v>EPA Case Study: Developing a Community Action
Roadmap to Engage in Port of
Wilmington Expansion
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA--420-F--22-010
May 2022
Project Synopsis
When the Port of Wilmington, Delaware announced its intentions to open a new, muiti-use
containerized cargo facility, leaders from the adjacent community began organizing to
ensure their neighborhoods' concerns and voices would be taken into consideration during
the expansion. They established the Delaware Community Benefits Agreement Coalition (the
"Coalition") to engage stakeholders at the Port on how to best secure local environmental
protections and deliver local economic benefits.
To help the Coalition identify
its priorities and develop a
roadmap for action, the U.S.
Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
provided technical assistance
and worked with contracted
facilitators with cultural
competency and experience
working in communities
with environmental justice
concerns. Over the course
of three months and through
six virtual training sessions
in 2021, the Coalition used
the EPA Ports Initiative's
Community Action Roadmap
tool to help empower and
organize locai residents.
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For more information about the EPA Ports Initiative, please visit www.epa.gov/ports-initiative
or email talkaboutports@epa.qov.

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A CASE STUDY OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE
Near-Port Community Fears Environmental and Economic Fallout
For generations, the Wilmington-
area communities of Edgemoor
and Southbridge have been
neighbors to the Port of
Wilmington and the Route 9 truck
corridor (see map above). The full-
service deepwater port handles
more than 400 vessels that carry
over 6 million tons of cargo each
year and is serviced by hundreds of
heavy-duty diesel trucks each day.
While the Port has brought economic growth to the state, the surrounding communities expressed
concern that port activity has harmed fisheries, limited recreational use along the shoreline,
and contributed to noise, air, and water pollution. Near-port residents are concerned about the
cumulative effects of these outcomes on their health and economic wellbeing.
Comprising residents, civil rights organizations, labor organizations, community-based
organizations, faith-based organizations, small businesses, civic associations, and environmental
groups, the Coalition formed to ensure that developers and new businesses at the Port and
beyond honor local neighborhoods and deliver compensatory benefits to the community in which
they operate.
The Coalition participated in the public comment period for the Port's expansion permit, submitted
letters of opposition, and ultimately contacted EPA to learn about additional resources it could
access on behalf of the community.
EPA Roadmap Tools Lead to Further Action
In early 2021, EPA provided technical assistance to the Coalition
and worked with contracted facilitators to help the group create
a tailored, practical, and actionable roadmap to engage with Port
representatives and voice concerns.
Using the EPA Ports Initiative's Community Action Roadmar. tool, a
step-by-step guide to help near-port communities engage in port
decision-making, the EPA team facilitated six virtual sessions to
help the Coalition organize its efforts, expand its network, and
amplify community voices when speaking with the port stakeholders.
Each session focused on a distinct step of building a roadmap, with
the first session centering on prioritizing goals and concerns. The
Coalition identified four goals to guide the roadmap process:
¦ Secure with the Port a binding community benefits agreement (CBA), developed in
partnership with the Coalition and its impacted community residents.
2
The Coalition members and the EPA facilitation team met regularly on Zoom to
create the Coalition's community action roadmap.
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A CASE STUDY OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE
¦	Win protections from potential health and
environmental dangers—as well as safeguards against
the displacement of residents due to port-related
land use issues—before the Port's expansion permit is
approved.
¦	Establish an inclusive port development/planning
process.
¦	Organize additional public hearings on the Port's
expansion.
The group also developed a list of concerns, including job
opportunities, displacement, cumulative health impacts,
and truck congestion and pollution.
During the second session, the Coalition took stock
of the skills, knowledge, resources, and contacts that
each member in the group possessed. Collectively, the
group had extensive expertise in writing and speaking,
education and outreach, community building, and
technical areas. Knowledge and resource gaps included
data and research, funding, capacity, and knowledge of
the Port's internal workings.
The third session focused on building relationships. The Coalition brainstormed like-minded
organizations, elected officials, and other individuals that might support the group's mission and
ultimately join the coalition. Each group member also practiced an "elevator pitch"—succinctly
stating the Coalition's mission and goals—that they could use when explaining their work.
In the fourth session, the Coalition began creating a plan of action by identifying concrete tasks,
assigning task leads, designating a timeframe for completion, and brainstorming implementation
strategies. Ultimately, the Coalition determined that creating a legally binding CBA was its highest-
priority action item.
To further develop the CBA, the fifth session focused on solidifying the agreement's components.
Using a checklist format, the facilitation team led the Coalition in identifying specific requests
for jobs and the workforce, community services and amenities, anti-displacement and housing
strategies, health impacts, environmental impacts, and data collection.
During the final session, the facilitation team helped the Coalition compile and review all the activities
they had completed so far and invited representatives from Southwest Detroit Environmental
Vision to share their experiences working on similar collaborative work with industry and community
stakeholders in Detroit. By the end of the process, the Coalition had a comprehensive set of action
items and next steps, a digital toolkit of all the resources and materials from the sessions, and
positive momentum to develop a planning document and implement its recommendations.
3
The Six Steps of the EPA
Ports Initiative Community
Action Roadmap

Step 1. Prioritize goals
and concerns
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Step 2. Identify levers for
change
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Step 3. Build relationships

Step 4. Develop an action
plan
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Step 5. Make your case

Step 6. Build momentum

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A CASE STUDY OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE
Lessons Learned
The following key lessons learned from the Coalition's
planning sessions could be helpful in other near-port
community planning efforts:
1.	Creating actionable roadmaps is key to keeping groups
organized and on track.
2.	Information sharing among community groups in different
parts of the country can be very useful.
3.	In-person meetings are preferred.
4.	Culturally competent facilitators help establish trust
with historically under-resourced communities with
environmental justice concerns.
Representatives from
Southwest Detroit
Environmental Vision
(SDEV) joined a
Coalition planning session
to share their experience in
trying to create a CBA and
voicing concerns about a new
infrastructure project. The
Coalition and SDEV shared
perspectives, challenges,
and lessons in a peer-to-peer
exchange that participants
described as one of the most
valuable elements of the
entire process.
Online resources, including digital "toolkits" (funding
information, analytical tools, etc.) that community organizations can access long after training
workshops end, can help maintain momentum and build capacity.
Continuing the Momentum
Since the training was completed, the Coalition has met
with the Port operator, continued its work in education
and community building, and has engaged in a dialogue
with the State of Delaware to address ongoing issues of
concern to near-port communities.
Additional case studies and other EPA resources to
support collaboration between ports and communities to
advance environmental justice
can be found on EPA's Ports Initiative website:
www.epa.qov/communitv-port-collaboration.

Community-Port Collaboration
For more information about the EPA Ports Initiative, please visit www.epa.gov/ports-initiative
or email talkaboutports@epa.gov.

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