EPA in the Pacific Southwest Environmental Justice Update Newsletter Fall 2015


Fall 2015

LDA in the Pacific
I—I / \	Southwest

Environmental Justice Update

Welcome to the fall edition of EPA Region 9's Environmental Justice Update.

Find information about grant opportunities and EJ-relevant resources and, learn
about EPA's progress in meeting selected commitments we made in our EJ
Action Plan for 2015. In this issue we highlight the work of our Superfund Division
and the Agency for Toxic Disease Registry on the Navajo Nation. There are also
many upcoming events and webinars we hope you'll find of interest. On a
national note, the many comments on EPA's Draft EJ2020 Framework are now
available online.

Environmental Justice Action Plan Progress

Highlight

URANIUM AWARENESS
TRAINING COURSE
EMPOWERS OVER 90
NAVAJO COMMUNITY
HEALTH

REPRESENTATIVES

Abandoned uranium mines can expose Navajo Nation community members to
contaminated soil, rock, and water. To protect their health, community members
must learn the location of mines and contaminated water sources and ways to
prevent exposure.

An interagency team developed posters featuring nine different maps showing

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mines and contaminated water sources and providing exposure prevention and
health information. Team members Jamie Rayman, Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Secody Hubbard, US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), and Dorena Benally, of the Navajo Area Indian Health Service
(IHS) also created four community fact sheets to accompany the posters.

"Normally an educational poster gets posted without any public education," said
Mae-Gilene Begay, Program Director of the Navajo Nation Community Health
Representative / Outreach Program at the Navajo Nation Department of Health
(NDOH). So, she asked ATSDR to develop a training course for more than 90
CHRs to teach them about uranium and techniques for educating community
members.

The team delivered the course in Window Rock in December 2014. CHRs
learned health and safety messages, warning signs of uranium exposure, and
map skills to show community members the location of mines and contaminated
and regulated water sources.

CHRs took the posters to 110 Navajo Chapter Houses, and IHS displayed
posters in their Area Office and 30 health care facilities across the Navajo Nation.
Public education won't solve the problem of abandoned uranium mines on the
Navajo Nation, but now community members can learn how to protect their
families and themselves.

The training team included Candis Hunter (ATSDR), Robert Knowles (ATSDR),
Jennifer Lyke (ATSDR), Sona Chilingaryan (EPA), Linda Reeves (EPA), Dolores
Gruber (IHS), and Anna Rondon (NDOH). Janelia Smiley (IHS) assisted with
Navajo language interpretation. Amanda Pease (EPA) contributed to
development of training materials.

Check out this bloa post for more details.

WHITE HOUSE OPEN SCIENCE
AND INNOVATION EVENT: OF
THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE,
FOR THE PEOPLE

Citizen science and crowdsourcing were the focus of
an exciting event at the White House on September

~ 4>	or

Recording of White House
Open Science and
Innovation Event

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30th. Check out the video for remarks from panelists from many disciplines
lauding the benefits of citizen science and crowdsourcing. Dr. John Holdren,
Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, kicked off the forum and
announced the release of a Federal Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing
Toolkit as well as plans for a Citizen Science Day in 2016. A memo issued by Dr.
Holdren articulates principles that Federal agencies should embrace to derive the
greatest value and impact from citizen science and crowdsourcing projects. West
Oakland's Margaret Gordon, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the West Oakland
Environmental Indicators Project, was one of 12 citizen science leaders honored
by the White House as part of the event. In our next issue we'll highlight some of
the citizen science projects EPA is supporting through our grants and technical
assistance programs.

EJ AT THE HAWAII DEPARTMENT
The Hawaii Department of Health's
Environmental Planning Office (EPO) just
released a draft Environmental Justice
Plan for 2015-2020. EPA Region 9's
EJSCREEN lead, Chuck Swanson,
provided information about EJSCREEN in

a series of six training and information sessions organized by EPO for various
stakeholders in Hawaii. EJSCREEN is EPA's screening tool for identifying
geographic areas with potential environmental justice concerns. Contact Chuck
Swanson or Deldi Reves if vou'd like a demonstration of the tool for your
organization or just want to learn more.

CALIFORNIA'S AIR RESOURCES BOARD RELEASES
FUNDING GUIDELINES RE CLIMATE INVESTMENTS

The Air Resources Board ARB announces the release of the Revised Draft Cap-and-
Trade Auction Proceeds: Funding Guidelines for Agencies that Administer California
Climate Investments. These Funding Guidelines (also available in Spanish) consist of
three volumes focused on: accountability and transparency; maximizing benefits to
disadvantaged communities; and reporting to document greenhouse gas (GHG)
reductions, co-benefits, and other project outcomes.

OF HEALTH

OCTOBER IS CHILDREN'S HEALTH MONTH - UPCOMING
EVENTS

WEBINAR: Racism and Its Impact on Children's Health

Recent research paints a stark picture of the impact of racial discrimination on children's
health. Join the American Public Health Association and the American Academy of

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Pediatrics for a webinar on October 13, 2015, from 10am - 11am PST. Topics include
racism as an adverse childhood event and a cause of toxic stress, and the role of racial
socialization in helping children learn to navigate race issues. Register here.

WEBINAR: Asthma, Climate Change, and Health

This webinar, for all health and social service providers, will discuss climate change in
general terms and provide take-home messages that can be shared with vulnerable
populations. It will also teach about indoor environmental health and asthma triggers,
such as mold and pests, as well as how to identify and minimize these exposures. The
webinar will be held on October 19, 2015, from 9am - 1030am PST. Register here.
Speakers include Dr. Ruth Etzel, MD, PhD., Director, Office of Children's Health
Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Nancy De Leon Link, MGA, Chief
Operating Officer, National Nursing Centers Consortium; and Shawana Mitchell, HHS,
Environmental Health and Safety Programs Coordinator, National Nursing Centers
Consortium.

OTHER EVENTS

Webinar for Communities on EPA's Refinery Rule

Learn more about EPA's Final Petroleum Refinery Sector Risk and Technology Review
and New Source Performance Standards, issued on September 29, during a webinar on
October 14, 2015, from 11am-12 pm PST. When implemented, this rule will reduce
visible flare emissions and upset emission events, and for the first time require refineries
to monitor emissions at key emission sources within their facilities and around their
fence lines. Email Virginia Hunt or call 919-541 -0832 to register.

Check out the Security and Sustainabilitv Forum, which is co-hosting three important
webinars in October focusing on food security, urban resilience and global climate
security. Each session convenes global experts to examine the impacts and address
solutions. The next session, Food System Resilience in an Era of Globalization and
Environmental Change is set for October 19, 2015.

Conference Call Re Tribal Treaty Rights

EPA's Office of Environmental Justice invites indigenous peoples to participate in a
discussion on the draft EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes:
DRAFT Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty Rights. Call information: 1 866-299-3188,
access code 202-564-2576. The call will be held October 22, 10am -11am PST.

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GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Cal/EPA Doubles Funding to $1 Million in Support of Vulnerable Communities

The California Environmental Protection Agency is now accepting applications from
eligible community-based nonprofit groups and federally recognized tribal governments
to support environmental justice-related projects across California. More than $1 million
is available from the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, double last year's
$500,000 in funding and up from $250,000 in 2013. Projects selected will address a
variety of environmental and public health objectives, including education on the health
and safety of pesticide use, reducing diesel emissions, ensuring safe drinking water, and
participation in the environmental decision-making processes at the state and local
levels. This year, the program adds a new funding category for projects that address
climate change and its impacts. Applications must be received by 4:00 pm PST on
Friday, January 22, 2016. For details, please visit CalEPA's Environmental Justice
website, email Malinda.Dumisani@calepa.ca.aov. or call (916) 445-9480.

U.S.EPA's Urban Waters program has announced a Request for Proposals from eligible
applicants for projects that will advance EPA's water quality and environmental justice
goals. Proposed projects will address urban runoff pollution through diverse partnerships
that produce multiple community benefits, with emphasis on underserved communities.
Proposed project activities must take place entirely within one of the Eligible Geographic
Areas, as illustrated on the interactive map. Proposals are due by November 20, 2015.

U.S. EPA's Office of Environmental Justice plans to release a request for proposals for
the EJ Collaborative Problem Solving Program very soon. Register for a webinar on
October 15, from 1:30 pm to 3 pm PST to hear how two recent grantees, Diane
Takvorian, Executive Director of the Environmental Health Coalition and Tommy Rock,
Executive Director of Tolani Lake Enterprises on the Navajo Reservation, have used
their grants to address EJ challenges in their communities.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITIES

EPA Region 9's Brownfields program provides free contractor assistance to assess
brownfields sites for the presence of contamination and to develop cleanup plans, if
needed. The sites must be a priority for the local government for redevelopment and
may be publicly or privately owned. EPA's brochure explains the program. To request
assistance, complete EPA's two-paoe online application. Recent examples include the
assessment of a site for a new school for an early childhood development non profit in
East Palo Alto, the assessment of a site in Fresno for a community garden, and
assessment of a site for reuse as a commercial redevelopment project for the Gila River
Indian Community, a federally recognized tribe. For more information contact Nova
Blazei at (415-972-3846).

EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities offers free smart growth assistance through
their grantee, Smart Growth America, as part of their Building Blocks for Sustainable

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Communities program. Now in its fifth year, this free technical assistance program has
helped more than 50 communities grow in ways that benefit residents and businesses
while protecting the environment and preserving a sense of place. Applications are now
open for a limited number of free technical assistance workshops. Learn about available
workshops, how to apply and access the form here. Applications are due by October
21,2015, at 2:00 PM PST.

GRANTEES IN THE NEWS

EPA just announced nearly $1.2 million in competitive grants to 40 non-profit and tribal
organizations nationwide working to address environmental justice issues. Here in
Region 9, this includes four grants in the amount of $30,000 each. The Sonora
Environmental Research Institute will assist low-income families in Tucson and South
Tucson with the installation of rainwater harvesting systems through a revolving loan
fund. Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas will focus on pesticide safety
education informed by the insights gained from the CHAMACOS Study, a longitudinal
birth cohort study examining chemicals and other factors in the environment and
children's health. The Central California Environmental Justice Network will help San
Joaquin Valley community leaders build capacity by facilitating their participation in
open-access regulatory trainings held by state agencies, working on community
monitoring and conducting three citizen-science events. The Community Water Center
will work with rural, low-income, unincorporated communities of color in Tulare, Kern,
Kings and Fresno Counties to enable community members to collaborate with other
partners (agencies and organizations) to secure safe and affordable drinking water.

Congratulations to the Arizona Department of Health Services. They were one of
seven recipients of grant funding from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) under their Brownfield/Land Reuse Health Initiative. This program
focuses on protecting human health during the expansion, redevelopment, and reuse of
brownfield sites.

The focus of the Arizona project is to directly improve the health of Arizonans by
reducing environmental exposures to toxic substances while increasing access to
healthcare and fresh fruits and vegetables in the most economically challenged,
unhealthy, and underserved areas.

OPPORTUNITIES TO COMMENT

EPA Civil Rights External Compliance (Title VI) Strategic Plan, Due October 13,
2015

EPA's Office of Civil Rights has released the draft External Compliance and Complaints
Program Strategic Plan for FY 2015-2020. Learn more and find versions of the Plan in
other languages at the OCR website.

EPA seeking input on National Enforcement Initiatives, Due October 14, 2015

EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) recently released a

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notice in the Federal Register seeking comment on FY 2017-2019 National Enforcement
Initiatives (NEI).

The NEIs serve to focus EPA's civil and criminal enforcement resources and expertise
on the most serious pollution problems affecting communities. Learn more here.

Federal Interagency Working Group (IWG) on EJ, Due October 19, 2015

The EJJWG wants to hear from you about its draft FY2016-2018 Action Agenda
Framework. The Framework is the EJ IWG's three-year strategic plan to advance
greater Federal agency collaboration to support holistic community-based solutions to
address environmental justice issues in environmental protection, housing,
transportation, economic development, energy policy, natural and cultural resource
management and health disparities. Register for a webinar on October 13, 2015, from
11am -12 pm PST to learn more about the framework. If you need a reasonable
accommodation, contact Kevin Olp. Materials will be shared in advance.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FELLOWSHIP

The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program seeks eligible individuals for
selection as Finalists to obtain appointments as Fellows in the Federal Government.
PMFs are assigned to work in a broad range of areas including public policy and
administration, domestic and international issues, information technology, acquisition,
human resources, engineering, health and medical sciences, financial management, and
many other fields in support of public service programs. This year, the PMF Program
continues the STEM track pilot for those applicants having specific advanced degrees in
the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM). Learn more
about the PMF Program here. Closes October 13, 2015.

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