientific and mathematic
concepts that students study in the classroom,
2) providing students the opportunity to inter-
act with scientists and engineers, 3) develop-
ing effective scientific research and technical
skills, and 4) enhancing students' motivation,
self-confidence, and desire to achieve in the
fields of math, science, and engineering.
Students participating in the Research
Apprenticeship Program must live in Wake
County, North Carolina, and be in grades 9
through 12. Students must maintain high aca-
demic performance in high school in order to
remain in the program.
Minority Institution-Based Centers
Two university centers focusing on minority
issues, originally established as targeted pro-
grams, are now being supported through
EPA's annual budget, primarily to serve the
particular research needs of minority and dis-
advantaged communities. The centers address
issues such as environmental justice, risk per-
ception and risk communication, and correla-
tions between socio-economic status and
exposure to environmental contaminants. The
Center for Environmental Resource
Management at the University of Texas at El
Paso focuses on education, outreach, and
research to support analyses and remediation
of critical Superfund-related environmental
issues. The Institute for Environmental Issues
and Policy Assessment/Center for Energy and
Environmental Studies at Southern University
at Baton Rouge supports research on environ-
mental issues and policy assessments, includ-
ing environmental justice.
Chapter 2
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban
Environments
The Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban
Environments is led by Johns Hopkins
University, along with the University of
Maryland, Morgan State University, the
University of Connecticut, and the New Jersey
Institute of Technology. The center, headquar-
tered at Johns Hopkins University, has identified
"urban liability" as a strategic research priority
for EPA Regions 1, 2, and 3. The center has
developed a research program to promote a
better understanding of physical, chemical, and
biological processes for detecting, assessing,
and managing risks posed by contaminated
soil, water, sediments, and airborne particles.
The center is also presently offering training
and technical assistance on Brownfields, which
is especially relevant to communities with envi-
ronmental justice issues. The program is man-
aged by ORD through the Science To Achieve
Results (STAR) grants program and is jointly
funded by ORD and OSWER.
Indigenous Environmental Higher Education
Network
EPA is assisting the American Indian Higher
Education Consortium in developing an
Indigenous Environmental Higher Education
Network to include about 40 key points of
contact in the United States, Canada, Mexico,
and Latin America. This network of environ-
mental educators is intended to help address
common challenges and goals of indigenous
populations.
Chapter 2
Greening Indian Country
In 2003 and 2004, under a general heading of
"Greening Indian Country," EPA's Office of
Pollution Prevention and Toxics sought to
enhance awareness and use of pollution pre-
vention in Indian country. Specific elements of
its initiative included developing a brochure
on the world-class casino Mohegan Sun as a
pollution prevention success story. Also in
2004, EPA completed a design for a "tribal
portal" for the Pollution Prevention Exchange
Internet Information Network to establish a
tribal sector hub to provide pollution preven-
tion information access to Indian country.
Region 1
Science of Environmental justice Conference
Region 1, in conjunction with the Boston
University School of Public Health, hosted a
two-day working conference sponsored by
ORD's regional science program, "Science to
Action: Community-Based Participatory
Research and Cumulative Risk Analysis as
Tools to Advance Environmental Justice in
Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities." The
conference was held at Boston University on
May 25-26, 2004, with the goal of providing
an interactive forum for scientists, technical
experts, community leaders, nonprofit groups,
academia, and government representatives.
Participants discussed current, national, and
community-based participatory research
efforts helping to assess, address, and resolve
environmental and public health risks in
potential environmental justice areas of con-
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Outreach and Communication
cern. Plenary forums addressed the two major
conference themes: 1) assessing and under-
standing cumulative risk in environmental jus-
tice communities and 2) community-based
participatory research in urban, suburban, and
rural environmental justice communities.
Concurrent panel sessions focused on the top-
ics of air toxics, asthma, children's environ-
mental health, land-based risks, and water
quality. Information and details regarding the
conference proceedings and final outcomes
can be found at: http://epa.gov/osp/regions/
workshops.htm.
Outreach Efforts to Small and Disadvantaged
Businesses
Region 1 has strategically focused outreach
efforts to the Small and Disadvantaged
Business Enterprise (SDBE) companies. Such
efforts have included: 1) participating in four
trade shows in Bridgeport, New Haven, and
Laddered, Connecticut, and in Manchester,
New Hampshire, and 2) conducting informa-
tional sessions, business planning sessions,
one-on-one counseling sessions, and a pro-
curement seminar. Although the region has
not awarded any contracts to date, more
SDBE companies have expressed interest in
doing business with EPA and have been added
to an internal database of sources. In 2004,
the region increasingly used simplified acqui-
sition procedures to fulfill a number of
Superfund site-specific requirements by using
the issuance of purchase orders to SDBEs.
Region 2
EPA and the University of the Virgin Islands
Co-Host St. Croix Community Dialogue
On March 17, 2003, Region 2, in partnership
with the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI)
Cooperative Extension Services, convened a
community dialogue event at the UVI-St. Croix
campus facility. The goal for this meeting was
two-fold: 1) enhance and establish lines of
communication among environmental regula-
tory officials and the public to become better
educated on the issues facing the local com-
munities and inform participants of the role
government performs in addressing these
concerns, and 2) identify, develop, and imple-
ment actions or activities for EPA and local
government regulators to be responsive to the
community. In comparison to previous EPA-
sponsored public forums in the islands, this
event had an exceptional turnout and level
of participation from the community beyond
the region's expectation. More than 100 par-
ticipants attended, representing civic organi-
zations, environmental justice advocates, local
government departments, academicians, leg-
Chapter 2
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
islative officials, and the public. In addition,
local newspaper and radio media covered
the event.
Bovoni Housing Community, St. Thomas,
Virgin Islands
Region 2 and other government officials met
with members of the Bovoni Homeowners
Association to discuss potential environmental
impacts and public health concerns attributa-
ble to the operation of industrial facilities
within the area. This community listening ses-
sion focused attention on the Bovoni Landfill.
Officials from the Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR) participated at
the event, along with a Georgia-based com-
munity advocacy group, Citizens for
Environmental Justice, to assist in facilitating
the discussion. The session was successful in
that ATSDR pledged to return shortly to train
local physicians and nurses with the Virgin
Islands Health Department on the topic of
environmental health awareness. In addition,
these same attendees will receive public health
consultation and participate in EPA-sponsored
training seminars. Support was offered to have
the Virgin Islands Health Department conduct
a health screening (such as was performed in
St. Croix several years prior). Other steps prom-
ised by officials included educating residents
on toxicology and checking the health records
of animals in the area, seeking funding for a
health survey and data analysis for local health
ministries as well as privately funded grants
for the Bovoni Homeowners Association.
Chapter 2
Region 4
Environmental justice Listening Sessions
Region 4 hosted an environmental justice lis-
tening session at the 2003 and 2004 Florida
Brownfields Conferences. The August 2003
conference included a keynote address by
Region 4's Regional Administrator, who
addressed environmental justice as it relates
to Brownfields redevelopment efforts. This
session also included discussions on identify-
ing environmental justice issues as they relate
to Brownfields.
Region 6
Border Environmental justice Roundtable
The Border Environmental Justice Roundtable
was hosted by Region 6, the Southwest
Network for Environmental and Economic
Justice, EPA's Office of Environmental Justice,
and the U.S.-Mexico Border Program on
September 16, 2003 in El Paso, Texas. The
roundtable began with a tour of several El
Paso areas with environmental challenges,
providing participants with a first-hand look
at several sites impacted by environmental
problems and increasing everyone's under-
standing of the conditions in which the resi-
dents live. Twenty-five grassroots community
representatives from various Region 6 border
areas were invited to participate in the round-
table to discuss pertinent environmental jus-
tice issues affecting their communities. The
meeting enabled EPA senior leaders to become
better acquainted with border environmental
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Outreach and Communication
issues and the people who are most impacted
by those problems. The issues raised by the
attendees have been addressed by Region 6
staff, and an ongoing dialogue between
Region 6 and the affected communities has
been taking place since the event. Region 6 is
planning a followup roundtable, which will
include community and EPA representatives
from Region 9.
Environmental Statutes Training for Border
Communities
Region 6 assisted in a training course on the
basics of the environmental statutes, held in El
Paso, Texas in July 2004. The training, for
grassroots community groups in the entire
border area from both the United States and
Mexico, was conducted bilingually. Funded by
a U.S.-Mexico Border Program grant, this
innovative, interactive training was conducted
by the Environmental Law Institute, with the
assistance of the Southwest Network for
Environmental and Economic Justice to
demystify the law.
Region 7
Haskell Indian Nations University
Recruitment
Region 7 participated in the Haskell Indian
Nation University Career Fair, held at Haskell
University in Lawrence, Kansas, on March 11,
2004. The Region's cross-media recruitment
effort was supported by the Region 7 and
Haskell Indian Nation University Memorandum
of Agreement. The primary focus was to
recruit students for summer employment as
interns for EPA. More than 150 students
received information on EPA's recruitment
program, and more than 25 Native American
students interviewed and submitted resumes.
Students toured Region 7's exhibit and visited
with representatives from more than 40 fed-
eral agencies and state and local businesses
that showcased educational and career
brochures and pamphlets. Four temporary
summer interns were hired in 2003 and 2004
as a result of recruitment.
Chapter 2
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Region 8
Earth Force Yowt/j Summit
Region 8 reached out to more than 1,000
young people as part of the Youth Summit
sponsored by Frontrange Earth Force, a local
non-profit organization committed to youth
education and environmental issues in their
communities. The students, in grades 3 to 12,
came together to share, learn, and speak out
about their projects. Together with their part-
ners, Denver Urban Gardens, Adams County
School District, the city and county of Denver,
the University of Denver, EPA Environmental
Education, the National Renewable Energy
Laboratories, the National Wildlife Federation,
Denver Water, Colorado People's
Environmental and Economic Network, and
others, the students had an opportunity to
learn about environmental justice and other
vital environmental issues that affect their
communities. EPA hopes that, with these
experiences, the students will develop life-long
habits of active citizenship and environmental
stewardship.
Region 9
Presentations and Community Environmental
justice Tours
Region 9 offered its insights and observations
on the issue of environmental justice in a
number of California events, including: 1) a
Pollution Prevention and Compliance
Assistance Workshop in San Diego, 2) an
Environmental Justice Forum in Clear Lake , 3)
Chapter 2
a Tribal Conference in Pechanga, and 4) an
Environmental Justice Conference in
Richmond. In addition, in 2003 and 2004,
Region 9 participated in a number of commu-
nity-led environmental justice tours in West
Oakland, Contra Costa County, and Los
Angeles, to help increase the understanding of
environmental justice at a local level and
make the issues confronting communities
more tangible.
Region 10
Extensive Surveys on Indian Lands
EPA representatives visited each Native
American reservation in Region 10 as part of
the "Multimedia Applicability Study." The
Agency conducted an inventory and compiled
a list of facilities in cooperation with tribal
members. Furthermore, EPA evaluated which
environmental programs were applicable to
each facility and mapped the location using
the global positioning system. Hundreds of
environmental issues have been addressed and
rectified as a result of this effort.
Pogo Mine Project Near Delta junction,
Alaska
In August 2000, Region 10 received a National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit application for the Pogo Mine
project near Delta Junction, Alaska. Because
the mine was a new source, it was necessary
for EPA to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) prior to issuing a permit for
the facility. To identify minority and low-
-------
Outreach and Communication
income populations in the potentially affected
project area, EPA used the most recently avail-
able census data (1990). This analysis, coupled
with the collection of anecdotal data in Delta
Junction and the surrounding area, suggested
that three population groups-Alaska Natives
and Russian and Korean immigrants-warrant-
ed further research to ensure compliance with
Executive Order 12898. EPA conducted special
outreach efforts related to environmental jus-
tice in completing the EIS sections on socioe-
conomics, land use, subsistence, and cultural
resources. EPA also made special efforts to
encourage individual tribal members (outside
of the government) to identify issues of con-
cern during the scoping process. To make sure
the Russian community could participate
meaningfully, a translator was hired to trans-
late information into Russian, and the Russian
Orthodox minister served as a liaison with the
Russian community. Because the Korean pop-
ulation in the area is fluent in English, EPA
determined that its normal outreach efforts
would adequately address this demographic
group. The final NPDES Permit was issued in
March 2004.
Other
International
Center for Environmental Cooperation-
Indigenous Peoples Coordination
The Center for Environmental Cooperation
(CEC) and the Biodiversity Conservation
Working Group are working to "explore inno-
vative mechanisms to consider the compatibil-
ity of biodiversity conservation with tradition-
al lifestyles and needs" (Council Resolution
03-06). In 2004, CEC held a meeting of indige-
nous groups and local communities aimed at
the CEC's capacity-building efforts to address
the challenges of biodiversity conservation
and natural resource management in the
region. This activity will: 1) explore mecha-
nisms for exchange of information among
indigenous and non-indigenous peoples from
the United States, Canada, and Mexico on nat-
ural resource conservation and management
policies and practices, 2) identify capacity-
building, training, and networking needs and
priorities for indigenous groups and local
communities engaged in conservation and
management practices related to CEC's biodi-
versity activities, and 3) identify means by
which traditional environmental knowledge
and local environmental knowledge can be
incorporated into CEC's species and spaces
initiatives.
Information Exchange Network
In 2003 and 2004, the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP) and EPA
strengthened a partnership to sponsor the
Chemicals Information Exchange Network,
which provides training on Internet-based
chemical information for chemical manage-
ment officials and global stakeholders. This
access provides a forum for stakeholder dis-
cussion on chemicals management, strength-
ens the public ability to harmonize chemical
Chapter 2
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
regulations, increases understanding of sound
chemical management practices in the private
sector, and assists chemical managers and
non-governmental organizations in the
development of targeted public
awareness programs.
Environmental Training Program
In 2003 and 2004, EPA conducted 13 interna-
tional environmental training courses in such
countries as El Salvador, South Africa, Costa
Rica, Panama, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands,
Serbia-Montenegro, and the Philippines. EPA's
international environmental training program
consists of more than 20 modules, each using
a three-step process and a combination of
case studies, exercises, and other interactive
methods to teach the fundamentals of specific
environmental management techniques.
Drawn from a broad range of public and pri-
vate organizations within the host country,
participants in the training typically include
representatives from national, state, and local
governments as well as universities, trade
associations, and other non-governmental
organizations. After completion of the train-
ing, host country officials are expected to fol-
low up with participants at three-month,
six-month, and one-year intervals to deter-
mine the extent to which skills acquired dur-
ing the training have been used to achieve
environmental results in that country.
Visitor Tours
In 2003 and 2004, EPA's Office of
International Affairs sponsored or hosted sev-
eral study tours for representatives from vari-
ous countries to exchange information on
environmental issues of mutual interest. For
example, the United States hosted South
African public, private, and inter-governmen-
tal officials in October 2003. The trip provided
the group information on the U.S. experience
regarding lead phase-out, broader air quality
issues that can be addressed once lead is
removed, emissions controls and pollution
prevention options for refineries, and
approaches to environmental justice issues.
The arrangement also solidified business link-
ages between the United States and South
Africa. As a followup, experts from the
United States, including a representative of
EPA's environmental justice program, traveled
to South Africa to witness various issues
first-hand and recommend strategies to
address the issues.
Chapter 2
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Outreach and Communication
Dignitary Site Visit to Chester, Pennsylvania
In February 2004, a site visit was coordinated
among Region 3; the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection; the
city of Chester, Pennsylvania; and a number of
community residents for the purpose of pro-
viding information and insight on environ-
mental justice to a representative of the
Italian Environmental Ministry. The Italian rep-
resentative had indicated that environmental
justice was a growing concern in Italy, and he
had requested a first-hand tour of an area of
environmental justice concern. The group
assembled and took the Italian representative
on a driving tour of Chester, followed by a
meeting with representatives of the various
groups in Chester, where he asked questions
about the issues at hand. Citizen organiza-
tions, Region 3, the city of Chester, and a
number of city residents gave presentations.
Chapter 2
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Environmental Justice Training
EPA recognizes the importance of
training its managers and staff to enable them
to effectively incorporate environmental jus-
tice considerations into their everyday activi-
ties and decisionmaking. The Agency also
recognizes the need to educate other govern-
ment officials, the regulated community, and
the public about environmental justice. For
these reasons, the Agency sponsors or sup-
ports a variety of environmental justice train-
ing courses, workshops, and seminars. This
chapter provides an overview of the various
types of environmental justice training offered
by the Agency and gives examples of how
EPA's regional and program offices are using
training to enhance the integration of envi-
ronmental justice into the Agency's and other
stakeholders' programs, policies, and opera-
tions.
General
Headquarters
Air Office Staff Training
Since May 2002, EPA's Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards (OAQPS) in Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina, has offered vol-
untary training on the fundamentals of envi-
ronmental justice to all of it is 300 staffers, as
well as external stakeholders. In FY 2003,
OAQPS met its goal of offering the workshop
twice yearly and trained at least 60 individu-
als. OAQPS staff also assisted the Office of
Environmental Justice in conducting four
workshops at EPA Headquarters.
International Affairs Office Staff Training
In July 2004, EPA's Office of International
Affairs provided environmental justice training
to nearly 71 percent of its staff. In addition to
training on the fundamentals of environmen-
tal justice, the course focused on environmen-
tal justice in the international context.
Additional environmental justice training spe-
cific to international work is being planned.
Environmental Information Office
Staff Training
In FY 2003, EPA's Office of Environmental
Information (OEI) worked with a vendor to
develop an environmental justice training pro-
gram tailored to the unique mission, func-
tions, and needs of OEI. OEI will deploy this
training program in June 2005, with the assis-
tance of EPA's Office of Environmental
Justice's trainers. The training will be con-
ducted to ensure that OEI employees under-
stand how to integrate environmental justice
into OEI's programs and operations.
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
Office Staff Training
In 2004, approximately 340 employees in
EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Assurance (OECA) received training on the
fundamentals of environmental justice. The
one-day training was provided to the OECA
Chapter 3
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
offices and included how environmental jus-
tice principles can be specifically applied to
the activities in each office. The environmental
justice training is required of all OECA
employees as noted in the January 2004 OECA
environmental justice policy. The main goal of
the training is to ensure that OECA personnel
utilize the available opportunities to effec-
tively, efficiently, and consistently address
issues frequently associated with environmen-
tal justice in their daily work (e.g., targeting
actions, assessing penalties, developing SEPs).
Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Office Staff Training
In 2004, in collaboration with the Office of
Environmental Justice, EPA's Office of
Pesticides Programs taught more than 80 staff
members and managers about environmental
justice and the thought process for identifying
environmental justice issues.
Solid Waste and Emergency Response Office
Staff Training
EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response's (OSWER's) environmental justice
training team provided training to more than
100 people in FY 2003 and FY 2004.
Participants included internal OSWER man-
agers and staff, as well as outside stakehold-
ers such as the state of Maryland's
Department of Environmental Protection and
participants at the EPA Community
Involvement Conference.
Chapter 3
Region 1
Region 1 Staff Training
As part of Region 1 's environmental justice
action plan, the region launched an internal
environmental justice training program to
raise awareness and understanding of envi-
ronmental justice principles. Nearly 98 percent
of Region 1 's workforce has been trained.
Based on staff feedback, the curriculum was
modified to better reflect regional needs and
interests. The training consisted of several
modules ranging from defining environmental
justice to role-playing in a public involvement
workshop. Modules highlighted regional and
national environmental justice cases and
achievements. The training also included a
presentation of Region 1's environmental jus-
tice desktop mapping tool to familiarize staff.
The environmental justice Awareness Training
Course has been added to the core curriculum
for all new Region 1 staff to ensure that new
employees have the same understanding of
environmental justice.
Region 2
Albany Law School Workshop
In March 2004, Region 2-along with the New
York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYSDEC) and EPA's Office of
Environmental Justice-provided a
"Fundamentals of Environmental Justice"
workshop for 20 local government officials at
Albany Law School in Albany, New York. The
two-day training covered topics such as
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Environmental Justice Training
defining environmental justice; public partici-
pation activities; geographic information sys-
tems for environmental justice assessments;
federal and New York State legislation; and
environmental justice authorities and policies.
A highlight of the training included a bus
tour-arranged with assistance from Arbor Hill
Environmental Justice Corp., a local environ-
mental justice advocacy group-of several
communities in the Albany/Troy region. Based
on the positive feedback received, Albany Law
School has expressed a willingness to con-
tinue to collaborate with EPA and the NYSDEC
on future environmental justice training
events in New York State.
Region 3
Region 3 Staff Training
Region 3 continued conducting environmental
justice training in October 2004. The region
provides an introductory session, as well as
office-specific training designed to address
the needs of the individual offices and divi-
sions.
Region 4
Train-the-Trainer Workshop
Region 4 hosted the National Environmental
Justice Training Collaborative's "Train-the-
Trainer" Workshop on January 13-17, 2003.
Participants included EPA staff, state environ-
mental agencies, local government, and grass-
roots/community-based organizations. As a
result of this workshop, 32 new environmental
justice training facilitators were certified to
conduct the course. As more and more people
become trained to provide environmental jus-
tice training, the more capacity the area has
to bring important information to others.
Region 5
Fundamentals of Environmental justice
Workshop
In April 2003, members of the Region 5
Environmental Justice Training Collaborative,
along with staff from Region 5's Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assistance and
Indian Environmental Office, conducted a
two-day "Fundamentals of Environmental
Justice Workshop." Trainers also included
members of two community/grassroots
organizations who had become certified envi-
ronmental justice trainers after attending
Region 5's Environmental Justice "Train-the-
Trainer" course during the previous year. The
32 attendees of the workshop included mem-
bers of Region 5 staff, state and local environ-
mental agency representatives, and
community members. The goals of the work-
shop were to raise awareness of environmen-
Chapter 3
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
tal justice, provide introductory tools on how
to identify and address environmental justice
issues, effectively engage in productive dia-
logue around environmental justice issues, and
promote constructive and collaborative prob-
lem-solving techniques.
Region 6
Using Environmental Laws and Alternative
Dispute Resolution
EPA's Office of Environmental Justice funded
and coordinated a training for grassroots
community organization
representatives from each
of the five Region 6 states
in September 2004 to pro-
mote the use of alternative
dispute resolution. Region
6, the Southwest Network for Environmental
and Economic Justice, and the Southeast
Community Resource Center assisted in the
planning the training, which was provided by
the Environmental Law Institute. The interac-
tion among the 32 attendees and Region 6
staff was very productive and positive. Most
of the attendees expressed a desire for further
training in alternative dispute resolution.
Region 6 Staff Training
Since launching the "Environmental Justice
Fundamentals" course in 2001, Region 6 has
held 17 training sessions. EPA has trained
approximately 324 EPA, state, federal, and
community-based participants. In addition to
offering the training internally, the Louisiana
Chapter 3
Department of Environmental Quality hosted
the training in December 2003 for its man-
agers and staff. The region will continue its
environmental justice training initiative by
offering the training twice each quarter to
regional and state staff. Training participants
have enthusiastically embraced the training
and have consistently requested advanced
training that addresses specific program
responsibilities. Future planning includes
development of program-specific materials
and train-the-trainer focused sessions.
Region 7
Training in Missouri and Nebraska
In 2003 and 2004, Region 7 successfully pro-
vided two "Fundamentals of Environmental
Justice" training sessions in the states of
Missouri and Nebraska, with approximately 44
participants representing various stakeholder
groups, such as state and county health
departments. To accommodate and ensure
that basic instruction is provided across all
environmental protection programs, Region
7-along with states and partnering
agencies-holds environmental justice training
workshops that are open to all of EPA's part-
ners. In Missouri, EPA helped train Missouri
Department of Natural Resources (MDNR)
employees, many of whom were branch man-
agers, in understanding the fundamentals of
environmental justice. MDNR and Haskell
Indian Nations University representatives also
served as trainers for this highly interactive
workshop held in Jefferson City, Missouri. In
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Environmental Justice Training
Nebraska, the audience included representa-
tives from local government as well as com-
munity leaders. Topics covered included
defining environmental justice; environmental
justice history, controversies, and issues; legis-
lation and authorities; and Executive Order
12898 on environmental justice. Region 7 is
expanding the training to Kansas and Iowa
and will also partake in a "Train-the-Trainer"
workshop in the next two years.
Region 7 Staff Training
In 2003 and 2004, Region 7 facilitated several
"Fundamental of Environmental Justice" train-
ing sessions for new staff and summer interns
as part of a regional professional development
series plan. The training included an environ-
mental justice overview; environmental justice
definition; a geographic information system
demonstration approach to identifying and
addressing environmental justice issues; and a
panel discussion surrounding past environ-
mental justice cases. Fifty-five EPA Region 7
employees received the training.
Region 9
California and Hawaii Training
During 2003 and 2004, Region 9 established
partnerships with state and local governments
to assist in the development of environmental
training. The state of California, in collabora-
tion with the Governors Office of Planning
and Research, the California Environmental
Protection Agency, the Bay Delta Authority,
the Department of Water Resources, and
Region 9, trained approximately 300 state
employees. In the state of Hawaii, Region 9
worked with Hawaii's Department of Health to
provide training to staff and managers.
Region 9 Staff Training
In 2003 and 2004, the Region 9 environmental
justice program offered monthly environmen-
tal justice training to staff and interested
stakeholders, including representatives of fed-
eral, state, and community entities).
Approximately 200 EPA staff and managers
attended, in addition to approximately 100
external partners. During this same time
period, the environmental justice program
established partnerships with state and local
governments to assist in developing training
capacity within those entities. The state of
California, in collaboration with the Governors
Office of Planning and Research, the California
Environmental Protection Agency, the Bay
Delta Authority, the Department of Water
Resources, and others benefited from the part-
nership with EPA Region 9, and approximately
300 state employees were trained. In the state
of Hawaii, the environmental justice program
worked with Hawaii's Department of Health to
provide training to staff and managers.
Chapter 3
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Enforcement and
Compliance
Headquarters
Environmental Training to Law Enforcement
Executives
EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Assistance (OECA) entered into a partnership
with the National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives to provide training on
identifying environmental crimes. The officers,
many of whom serve economically depressed
and environmental burdened communities,
will refer environmental violations to EPA and
serve as new eyes on the street. Through this
relationship, OECA can better target its
resources to some of the communities where
protection is needed most. In FY 2003, OECA
initiated 97 cases with environmental justice
issues. As a result, 80 defendants were
charged in these cases and more than $8 mil-
lion in fines and 318 months of incarceration
were imposed.
Environmental }ustice Seminar
EPA's Office of Site Remediation Enforcement
(OSRE) conducted an environmental justice
case study in June 2003 concerning a site in
Anniston, Alabama. OSRE worked closely with
Region 4 to bring the federal case team
involved with this site to Headquarters for an
all-day seminar. The federal team included the
regional environmental justice coordinator,
community involvement coordinator, on-scene
Chapter 3
coordinator, remedial program manager,
regional attorney, headquarters attorney, and
a Department of Justice attorney. The team
presented a full-day overview of their experi-
ence working on this complex cleanup site
located in a community with environmental
justice issues. The vast majority (79 percent) of
OSRE staff attended the seminar and identi-
fied a strong need to incorporate environmen-
tal justice and community involvement issues
into work plans, projects, and management
goals. Many seminar participants stated that
they will factor the lessons learned into their
daily work. Overall, the seminar raised aware-
ness of environmental justice and the need for
more detailed discussions of environmental
justice issues and how to handle them at
remediation sites.
Region 3
Far-Reaching Environmental }ustice Training
More than 500 federal employees from 13
federal agencies have received environmental
justice training through Region 3's efforts. The
training and educational opportunities made
available cover topics such as historical per-
spectives, research efforts, regional case stud-
ies in environmental justice, Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, and court cases
involving environmental justice issues. The
interactive, facilitated training incorporates a
wide range of principles used in planning,
scoping, and implementation of project plans.
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Environmental Justice Training
Air
Headquarters
Environmental justice and Air Permitting
Workshop
In May 2004, EPA's Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards convened an
"Environmental Justice and Air Permitting
Workshop," hosted by Region 5 in Chicago. The
purpose of the workshop was to bring
together staff from the environmental justice
and air permitting fields to discuss opportuni-
ties for integration. The objectives and goals of
the meeting included: identifying and dis-
cussing what the regions are doing to promote
better environmental justice outcomes, both in
federal- and state-issued permits (and how
good environmental justice outcomes are
being defined in practice); determining the
barriers that states and regions encounter
when seeking good environmental justice out-
comes for communities through air permitting;
discussing how to overcome these barriers;
determining how Headquarters can assist the
regions in achieving the goal of environmental
justice in air permitting; and developing a list
of recommendations or next steps to submit to
Office of Air and Radiation management.
Other
International
Education for Development and Democracy
Initiative, Africa
The Education for Development and
Democracy Initiative (EDDI), a U.S. Presidential
initiative, educates African middle school-age
girls on an array of environmental and life
issues. In 2004, two African schools in Ghana
and Benin began sharing information about
their communities and the environment.
The project's goal is for students to learn to
use the Internet to access information on
smart and safe environmental stewardship
practices, which will significantly improve
their quality of life. The program started with
a U.S. donation of nearly new computers to
each school computer lab. Teachers and proj-
ect leaders then constructed curriculum from
EPA information on safe drinking water, clean
air, solid waste management, food safety,
environmental health (including AIDS preven-
tion education), environmental justice, water
management, forest management, energy,
and indoor air.
Elements of Effective Laws Workshop
In October 2004, EPA included environmental
justice in its "Workshop on Elements of
Effective Laws and Components of Principles
of Environmental Law and Enforcement"
training, delivered in Botswana, Africa.
Chapter 3
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Chapter 4: Federal, State, Tribal,
and Local Government
Coordination
Federal, state, tribal, and local gov-
ernment coordination is essential to address-
ing the environmental and public health
concerns of affected communities and ensur-
ing proper integration of environmental jus-
tice considerations into government
operations. As authorized by federal environ-
mental laws, most federal environmental pro-
grams are delegated to states and tribes, when
they develop their environmental manage-
ment capacity and seek authorization to man-
age programs. To provide for environmental
and public health protection, these three sov-
ereigns (federal, state, and tribal governments)
must collaborate and coordinate their envi-
ronmental and public health programs, poli-
cies, and activities, especially when working to
address the concerns of low-income, minority,
and tribal communities. With these goals in
mind, EPA is pursuing an ambitious initiative
to promote and support collaborative and
constructive partnerships to address the range
and extent of environmental and public health
issues facing communities. This chapter dis-
cusses the ways in which EPA is working with
states, tribes, and other federal agencies to
integrate environmental justice considerations
into governments' operations.
Federal
Headquarters
Federal Interagency Working Group on
Environmental justice
To help promote better interagency coordina-
tion on issues pertaining to environmental
justice, Executive Order 12898 established the
Federal Interagency Working Group on
Environmental Justice (IWG) in 1994. The IWG
is comprised of 11 federal agencies and sever-
al White House offices. Each agency, with
leadership from EPA, is working to integrate
environmental justice into its individual pro-
grams. The IWG currently has three active task
forces: 1) Health Disparities, 2) Revitalization
Demonstration Projects, and 3) Native
American. To learn more about the IWG, visit:
.
In March 2003, the IWG selected 15
Revitalization Demonstration Projects to
showcase collaborative partnerships among
federal agencies and other stakeholders in the
area of community revitalization and environ-
mental justice. These 15 projects are helping
EPA refine its environmental justice collabora-
tive problem-solving (CPS) model, which is
serving to provide guidance to communities
and other interested parties on a method for
working through the complex and interrelated
issues pertaining to environmental justice,
with the expectation of developing effective
plans and strategies for addressing these
Chapter 4
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
issues within the affected communities. To
learn more about these demonstration proj-
ects and the CPS model, visit:
http://intranet.epa.gov/oecaftp/compliance/
resources/publications/ej'/
iwg_2003_demo_projects.pdf.
Building Healthy Environments to Eliminate
Health Disparities Symposium
On May 28-29, 2003, in Washington DC, the
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services and EPA co-sponsored a symposium
on Building Healthy Environments to
Eliminate Health Disparities/Linking Health
Disparities, for senior-level federal govern-
ment employees. This symposium was the first
to explore the intersection between health
disparities and environmental justice and the
ways in which federal agencies can develop
proactive, comprehensive, and integrated
strategies to build healthy environments in
communities suffering from health disparities.
Five panel sessions included information on
federal agency perspectives, case studies of
community efforts to address health dispari-
ties and environmental quality, ways that fed-
eral agencies can better address health
disparities, healthy environments, and envi-
ronmental justice, key initiatives that support
building healthy environments, and
integrating the environment into agency
health disparities strategies.
Linking Health Disparities and
Environmental }ustice
Using the momentum created by the federal
interagency Building Healthy Environments to
Eliminate Health Disparities Symposium, the
American Public Health Association (APHA), in
conjunction with EPA's Office of
Environmental Justice and the Department of
Health and Human Services, conducted a set
of special sessions on environmental health
disparities at the Annual APHA meeting in
Washington D.C., on November 9, 2004. A
"town hall" meeting on environmental justice
brought together representatives of communi-
ty-based organizations, public health organi-
zations, and government agencies to dialogue
about national, state, tribal, and local strate-
gies to address environmental justice and
health disparities, particularly those that
impact children. APHA is the largest public
health professional organization in the world,
with about 15,000 persons attending their
annual meetings.
Interagency Coordination on Tribal Issues
EPA is one of the signatories to a four-party
memorandum of understanding, along with
the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and
Indian Health Service. These agencies have
agreed to coordinate their efforts to provide
environmental protection for Indian health
and the environment in Indian country.
Chapter 4
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Federal, State, Tribal, and Local
Government Coordination
State
Headquarters
Worker Protection Program
In collaboration with its stakeholders, EPA's
Office of Pesticides Programs (OPP) completed
a multi-year national assessment of its worker
protection program. As a result, to improve
program consistency and quality, OPP provid-
ed additional training opportunities for state
compliance monitoring and enforcement staff.
With stakeholders, OPP also developed better
program guidance and improved communica-
tions and reporting. EPA plans to issue a
report on the assessment, which will address
the full range of stakeholder recommenda-
tions, as well as the findings from the
enforcement review portion.
Region 1
Promoting Environmental justice to States
In January 2004, Region 1 chaired a meeting
for the states where it discussed the impor-
tance of incorporating environmental justice
principles into state planning and identified
specific followup actions. In September 2004,
the region made a presentation to the inter-
state enforcement directors on the region's
environmental justice mapping tool and its
usefulness in setting targets for enforcement
actions. In addition, the recently negotiated
Performance Partnership Agreements between
the agency and five of the six states in Region
1 contain specific language concerning the
importance of environmental justice principles
and detail numerous environmental justice-
related activities that the states have commit-
ted to undertake.
Region 2
New Yor/e State Environmental justice
Protocol
In September 2003, Region 2 awarded
$26,800 to the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to sup-
port activities related to the state's environ-
mental justice advisory group and the two
newly formed workgroups, the
Disproportionate Adverse Environmental
Impact Workgroup and the Health Outcome
Data Workgroup. The recommendations devel-
oped by the advisory group and its work-
groups are being considered for adoption by
the NYSDEC Commissioner.
Region 3
A// States Environmental justice Meeting
Region 3 supports and participates in the
annual Regional All States Environmental
Justice Meeting, with the states of Delaware,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West
Virginia, and the District of Columbia, to pro-
vide information, insight, and consultation on
issues pertaining to environmental justice. The
meetings also serve to build relationships
among EPA and the states. Presentations are
made by invited guests on various significant
issues of environmental justice concern.
Historically, speakers and presenters have been
public interest lawyers, lawyers who represent
Chapter 4
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
the regulated community, regional and EPA
Headquarters personnel, state and local repre-
sentatives, professionals from various public
and private organizations, and citizens repre-
senting areas of concern. As an outgrowth of
the annual meeting, Region 3 holds monthly
environmental justice conference calls with
the states.
Joint EPA Region 2 and 3 Site Visit to South
Camden
In August 2003, EPA Region 3 hosted a joint
All States Environmental Justice Meeting in
Philadelphia. One of the highlights of the
meeting was a site visit to South Camden to
learn from and see first hand the concerns of
the citizens pertaining to the Saint Lawrence
Cement facility. The tour lasted approximately
two hours and took the participants through
the South Camden area where the citizens
described the various issues and concerns at
the various sites. The counsel for the Saint
Lawrence Cement case provided a perspective
on the history of the facility and the case and
answered questions from the assembled
group.
Maryland Public Listening Session and
Dialog
On October 7, 2003, the Maryland Department
of the Environment held an environmental
justice listening session in Baltimore, in coor-
dination with the Maryland Commission on
Environmental Justice and Sustainable
Communities. Approximately 60 participants
Chapter 4
attended the listening session, including rep-
resentatives from Region 3 and concerned cit-
izens. The central topic of discussion was
locally unwanted land usages. A number of
presentations were made on this topic fol-
lowed by discussions on issues such as ways
government agencies can best address envi-
ronmental justice issues and community revi-
talization. The Maryland Commission on
Environmental Justice and Sustainable
Communities made the following recommen-
dations: 1) integrate environmental justice
into all governmental efforts, 2) develop data
applicable for use as a community outreach
tool, 3) increase the effort to improve public
participation, 4) prepare government agencies
through environmental justice training, 5)
include environmental justice as a basis for
economic development, and 6) identify best
practices.
Region 4
Alabama Environmental justice Training
Region 4 staff assisted the Alabama
Department of Environmental Management
(ADEM) in presenting environmental justice
training to 60 ADEM managers on May 5-6,
2004. The training was well received and
proved to be a great opportunity for environ-
mental justice education and development.
Region 4 is constantly working to strengthen
relationships with the states, communities,
and other key stakeholders in an effort to bet-
ter coordinate, integrate, and address environ-
mental justice issues. ADEM has supported
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Federal, State, Tribal, and Local
Government Coordination
these efforts by working collaboratively with
Region 4 and taking other proactive
approaches towards achieving
environmental justice.
Benedict College Environmental Justice
Conference
Region 4 participated in the Benedict College
Statewide Environmental Justice Conference
in South Carolina from August 20-23, 2003.
Regional environmental justice staff and the
South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control staff served on the
steering committee. Approximately 30 people
attended, representing Benedict College, the
University of South Carolina, the South
Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control, and environmental
justice community organizations and environ-
mental groups from across the state. The
Environmental Justice Conference was the
first of a series of activities in this area to be
conducted in a way that provided communi-
ties and community organizations a forum to
engage in dialogue specific to their geo-
graphic area and areas of interest and to
ensure that proper followup occurs to address
issues raised.
Region 5
Collaborating with Communities - St. Clair
Superior, Ohio
Region 5, the Ohio EPA, the Cleveland
Department of Air Quality (CDAQ), and the St.
Clair Superior Neighborhood Development
Association (SCSNDA) Environmental
Committee have met regularly over the past
several years to discuss the environmental
concerns SCSNDA has identified within the
community. As a result of the collaboration
during 2003 and 2004, the Ohio EPA has used
input from SCSNDA to identify and conduct
an average of seven hazardous waste inspec-
tions each year within the neighborhood.
Violations resulting from these inspections
have led to one Supplemental Environmental
Project (SEP), which has already funded diesel
school bus retrofits, as well as a second SEP
that is still in negotiation. In addition, CDAQ
has addressed all 21 listed facilities of concern
for SCSNDA. The collaborative process has
increased the community's public participation
and input in the review of Title 5 Air Permits;
increased the number of air and hazardous
waste inspections at neighborhood facilities,
which in turn provides a better assurance to
the community that companies are in compli-
ance and the community's environmental
well-being is protected; increased the environ-
mental knowledge of the neighborhood; and
improved the relationships between the resi-
dents and the companies located around their
neighborhood. The Ohio EPA is using the
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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
SCSNDA collaboration as a model for con-
ducting small business assistance on a local
neighborhood level instead of on a broader
and general state-wide basis.
Region 6
New Mexico Listening Sessions
Following its successful listening session in
Houston, Texas, in 2002, Region 6 committed
to assist states in funding subsequent state-
led listening sessions. The New Mexico
Environment Department (NMED) was the first
to take up the challenge. Region 6, the
Southwest Network for Environmental and
Economic Justice, and the University of New
Mexico worked collaboratively to plan and
implement this initiative. EPA committed
$30,000 to support this effort and participat-
ed in the frequent planning sessions to coor-
dinate the logistics, agendas, outreach, and
followup. As a result, four listening sessions
were held throughout New Mexico in the
summer of 2004. The sessions focused on bor-
der issues, tribal issues, northern New Mexico
issues, and statewide issues.
Region 7
2003 Federal Partners Meeting
On August 20, 2003, Region 7 hosted its
annual Federal Partners Meeting to facilitate
coordination and collaboration among federal
partners to address the environmental and
public health concerns of low-income, minori-
ty, and tribal communities. The meeting high-
lighted the importance of coordination,
leveraging of resources, and collaboration in
problem-solving. Representatives from the
Federal Transit Administration, the Department
of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, the Kansas
Department of Health and Environment, the
Unified Government of Wyandotte County,
Kansas City (Missouri), Kansas State University,
and the Oak Grove Neighborhood Association
participated in the meeting. During the first
portion of the meeting, each of the federal
agencies presented a brief overview of their
current environmental justice programs and
initiatives. Background on the Federal
Interagency Working Group on Environmental
Justice was provided to set the tone for col-
laboration and coordination. All agencies
expressed a willingness and desire to work
together to meet the needs of communities
with environmental justice issues.
' »>..
Chapter 4
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Federal, State, Tribal, and Local
Government Coordination
Region 8
Colorado Partnership
Although the number of children with elevat-
ed blood levels has continued to decrease, a
significant number of children are still
exposed to lead from paint and other sources.
Principal sources of lead exposure are house
dust contaminated by lead paint and soil con-
taminated by lead paint and decades of indus-
trial and motor vehicle emissions. Significant
health risks remain in pre-1978 housing, with
the greatest risks from pre-1950 housing (25.8
million existing units, as of FY 2000). Region 8,
in partnership with the Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment and local
agencies, has formed a workgroup to develop
an interagency strategic plan to meet the
Agency's challenge of eliminating childhood
lead poisoning by 2010. The Agency's national
goals are to eliminate lead paint hazards in
housing where children under six years of age
live and eliminate elevated blood lead
levels in children.
Region 9
California Environmental }ustice Program
Since 2001, EPA Region 9 and the California
Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA)
have partnered to develop the state's environ-
mental justice program. As a culmination of
several years of effort, on September 29-30,
2003, the Cal/EPA Advisory Committee on
Environmental Justice finalized its report on
environmental justice, which represents an
18-month public process, including 10
Advisory Committee meetings and five com-
munity workshops throughout the state. This
historic environmental justice meeting was
attended by nearly 300 participants represent-
ing communities from across the state and
drew more than 100 public testimonies. The
secretary of Cal/EPA, the director of the
Governors Office of Planning and Research, as
well as the California's Interagency Working
Group on Environmental Justice, signed a res-
olution to endorse the report as a framework
for the state environmental justice strategy.
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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
California Environmental Health Tracking
Advisory Committee
As a product of California Senate Bill 702,
the state of California established an
Environmental Health Tracking Program
(EHTN). The goal of the program is to develop
a comprehensive plan and a standards-based,
coordinated and integrated EHTN at the state
level that allows for linkage and reporting of
health effects and environmental hazards
data. A Region 9 representative has served as
a member of the Expert Working Group in
charge of developing recommendations to the
State Legislature on how to implement the
mandated statewide environmental health
monitoring system. The report submitted to
the State Legislature represents a collective
effort from a multi-stakeholder group, includ-
ing members of the community, academia,
public health officials, industry, and state and
local agencies.
Tribal
Headquarters
Tribal Science Council
EPA's Office of Research and Development
(ORD) sponsors the Agency's Tribal Science
Council (TSC), which was created in partner-
ship with tribal representatives. The TSC pro-
vides a forum for tribes and EPA to identify
priority science issues and collaboratively
design effective solutions. To date, the TSC has
sponsored the following three workshops:
Endocrine Disrupters (September 2002), Risk
Chapter 4
Assessment and Health and Well Being
(February 2003), and Health and Well Being
and Traditional Tribal Lifeways (May 2003).
Tribes have raised numerous issues that stem
from the need for tribal traditional lifeways
(ways tribes closely relate to the environment
in all aspects of their life) to be considered
when the Agency seeks to protect the envi-
ronment and public health. The health and
well being paradigm is a new approach for the
Agency that provides a tribal perspective of
the environment.
Tribal Pesticide Program Council
EPA's Office of Pesticides Programs (OPP)
sponsors the Agency's Tribal Pesticide Program
Council (TPPC) to obtain input and advice
from tribes on how to effectively work in
partnership with tribes to address tribal pesti-
cides and toxics issues of concern. In 2003,
OPP hosted two national meetings with the
TPCC to identify national and regional pesti-
cide issues that are specific to Indian country.
OPP also facilitated cooperative activities
between the state FIFRA Issues Research and
Evaluation Group and the TPCC to encourage
the development of common solutions for
mutual pesticide-related concerns among
states and tribes.
Forum on State and Tribal Toxics Action
In 2003, OPPT's Forum on State and Tribal
Toxics Action/Tribal Affairs Project provided
EPA with valuable program expertise from the
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Federal, State, Tribal, and Local
Government Coordination
tribal perspective. In 2003, three meetings of
the Tribal Affairs Project were held, which
resulted in identifying areas for tribal involve-
ment and inclusion in both pollution preven-
tion and risk assessment. Also, the meetings
served as a forum to discuss the options of
developing risk assessment models, incorpo-
rating information regarding chemical releases
on tribal lands that fall within the Toxic
Release Inventory (TRI).
Region 1
U.S.-Canada St. Croix River Watershed
Agreement
EPA's Office of International Activities (OIA)
provided $25,000 and brokered an EPA coop-
erative agreement effort in 2003 with the
Passamaquoddy Tribe to enhance the protec-
tion of the U.S.-Canada St. Croix River
Watershed. The cooperative agreement helps
the tribe engage U.S. and Canadian sectors to
address non-point water pollution control and
to improve science and information about
alewives (fish) in the watershed. This coopera-
tive agreement helps fulfill the spirit and
intent of the U.S.-Canada 1909 Boundary
Waters Treaty.
Region 6
Underground Injection Control Program on
Tribal Lands
The population on tribal lands is generally
tribal, rural, and disproportionately low-
income. As part of its environmental justice
goal of "assuring that all people receive the
full benefits of clean and sustainable commu-
nities," Region 6 is responsible for direct
implementation of the underground injection
control (UIC) program on tribal lands in the
region. The region provides financial assis-
tance to the Osage Nation of Oklahoma to
conduct its UIC program, which involves
inspecting injection wells, maintaining an
inventory of injection operations, conducting
enforcement of tribal requirements, and main-
taining a file of each injection well on the
Osage Mineral Reserve. In addition, the region
conducts inspections and enforcement of UIC
requirements on injection wells on 12 Indian
nations in Oklahoma and three in New Mexico.
During FY 2004, the Osage Nation conducted
more than 1,500 inspections of injection wells
on its lands. The region reviewed inspection
records provided by the Nation and deter-
mined appropriate enforcement. The region
also reviewed almost 2,300 operations reports
from injection well operators on tribal lands.
In addition, the region maintains a field office
on the Osage Mineral Reserve, which investi-
gated more than 25 complaints of oil field
pollution during the year and conducted more
than179 inspections of injection facilities. The
reviews of injection reports from the Osage
Nation, reviews of annual operations reports,
and inspections by Region 6 staff resulted in
the issuance of 40 administrative orders and
two administrative penalty complaints during
the fiscal year, as well as more than 465 infor-
mal notices of violation. As a result of this
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
effort, more than 95 percent of injection wells
on tribal lands in Region 6 are compliant with
UIC requirements.
Region 10
STORET National Database Training
Region 10 sponsored two STOrage and
RETrieval System (STORET) national database
training sessions for the Pacific Northwest
Tribes, one in April 2004 and the other in
October 2004. These training sessions provided
instruction on how to access and use STORET,
EPA's national environmental monitoring
database, to technical representatives from
nine tribes. Additionally, EPA's Office for
Environmental Management and Information
is supporting environmental justice geospatial
issues on reservations throughout the Pacific
Northwest with its intranet environmental jus-
tice mapping application, its Internet Sitelnfo
mapping application, and the development of
paper maps for regional programs.
Alaska Case Studies
Region 10's Alaska Operations Office (AOO)
helped develop and then participated in a ses-
sion at the 2004 Alaska Forum on the
Environment (AFE) entitled, "Environmental
Justice Implementation-Alaska Case Studies."
The session described projects in rural Alaska,
supported through state and federal environ-
mental justice efforts, and discussed the
advantages and limitations of implementing
environmental justice projects. The case stud-
ies included the Native Village of Selawik,
Chapter 4
which has been designated as an environmen-
tal justice Revitalization Community; the
Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association (APIA); the
Traditional Foods Program-Dietary Benefits
and Risks in Alaskan Villages; the Alaska
Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities-transportation projects and map-
ping effort; and the EPA environmental justice
collaborative problem-solving grants. More
than 80 participants attended
the session.
Fort Hall Business Council (Shoshone-
Bannock Tribes] MOU
Region 10 and the Fort Hall Business Council
(Shoshone-Bannock Tribes) have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for
consultation between the two parties. This
MOU establishes a framework and process for
fostering coordination and consultation on
environmental protection issues and outlines
the specific expectations and responsibilities
of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and Region
10 regarding consultation, including coordina-
tion, communication, information sharing, and
the decisionmaking process.
Tribal/State and EPA Agreements on
Coordination
In 2003, Region 10 signed an MOU with the
tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation and the
Idaho State Department of Environmental
Quality (IDEQ) to develop total maximum daily
loads on water bodies that lie within or adjoin
the Fort Hall Reservation. This was a first of its
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Federal, State, Tribal, and Local
Government Coordination
kind agreement between a state and tribe in
Region 10.
Federal Air Rules for Reservations
Promulgated
Now that the federal air rules for reservations
have been promulgated, Region 10 will be tak-
ing a major step toward filling the regulatory
gap that exists regarding implementation of
the Clean Air Act (CAA) on Indian Reservations
in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The tribal
communities on these reservations, as well as
on many other reservations, have been with-
out many of the air quality protections that
exist outside of reservations, where state reg-
ulations implement the CAA mandates.
Because the states have no authority within
the boundaries of reservations to implement
the CAA, it is the responsibility of the federal
government to implement this program until
tribes either establishes their own rules or are
authorized to implement the federal rules.
These new rules will regulate outdoor burning,
a major source of air pollutant on reserva-
tions, particularly in rural areas.
Nez Perce Tribe Participation in Clearwater
Airshed Intergovernmental Group
EPA is working with the Nez Perce Tribe and
the state of Idaho's departments of agriculture
and environmental quality, through a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to cooper-
atively implement a smoke management plan
within the Clearwater airshed. The Smoke
Management Plan seeks to prevent agricultur-
al burning, primarily blue grass, from adversely
impacting human health. The plan calls for the
use of meteorological and air monitoring data
to control the timing of the burns, so the
smoke can be directed away from major pop-
ulation centers. The Nez Perce Tribal Air Staff
have become integral players in this coopera-
tive effort.
Local
National Small Flows Clearinghouse -
Wastewater Treatment Solutions
The National Small Flows Clearinghouse
(NSFC) collects and distributes information to
rural communities and others about small
wastewater treatment solutions. Services
include a toll-free technical assistance hot-
line, an Internet-based discussion group,
computer databases, newsletters, and other
publications. EPA provided $7.6 million in
grant funding to support the activities of the
NSFC for FY 2001 through FY 2004. In FY
2003, NSFC activities included: 1) responding
to more than 13,000 technical assistance
calls, 2) distributing more than 72,000 prod-
ucts, 3) receiving 766,000 unique queries of
its Web site, reaching 1,386 subscribers for
the NSFC Listserv, 4) conducting numerous
community technical assistance field visits, 5)
adding 49 new products to NSFC offerings,
and 6) publishing two quarterly publications
reaching more than 50,000 subscribers.
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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Decentralized Septic Systems
Decentralized septic systems, often called sep-
tic onsite systems, are close to the source of
the wastewater they treat and typically use
small pipes for collecting domestic wastewater
from individual homes or businesses. They can
include large capacity septic systems, clusters
of systems, and small collection and treatment
systems. Decentralized systems serve 25 per-
cent of the U.S. population, are used in about
one-third of all new housing and commercial
developments, and are utilized in rural and
small communities.
During the past four years, EPA determined
that existing large capacity systems subject to
Class V well regulations under the
Underground Injection Control program are
adequate to protect drinking water. The
Agency published its Onsite Wastewater
Treatment Systems Manual and released the
Voluntary National Guidelines for
Management of Onsite and Clustered
Wastewater Treatment Systems. EPA also has
a Web site for the onsite/decentralized waste-
water systems, http://cfpub.epa.gov/owm/
septic/home.cfm, which provides information
on management, funding, technology, and
public outreach to assist small communities
when using or considering decentralized sys-
tems to manage their wastewater needs.
Operator Onsite Technical Assistance
Program
The Operator Onsite Technical Assistance
Program provides hands-on assistance to
small municipal wastewater treatment plant
operators to address compliance assistance,
maintenance, and performance improvement.
EPA provided $5.7 million in grant funding to
support this work from FY 2001 through FY
2004, assisting approximately 2,800 facilities
in small communities.
Wetlands Five Star Program
EPA, along with the National Association of
Counties, National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation, and Wildlife Habitat Council,
established the Five Star Restoration Program
as a mechanism to work with partners on
community-based wetlands restoration proj-
ects in watersheds across the United States.
As part of the larger program, the Five Star
Challenge Grants Program develops knowl-
edge and skills in young people through
restoration projects that involve multiple
partners, including local government agencies,
elected officials, community groups, business-
es, schools, youth organizations, and environ-
mental organizations. Its objective is to
engage five or more partners in each project
to contribute funding, land, technical assis-
tance, workforce support, or other in-kind
services that match the program's funding
assistance. Consideration for funding is based
on the project's educational and training
opportunities for students and at-risk youth,
Chapter 4
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Federal, State, Tribal, and Local
Government Coordination
the ecological benefits to be derived, and the
project's social and economic benefits to the
community. Because of this consideration,
the Five Star Program helps promote
environmental justice.
Region 6
Regional Health Awareness Board, Corpus
Cfiristi, Texas
At the request of an environmental justice
community-based organization, Citizens for
Environmental Justice, Region 6 played a key
role in the development of a citizens/local
government/industry advisory board in Corpus
Christi, Texas. The Regional Health Awareness
Board (RHAB), provides a forum for identifying
and addressing citizens' environmental and
public health concerns in the Corpus Christi
area. Through this process, citizens are able to
engage in dialogue with regulators and indus-
try to work to address concerns.
Chapter 4
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Chapter 5: Grants and Contracts
EPA has created several financial
assistance programs to support and build the
capacity of community-based grassroots
organizations. The Agency recognizes the criti-
cal role that these types of organizations play
in addressing the environmental and public
health concerns in their communities. By pro-
viding grants and other financial assistance,
EPA can help support these organizations'
activities, such as actively participating in gov-
ernmental decisionmaking processes, leading
local environmental projects and activities,
and participating in local collaborative
problem-solving efforts with other interested
stakeholders.
Effective and efficient management of all
grants and contracts is also an important ele-
ment for success. Because some community-
based grassroots organizations are either new
to, or have limited understanding of, the fed-
eral grants application and management
processes, EPA offers training on these
processes, such as how to effectively develop
grant applications and manage the awarded
grants and cooperative agreements. This chap-
ter discusses some of the specific financial
assistance programs available from EPA and
other types of broad support.
General
Headquarters
Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative
Agreement Grants Program
In 2003, EPA's Office of Environmental Justice
initiated the Environmental Justice
Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS)
Cooperative Agreement Program. The purpose
of the program is to provide financial assis-
tance to affected community-based organiza-
tions that want to find viable solutions for
environmental and/or public health concerns.
Specifically, the program supposes those that
want to engage in constructive and collabora-
tive problem solving by utilizing tools devel-
oped by EPA and others. The Office of
Environmental Justice, in coordination with
the Federal Interagency Working Group on
Environmental Justice (IWG), developed an
Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-
Solving Model, upon which the CPS Program
is based. The following are the seven elements
to the Model: 1) issue identification, commu-
nity vision and strategic goal setting, 2) com-
munity capacity building, 3) consensus
building and dispute resolution, 4) multi-
stakeholder partnerships and resource mobi-
lization, 5) supportive and facilitative role of
government, 6) management and implemen-
tation, and 7) evaluation, lessons learned, and
replication of best practices. For FY 2004, EPA
awarded 30 CPS cooperative agreements, in
the amount of $100,000 each, for up to a
three-year period. A description of each proj-
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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
ect can be found at: .
Indian Environmental General Assistance
Program
The EPA Indian Environmental General
Assistance Program (GAP) is administered by
the American Indian Environmental Office and
delegated to the regional offices. This program
provides financial assistance to federally rec-
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Grants and Contracts
ognized tribes and inter-tribal consortia to
build capacity to administer environmental
regulatory programs in Indian country. In
addition, it provides technical assistance from
EPA to develop multimedia programs to
address environmental issues in Indian coun-
try. GAP offers tribes the opportunity to devel-
op an integrated environmental program,
develop the capability to manage specific pro-
grams, and establish a core program for
environmental protection. The financial assis-
tance agreements provide the opportunity
to define and develop administrative and legal
infrastructures and conduct assessments and
planning.
Grants Writing/
Management Training
Region 6
Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative
Agreement Training
In August 2003, Region 6 held a community-
based grassroots organization training on the
environmental justice Collaborative Problem-
Solving Cooperative Agreement program.
Several environmental justice community rep-
resentatives came to Region 6 for the training
and several attended via conference call.
Grants Writing Workshop
On May 22, 2004, Region 6-in collaboration
with the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the U.S. Department of
Education, and Vietnamese community leaders
in the local area-provided a grant writing
workshop to the Asian-American community
in Dallas, Texas. Participants learned how to
apply for EPA's environmental justice small
grants, which provide funds to non-profit and
community-based organizations for activities
that address environmental justice issues in
minority and low-income communities.
Region 7
Grants Workshop
Recognizing the national emphasis on effec-
tive grants management, Region 7 sponsored
the first region-wide small grants workshop in
Kansas City, Kansas, in October 2003. The
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
workshop included overviews of several EPA
grant programs, such as the Brownfields
Environmental Education Grants and
Environmental Justice Small Grants programs.
This two-day workshop provided information
on the application process, grant eligibility,
selection and award processes, pre-award
process, post-award respon-
sibilities of grant recipients,
and funding opportunities,
in an effort to provide
regional stakeholders a
comprehensive look at
financial assistance oppor-
tunities. In addition, award
recipients could work
directly with project officers
and grants specialists. The workshop also
reviewed the rules and requirements regarding
financial management and procurement
guidelines, provided information regarding
measurement of tangible environmental bene-
fit, and allowed project officers the opportuni-
ty to engage in post-award monitoring.
Approximately 70 stakeholders attended the
workshop.
Region 8
Targeting Tribes and Tribal Organizations
Each year, Region 8 provides environmental
justice grants training to community-based
grassroots organizations at various locations
throughout the region. During FY 2004, the
region decided to focus on tribes, due to a sig-
nificant decline in tribal applications for envi-
Chapter 5
ronmental justice grants. The first of these
trainings was held on the Spirit Lake Tribal
Reservation in Fort Totten, North Dakota, and
the second was held on the Cheyenne River
Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.
Air-Related
Headquarters
Vehicle Anti-Idling Program
In FY 2003, the Office of Air and Radiation
(OAR) established a program to reduce air pol-
lution and conserve fuel from idling trucks
and locomotives. As part of this program, the
Office of Transportation and Air Quality con-
tinues to organize regional coalitions of com-
munities, state and local governments, and
trucking and truck stop companies to install
idle reduction systems along major interstate
corridors. The major criteria for selecting and
identifying locations include the proximity of
minority and low-income areas heavily
impacted by these facilities. To date, two loca-
tions-a truck stop in Gary, Indiana, and a
locomotive switch yard-have received a com-
bined grant of $185,000 for anti-idling device
installation. Additional federal transportation
funding has also been secured. OAR plans to
develop case studies for both projects.
Radon Testing and Mitigation
In 2003, the Office of Radiation and Indoor
Air made more than $800,000 available in
matching grant funds to tribal nations
through the State Indoor Radon Grant pro-
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Grants and Contracts
gram to support radiation testing and mitiga-
tion and the development of radon-resistant
construction material.
Water-Related
Headquarters
Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program
All 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, operate
loan programs that provide low-interest
financing for wastewater treatment and other
water quality projects. By offering financial
assistance to small and rural communities,
these programs provide affordable financing
for municipal wastewater infrastructure
improvements needed to achieve water quality
standards and to protect public health. In
addition to financing infrastructure needs, the
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) pro-
vides assistance to small communities, individ-
ual homeowners, and farmers to control
runoff from failing decentralized systems and
to implement agricultural best management
practices. For FY 2001 through FY 2004, com-
munities with populations less than 10,000
received more than $3.5 billion in low-cost
financial assistance.
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loans
In FY 2003, 71 percent of the loans made in
the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund were
provided to small systems. EPA's Office of
Water's (OW's) goal is to provide 75 percent of
these funds to small systems by 2005. OW
expects to achieve this goal and increase the
cumulative percentage by providing loans to
systems serving small communities.
Tribal Funds Distributed
Approximately $6 million was set aside from
the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS)
State Grant Program to support tribal PWSS
programs. Specifically, funds were distributed
to the Navajo Nation to support its primacy
program; the Standing Rock Sioux for a Direct
Implementation Tribal Cooperative Agreement;
the Region 10 Alaska Native Village program;
and the EPA regional offices. Priorities for
funding included operator certification, capac-
ity development, and source water protection.
In addition, approximately $13 million was
distributed among the regions from the
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund tribal
set-aside. The regions distributed the funds to
tribes for infrastructure improvement projects
and capacity development. A few projects
funded included the development of a geo-
graphic information system (GIS), circuit riders
for tribal systems, infrastructure replacement,
and assistance with developing source water
assessment and protection plans.
Clean Water Act Tribal Grants Program
Section 106 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) pro-
vides funds for tribes, states, and interstate
agencies to develop and implement water qual-
ity management programs, including water
monitoring and assessments, development of
water quality standards, permit issuance, devel-
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
opment and implementation of Total Maximum
Daily Loads, compliance and enforcement,
groundwater and wetland protection, and non-
point source control activities. Currently, 229
tribes are eligible for grants under Section 106
and have received at least one grant. Through
FY 2003, 116 tribes are conducting water quali-
ty monitoring activities, 120 tribes have
approved Quality Assurance Project Plans, 23
tribes have EPA-approved water quality stan-
dards, 90 tribes have adopted tribal water qual-
ity standards, and eight tribes have voluntarily
submitted Section 305(b) reports.
Other
Headquarters
Health Effects of Environmental
Contaminants on Tribal Populations Grants
EPA-in cooperation with the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Service's Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry-awarded $2.2
million in grants to establish research partner-
ships to study the health effects of contami-
nants in the environment on tribal populations.
Tribes can be at especially high risk for environ-
mentally caused diseases because of their sub-
sistence lifestyles (e.g., hunting, fishing), their
occupations and customs (e.g., medicine, cere-
monies), and/or environmental releases impact-
ing tribal lands. Tribal-academic partnerships
will focus on subsistence issues related to mer-
cury, PCBs, pesticides, and other chemicals, pro-
ducing management strategies leading to a
reduction in risk from exposure to these and
Chapter 5
other chemicals. The projects are funded
through EPA's Office of Research and
Development's Science To Achieve Results
(STAR) competitive grants program.
Exchange Network Grant Program
In FY 2003 and FY 2004, the Exchange
Network Grant Program provided 37 grants to
tribes and five grants to U.S. territories to sup-
port and establish the capability to share envi-
ronmental information. The funding helps
tribes and territories develop the information
management/technology capabilities needed
to connect to the Exchange Network and elec-
tronically submit or receive environmental
information that they can use to protect and
enhance human health and the natural envi-
ronment within their communities.
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Chapter 6: Environmental Justice
Assessments
Environmental justice assessments
are an important component of the Agency's
environmental justice program, by serving as a
primary tool for the integration of environ-
mental justice. These assessments are used to
evaluate environmental justice indicators (i.e.,
environment, health, social, and economic)
within affected communities to ensure they
are included in the environmental decision-
making processes. Environmental justice
assessments are conducted in a variety of
ways, depending on the environmental and
public health issues being addressed. This
chapter discusses some of the tools EPA uses
to conduct environmental justice assessments
and provides examples of some of the assess-
ments that have been conducted.
General
Headquarters
Environmental justice Geographic
Assessment Tool
EPA's EnviroMapper provides public access to
a wealth of environmental information
through the Internet. Not only is this tool
used to map various types of environmental
information-including air releases, drinking
water, toxic releases, hazardous wastes, water
discharge permits, and Superfund sites-but it
also includes an environmental justice
Geographic Assessment Tool. This effort is lead
jointly by EPA's Office of Environmental
Information (OEI) and the Office of
Environmental Justice. EPA staff and the pub-
lic can use this tool to conduct an environ-
mental justice assessment. Factors relevant to
an environmental justice assessment generally
fall into four sets of indicators: environmental,
health, social, and economic. The conditions
these indicators seek to illuminate include, but
are not limited to: adverse health or environ-
mental impacts, aggregate or cumulative
impacts, unique exposure pathways, vulnera-
ble or susceptible populations, or lack of
capacity to participate in decisionmaking
processes. The tool takes inputs about these
indicators and provides the information nec-
essary to conduct a comprehensive prelimi-
nary analysis of any area of concern.
In March 2003, the Agency deployed an
Intranet version of the tool, and in August
2003, the Internet version became available to
the public. In 2004, OEI enhanced the tool by
adding the following reporting capabilities:
Ability to Speak English Report, National Air
Toxics Assessment (NATA) Cumulative Risk
Report, Percent of Population Who Speak
English Less Than Well map layer, Link to NATA
mapping pages, Homeowners vs. Renters
Report, Male/Female Ratio Report,
Ethnic/National Origin Report, Urban vs. Rural
Population Report, and Urban Area map layer.
Chapter 6
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
A Framework for Integrating Psycfiosocial and
Environmental Concepts
EPA's Office of Policy, Economics, and
Innovations (OPEI) presents a multidisciplinary
framework that integrates many of the ideas
being discussed and debated about environ-
mental effects on low-income, minority, and
indigenous populations. Although many peo-
ple acknowledge that social and environmen-
tal factors interact to produce racial and
ethnic environmental health disparities, how
this occurs is still unclear. The environmental
justice movement has provided some insight
by suggesting that disadvantaged communi-
ties face greater likelihood of exposure to
ambient hazards. The "exposure disease para-
digm" has long suggested that differential
vulnerability might modify the effects of tox-
ins on biological systems; however, relatively
little research has been conducted to specify
whether racial and ethnic minorities have
greater vulnerability than majority populations
and what those vulnerabilities might be (e.g.,
psychosocial stress). OPEI contends that resi-
dential segregation leads to differential expe-
riences of community stress, exposure to
pollutants, and access to community
resources. When not counterbalanced by
resources, stressors may lead to heightened
vulnerability to environmental hazards.
Region 1
New Desktop Environmental justice Mapping
Tool
In May 2003, Region 1 launched its new
Environmental Justice Mapping Tool, a com-
puter mapping application available to all
regional employees at their desktop. The tool
is designed to enhance the quality of EPA
Region 1's work by identifying and analyzing
potential environmental justice issues and
providing easy access to consistent and reli-
able environmental justice-related data. By
having demographic data readily available to
help characterize communities throughout
Region 1, EPA staff and management can bet-
ter ensure that the principles of environmen-
tal justice, such as fairness and meaningful
involvement, are incorporated into the
region's everyday work. The Environmental
Justice Mapping Tool provides a visual repre-
sentation of areas in Region 1 where signifi-
cant numbers of minority and low-income
populations live. It also uses race and income
thresholds to identify potential environmental
justice areas of concern, since race and
income are widely recognized as strong indi-
cators of populations that might bear elevated
environmental burdens.
Evironmental justice Guidance for Staff
The EPA New England Environmental Justice
Functional Guidance Compendium was final-
ized n February 2004 and is accessible on the
Intranet to all regional employees. The corn-
Chapter 6
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Environmental Justice Assessments
pendium provides function-specific guidance
for regional staff on how to integrate envi-
ronmental justice principles, including fair
treatment, meaningful involvement and public
health protection, into day-to-day activities.
During the environmental justice awareness
training that all Region 1 staff participated in
over the last two years, many individuals
requested more specific information on how
to incorporate these principles into their work.
The compendium includes several tools
designed to help identify when core work has
environmental justice implications, as well as
how to advance environmental justice princi-
ples through core work. The guidance is for all
staff, including permit writers, contracting or
project officers, inspectors, lawyers, communi-
cation coordinators, engineers or scientists,
and facility managers.
Region 2
Hudson River PCBs Superfund Project
In October 2003, Region 2 performed an envi-
ronmental justice analysis, titled "EPA, Region
2 - Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site-
Dewatering Facility Location: A Comparative
Environmental Justice Analysis in Support of
Project Site Locations." The document was
shared with the environmental planning con-
sultants, working on behalf of the U.S. Army
Corp of Engineers (USAGE), to investigate
whether potential environmental justice con-
cerns existed in areas/communities involving
the final candidate sites (ECS) for the project.
In the analysis, EPA evaluated seven FCSs to
determine whether the construction and oper-
ation of a sediment processing/transfer facility
could result in disproportionately high adverse
human health or environmental effects on
minority and/or low-income populations. The
results from the Comparative Environmental
Justice Analysis, followed by discussions
among Region 2 and the USAGE consultants,
has led to the formation of an environmental
justice section to be incorporated in the
Agency's Preliminary Draft Hudson River PCBs
Superfund Site Facility Siting Report in April
2004. The full report may be accessed at:
.
Region 3
William Reservoir
Region 3 reviewed a February 2004 draft of
"Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Among
the United States Army Corps of Engineers,
the Virginia Department of Historic Resources,
and the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation for Treatment of Adverse Effect
to Historic Properties Affected by the
Construction and Development of the King
William Reservoir, York County, Virginia." The
region provided general comments on the
MOA to facilitate the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 process
and assist the North Atlantic Division of the
Army Corps of Engineers in compliance with
Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to
Address Environmental Justice in Minority
Chapter 6
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Populations and Low-Income Populations."
The region's comments reflected EPA's goal
that environmental justice remain a guiding
principle of the Section 106 process, and that
the MOA finalization include meaningful con-
sultation with the Native American tribes.
Region 6
Underground Storage Tank Environmental
Justice Determinations In 2004, EPA's
Underground Storage Tank (UST) program
began a project to determine which UST facili-
ties are located in communities with environ-
mental justice concerns. To complete this task,
Region 6 provided the address of each facility
to a contractor for rating in three categories
(population, income, and minorities). With this
information, the region determined that the
UST program would use a half-mile radius as
the area to review, rather than the four-mile
radius. Also, the region determined that if
location received a certain level of rating, it
would be considered to be located in a com-
munity with environmental justice issues.
Region 7
Environmental Justice Assessment in Area of
Clean Water Act Violations
On February 19, 2003, the Sierra Club issued a
notice of intent to sue the Department of
Energy (DOE) and Honeywell Manufacturing
and Technologies, LLC for violations of the
Clean Water Act (CWA). The notice cited that
the facility was discharging toxic waste into a
Chapter 6
recreational stream that flows through low
income communities of color. Both Region 7
and the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources were called upon to address the
issues presented in the notice. Region 7 com-
pleted an environmental justice assessment
report detailing the community surrounding
the DOE plant and the potential for environ-
mental justice concerns to arise. The region
determined that: 1) public access is a high
indicator for exposure potential, 2) regular
recreational and/or subsistence fishing, swim-
ming, and/or wading in
Indian Creek is an indica-
tor for exposure potential,
and 3) children, with high-
er risk to exposure and
greater access to Indian
Creek, live within a three-
mile radius of influence,
near a DOE discharge outfall. Region 7 also
outlined recommendations for actions that
could be taken to ensure fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of the public, with
emphasis in the areas of decisionmaking, pub-
lic communication, and outreach.
Environmental }ustice Assessment in Area of
Proposed Power Plants
In January 2004, internal and external stake-
holders requested that Region 7 assess the
potential environmental justice concerns sur-
rounding the proposed siting of two coal-fired
power plants in Weston, Missouri, and
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Environmental Justice Assessments
Atchison, Kansas, along the Missouri River. As
a component of the environmental justice
assessment process, a community site tour
was held to enable interested stakeholders the
opportunity to engage in open dialogue with
each other, listen to the issues from a com-
munity-led perspective, and make observa-
tions regarding potential environmental
justice and other environmental and human
health concerns. Nineteen federal, state and
community representatives attended the
meeting and site tour. During the meeting, the
federal and state agency representatives inter-
acted with community members and
answered questions regarding the respective
agencies' ability to address the community's
concerns using the available statutory author-
ities. Region 7 conducted an environmental
justice assessment for the areas surrounding
the proposed facilities. Although the assess-
ment did not indicate that a disproportionate
negative environmental burden on the com-
munity existed, the proposal of two additional
coal-fired power plants, with the presence of
environmental and/or human health impacts,
might introduce an increased risk or harm
that might be shouldered by surrounding pop-
ulations. EPA staff are continuing to monitor
this issue as it develops.
Region 10
Environmental Justice Maps
By linking environmental justice data with
National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) data,
Region 10 created a series of maps showing
how environmental justice areas are being
affected by air toxics. Available in print and
Web format, as well as in EPA's Rapid Access
Information System (RAINS), these maps will
be used to evaluate the level at which envi-
ronmental justice areas are being affected by,
or exposed to, various air toxics, so EPA can
develop ways to improve the air quality for
minority and low-income areas. While these
maps are not at a fine-enough scale to allow
for detailed decisionmaking, they can serve as
a tool for discussion at a region-wide level
about the risks to environmental justice areas.
Maps were designed for the Region 10 states
of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, and
can be viewed together or by individual states.
The maps are broken down into two main cat-
egories: environmental justice data with can-
cer risk NATA data, and environmental justice
data with non-cancer risk NATA data.
Chapter 6
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
International
Environmental Policy Assessments
The Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) is a forum for mem-
ber governments to address common problems,
encourage cooperation on new approaches to
environmental policy, and promote integration
of environmental and economic policies. As a
followup to the 2004 OECD Ministerial meeting,
two papers are being prepared that explore
implications of environmental injustice: 1)
Costs of Inaction: What would be the impact
on the environment (and people) if
Environment Ministers did not act affirmatively
towards environmental challenges? and 2)
Partnerships: What are the opportunities and/or
challenges associated with establishing part-
nerships (e.g. how are they defined, who do
they benefit, what are the costs, what are the
benefits?). Another paper has also been pre-
pared called Environment and Distributional
Issues: Analysis, Evidence and Policy
Implications to address key concerns about the
impact of income on the environment and on
civil society.
Solid and Hazardous
Waste
Environmental justice Summary
EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response (OSWER), with assistance from EPA's
Office of Environmental Information, prepared
a government Performance Review Act (GPRA)
Chapter 6
Environmental Justice Summary Report. This
report serves as a screening tool to compare
the rate of GPRA progress made by the
regions near Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA)-permitted and corrective
action facilities in potential at-risk communi-
ties with the rate of progress in non-at-risk
communities. The complete assessment of the
RCRA permitted and corrective action facilities
was completed in June 2004. The purpose of
this project is to provide a demographic
analysis of the Agency's GPRA progress.
Host Community Compensation for Municipal
Solid Waste Landfills
In exchange for permission to construct,
expand, or operate a landfill, more and more
landfill developers are providing payments to
communities. The value of these "host fees"
varies widely, yet the factors that influence
them are unexplored. OPEI constructed a
unique data set of host fees paid by the 104
largest privately owned solid waste landfills in
1996. OPEI found that resident participation in
host fee negotiations, experience hosting a
landfill, state mandates for minimum host
compensation, and firms with greater
resources all lead to greater host compensa-
tion. OPEI found limited evidence that a com-
munity's race and income level, and the
negative externalities associated with a land-
fill, are important in negotiating host fees.
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Environmental Justice Assessments
Enforcement and
Compliance
Headquarters
Environmental Justice in Environmental
Impact Statements
In FY 2003, the Office of Federal Activities
(OFA) tracked 28 draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) comments and 13 final EIS
comments that identified environmental jus-
tice concerns. This resulted in a 53.6 percent
success rate in resolving environmental justice
concerns. In FY 2004, OFA tracked 23 pairs of
draft and final EIS comments that identified
environmental justice concerns, resulting in an
87 percent success rate in resolutions.
Region 6
Environmental justice Evaluations and
Compliance Reporting
Environmental justice determinations are
included in reporting of enforcement and
compliance activities for each regulated site
location in Region 6. Environmental justice
data are derived from the region's
Environmental Justice Index Methodology
screening protocol. The process results in a
better understanding of the characteristics of
environmental justice issues in communities.
Demographic and Environmental justice
Analyses of Mining Operations
Using a Geographic Information System
methodology system developed by Region 6,
mining operations are being evaluated
throughout the United States. The significance
of this methodology is that it routinely evalu-
ates each site for environmental justice con-
cerns. Each site (currently more than 200) will
be ranked not only in terms of water impacts,
air releases of chemicals, impacts upon the
landscape, and status of environ mental com-
pliance for each facility, but also in terms of
environmental justice issues. This project is
the first time the GIS methodology has been
applied to locations throughout the nation.
Including Environmental justice in
Enforcement Inspections
In FY 2004, Region 6's Emergency Planning
Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) pro-
gram committed to ensuring that at least 10
percent of its facility inspections would occur
in low-income and minority communities. To
ensure that the region would meet its goal,
each targeted inspection was analyzed for its
"Environmental Justice Index," utilizing demo-
graphic information within a 2-mile and 4-
mile radius of the targeted inspection site. Of
the 23 EPCRA inspections that were conduct-
ed, 12 of those inspections fell within areas
that were classified as minority, low-income,
or a combination of both, resulting in 52 per-
cent of the inspections occurring in environ-
mental justice-classified areas.
Supetfund Site Environmental justice
Assessment
On, January 20, 2004, a resident contacted
Region 8 with concerns about the Silver Bow
Chapter 6
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site, located in
Butte, Montana. Specifically, the resident ref-
erenced the EPA Montana Office's Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS), stating
that the plan will "exacerbate the disparate,
adverse treatment and the environmental bur-
den of low-income citizens who live in the
Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit" and that
"no accommodation for eliciting the views of
low-income citizens in the area has been
incorporated into the Revised Community
Involvement Plan for Butte Priority Soils
Operable Unit." After conducting an evaluation
and assessment of the site, the region's
Environmental Justice Program concluded that
the Superfund Program had incorporated
environmental justice principles into its daily
activities at the Silver Bow Creek Superfund
site. This work has been accomplished in a fair
manner, with the meaningful involvement of
all people, and has served the people of Butte
and Walkerville by reducing significant risks to
human health and the environment.
Chapter 6
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Appendix A:
Environmental Justice Coordinators
Headquarters Contacts-.
The address for all Headquarters contacts is:
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20460.
Use this address and the Mail Code (MC) below for each office.
Office of Administration & Resources Management - MC-3102-A
Susan Kantrowitz 202-564-4317 F: 202-564-1887
Office of Air and Radiation - MC-6101-A
Wil Wilson 202-564-1954 F: 202-564-1549
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance - MC-2201-A
Reiniero (Rey) Rivera 202-564-1491 F: 202-501-0701
Office of Environmental Information - MC-2812-A
Lorena Romero-cedeno 202-566-0978 F: 202-566-0977
Office of Environmental Justice - MC 2201A
Nicholas Targ 202-564-2406 F: 202-501-0740
Maria Hendriksson 202-564-1897 F: 202-501-0740
Office of General Counsel - MC-2322-A
TonyGuadagno 202-564-5537 F: 202-564-5541
Office of International Activities - MC-2610R
Wendy Graham 202-564-6602 F: 202-565-2411
Office of Policy, Economics & Innovation - MC-1807T
Daria Willis 202-566-2217 F: 202-566-2220
Lisa Ashley Jones 202-564-6198 F: 202-564-0965
Office of Prevention, Pesticides & Toxic Substances - MC-7101M
Elaine Lyon-Johnson 202-564-0547 F: 202-564-0550
Appendix A
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Environmental ]ustice Biennial Report
Office of Research and Development - MC-8103R
Jason Edwards 202-564-5568 F: 202-565-2925
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response - MC-5101T
Kent Benjamin 202-566-0185 F: 202-566-0202
Office of Water - MC-4102T
Alice Walker 202-529-7534 F: 202-269-3597
American Indian Environmental Office - MC-4104
Bob Smith 202-564-0278 F: 202-564-0298
Office of Civil Rights - MO 1201-A
Mike Mattheisen 202-564-7291 F: 202-501-1836
Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Relations - MC-1301-A
Josh Lewis 202-564-2095 F: 202-501-1544
Office of Public Affairs - MC-1702-A
Doretta Reaves 202-564-7829 F: 202-501-1773
Regional Contacts-.
USEPA, Region 1
Lois Adams 617-918-1591 F: 617-918-1029
One Congress Street, 11th Floor
Boston, MA 02203-0001
USEPA, Region 2
Terry Wesley 212-637-5027 F: 212-637-4943
290 Broadway, Room 2637
New York, NY 10007
USEPA, Region 3
Reginald Harris 215-814-2988 F: 215-814-2905
1650 Arch St. (MC-3ECOO)
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Appendix A
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Appendix A:
Environmental Justice Coordinators
USEPA, Region 4
Cynthia Peurifoy
61 Forsyth Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
USEPA, Region 5
Karla Owens
77 West Jackson Blvd., T-16J
Chicago, IL 60604-3507
USEPA, Region 6
Olivia Balandran
Fountain Place, 12th Floor
1445 RossAve., (RA-D)
Dallas, TX 75202-2733
USEPA, Region 7
Althea Moses
901 North 5tth Street (ECORA)
Kansas City, KS 66101
USEPA, Region 8
Art Palomares
999 18th Street, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80202-2405
USEPA, Region 9
Lily Lee
75 Hawthorne Street (CMD-1)
San Francisco, CA 94105
404-562-9649 F: 404-562-9664
312-886-5993 F:312-886-2737
214-665-7401 F:214-665-6648
913-551-7649 F: 913-551-9649
303-312-6053 F:303-312-6191
415-972-3795 F:415-947-8026
USEPA, Region 10
Running Grass 206-553-2899 F: 206-553-7176
1200 Sixth Avenue (CRE-164)
Seattle, WA 98101
Appendix A
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&EFA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
(163)
Washington, DC 20460
www. e pa. gov/co m p I i an ce/
Official Business
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