U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
WHITE HOUSE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COUNCIL
VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
MAY 13, 2021
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
AGENDA 3
PREFACE 6
MEETING SUMMARY 8
WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS, AND OPENING REMARKS 8
WHEJAC JUSTICE40 WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION 10
WHEJAC E.O. 12898 WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION 20
WHEJAC CLIMATE & ECONOMIC JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL WORKGROUP
UPDATE 32
WHEJAC ORAL PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD 42
WHEJAC BUSINESS MEETING REFLECTION & CONVERSATION 57
CLOSING REMARKS AND ADJOURN 63
APPENDIX A - MEETING ATTENDEES 65
APPENDIX B - SUBMITTED WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS 84
APPENDIX C- POWERPOINT PRESENTATION 182
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AGENDA
THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
WHITE HOUSE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COUNCIL
VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING
May 13, 2021
1:00 P.M.-6:00 P.M. EDT
1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
WELCOME, INTRODUCTONS & OPENING REMARKS
o Karen L. Martin, Designated Federal Officer - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
o Cecilia Martinez, PhD, Senior Director for Environmental Justice - Council on Environmental
Quality
o Richard Moore, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - Los Jardines Institute
o Peggy Shepard, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - WE ACT for
Environmental Justice
o Catherine Coleman Flowers, White House Environmental Justice Council Vice Chair - Center
for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
o Carletta Tilousi, White House Environmental Justice Council Vice Chair - Havasupai Tribal
Council
1:30 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
WHEJAC JUSTICE40 WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
o Peggy Shepard, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - WE ACT for
Environmental Justice
o Dr. Beverly Wright, White House Environmental Justice Council Member - Deep South Center
for Environmental Justice
o Ruth Santiago, White House Environmental Justice Council Member - University of Michigan
Comite Dialogo Ambiental and El Puente, Latino Climate Action Network
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AGENDA
2:20 p.m. - 3:10 p.m.
WHEJAC E.O. 12898 WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
o Richard Moore, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - Los Jardines Institute
o Carletta Tilousi, White House Environmental Justice Council Vice Chair - Havasupai Tribal
Council
o Dr. Kyle White, White House Environmental Justice Council Member - University of Michigan
3:10 p.m. - 3:25 p.m.
BREAK
3:25 p.m. - 3:35 p.m.
Greetings & REMARKS
o Cecilia Martinez, PhD, Senior Director for Environmental Justice - Council on Environmental
Quality
o Secretary Deb Haaland - U.S. Department of the Interior
O
3:35 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
WHEJAC CLIMATE & ECONOMIC JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
o Catherine Coleman Flowers, White House Environmental Justice Council Vice Chair - Center
for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
o Jade Begay, White House Environmental Justice Council Member - NDN Collective
4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
o Members of the public will be given three (3) minutes to present comments on their issue or
concern to the WHEJAC.
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AGENDA
5:15 p.m. - 5:55 p.m.
WHEJAC BUSINESS MEETING REFLECTION & CONVERSATION
o
Karen L. Martin, Designated Federal Officer - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
o
Cecilia Martinez, PhD, Senior Director for Environmental Justice - Council on Environmental
Quality
o
Richard Moore, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - Los Jardines Institute
o
Peggy Shepard, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - WE ACT for
Environmental Justice
o
Catherine Coleman Flowers, White House Environmental Justice Council Vice Chair - Center
for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
o
Carletta Tilousi, White House Environmental Justice Council Vice Chair - Havasupai Tribal
Council
o
The WHEJAC will use this time to reflect on the meeting proceedings, public comment period.
discuss and deliberate action items and finalize next steps.
5:55 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
CLOSING REMARKS & ADJOURN
o
Karen L. Martin, Designated Federal Officer - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
o
Cecilia Martinez, PhD, Senior Director for Environmental Justice - Council on Environmental
Quality
o
Richard Moore, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - Los Jardines Institute
o
Peggy Shepard, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - WE ACT for
Environmental Justice
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PREFACE
The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council is established by Executive Order
14008, titled "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad" (issued on January 27, 2021).
As such, this is a non-discretionary committee and operate under the provisions of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2.
The WHEJAC will provide independent advice and recommendations to the Chair of the
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and to the White House Interagency Council on
Environmental Justice (Interagency Council), on how to increase the Federal Government's
efforts to address current and historic environmental injustice, including recommendations for
updating Executive Order 12898. The WHEJAC will provide advice and recommendations
about broad cross-cutting issues related, but not limited to, issues of environmental justice and
pollution reduction, energy, climate change mitigation and resiliency, environmental health and
racial inequity. The WHEJAC's efforts will include a broad range of strategic scientific,
technological, regulatory, community engagement, and economic issues related to
environmental justice.
The duties of the WHEJAC are to provide advice and recommendations to the Interagency
Council and the Chair of CEQ on a whole-of-government approach to environmental justice,
including but not limited to environmental justice in the following areas:
a. Climate change mitigation, resilience, and disaster management.
b. Toxics, pesticides, and pollution reduction in overburdened communities.
c. Equitable conservation and public lands use.
d. Tribal and Indigenous issues.
e. Clean energy transition.
f. Sustainable infrastructure, including clean water, transportation, and the built environment.
g. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), enforcement and civil rights.
h. Increasing the Federal Government's efforts to address current and historic environmental
injustice.
EPA's Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) maintains summary reports of all WHEJAC
meetings, which are available on the WHEJAC website at:
https://www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/white-house-environmental-iustice-advisory-council.
Copies of materials distributed during WHEJAC meetings are also available to the public upon
request. Comments or questions can be directed via e-mail to wheiac@epa.gov.
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Will IT. IIOl SI. INMUONMIM AL.Il SI l( 1. ADVISORY (Ol \( IL MKMISKKS IN
A 1 1 r.NDANC 1.
RICHARD MOORE, WHEJAC CO-CHAIR
ANGELO LOGAN
PEGGY SHEPARD, WHEJAC CO-CHAIR
MARIA LOPEZ-NUNEZ
CATHERINE FLOWERS, WHEJAC VICE CO-CHAIR
HAROLD MITCHELL
CARLETTA TILOUSI, WHEJAC VICE CO-CHAIR
RACHEL MORELLO-FROSCH, PhD
LATRICEA ADAMS
JUAN PARRAS
SUSANA ALMANZA
MICHELE ROBERTS
JADE BEGAY
RUTH SANTIAGO
MARIA BELEN POWER
NICKY SHEATS, PhD
ROBERT BULLARD, PhD
VIOLA WAGHIYI
TOM CORMONS
KYLE WHYTE, PhD
ANDREA DELGADO
BEVERLY WRIGHT, PhD
JEROME FOSTER II
HLIXYOOJ
KIM HAVEY
MIYA YOSHITANI
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WHITE HOUSE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COUNCIL (WHEJAC)
VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING
MAY 13, 2021
MEETING SUMMARY
The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) convened via Zoom
meeting on Thursday, May 13, 2021. This summary covers WHEJAC members' deliberations
during the meeting and the discussions during the public comment period.
WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS, AND OPENING REMARKS
Ms. Karen Martin, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
provide remarks and opened the meeting.
Dr. Cecilia Martinez, Senior Director for Environmental Justice, Council on Environmental
Quality, welcomed everyone, on behalf of Chair Mallory of CEQ, to the third White House
Environment Justice Advisory Council public meeting. She thanked the WHEJAC members for
the incredible work, dedication, and commitment that they have put forth in the last month and a
half to provide recommendations. Dr. Martinez stated that the extraordinary time, experience
and wisdom that the WHEJAC brings has risen to the occasion to provide the administration
with important recommendations on how to move forward on President Biden's Environment
Justice agenda.
Dr. Martinez stated that these are complex and complicated problems and there will be a
diversity of approaches and sometimes differences of opinions. She stated that there is a solid
foundation in terms of understanding and listening and creating a baseline of how to move
forward. She again thanked the Council for their commitment and hard work and the incredible
knowledge and wisdom that will be apparent in the recommendations today.
Ms. Karen Martin, DFO, thanked Dr. Martinez and turned the floor to the chairs to give
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opening remarks.
Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, greeted everyone and reminded everyone that it is
the 30th anniversary of the first People of Color Summit. He highlighted three pieces that came
out of the first People of Color Summit, stating that it is what brings the Council and the
Administration together at this historical moment. He stated that one is redefining
environmentalism as where we live, work, play, pray, and go to school and where we learn. He
stated that the second is what grassroots organizations say consistently that the community speak
for themselves. He stated that the third of many elements that came out of the first People of
Color Summit was the unity that everyone left with.
Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, stated that it was great to be here today at the first
public meeting that we will submit recommendations to the public and the Biden
Administration. She thanked Karen Martin and George Ward for their incredible work and
patience of the last few weeks and commended them for working to ensure recommendations are
demonstrating the Council's commitment and expertise as well as representative of the needs
and concerns of the EJ communities.
Ms. Shepard stated that The American Jobs Act focuses on infrastructure and noted that bridges
and tunnels are part of America's infrastructure, but families and communities are also the
foundational infrastructure of America. She explained that everyone is here to build those
communities back better and to sustain those communities with commitment, recommendations
and oversight and thanked everyone for the yeoman's job done over the last couple of weeks.
Ms. Catherine Flowers, WHEJAC Co-Vice Chair, stated that the enormity of this particular
time is historic and possible due to many people that came before. She stated that in its
recommendations, the Council tried to make sure and focus on all of America: the rural and the
urban, indigenous communities, and areas that generally don't get included that are territories.
Ms. Flowers stated that this is one of the few times that can be said that rural America has not
been neglected as a part of this process, to include things as basic as water and sanitation. Ms.
Flowers stated that baselines will continue to be set to determine how to address issues
throughout the United States of America.
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Ms. Carletta Tilousi, WHEJAC Co-Vice Chair, stated that it has been very educational learning
about other communities that are facing major environmental racism and injustices. Ms. Tilousi
stated that she is excited to look at the recommendations and see how everyone can move
forward by all working together and proud of the leadership and the staff that have put the pieces
together so quickly. She noted that it's a lot of hard work and a lot of people are continuing to
be volunteers, knowing it's important, as the Native people say, to speak for the earth, the land,
the animals, and the people.
Ms. Karen Martin, DFO, thanked everyone for their opening statements and proceeded to do a
roll call. She stated that there was a quorum to and officially started the meeting.
WHEJAC JUSTICE40 WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, stated that this agenda segment will be used for the
three workgroups to highlight recommendations that are being submitted for final approval. She
stated that the workgroups would like to hear from as many WHEJAC members as possible
regarding what may be missing or need further clarification in the draft recommendations. Ms.
Shepard noted that if there are requests to make changes during the discussion, we can vote to
approve the final recommendations with the necessary corrections. She stated that time will be
left to ask for consensus vote, and at the end of each presentation, each workgroup chair should
state that they are submitting the workgroups draft recommendations to the WHEJAC for
consideration and approval to be included in the WHEJAC final report. Ms. Shepard explained
that there will then be a consensus vote from the WHEJAC to accept the recommendations from
the workgroup. She stated that the Justice40 workgroup presenter will be presented by Dr.
Beverly Wright from the Deep South Center for Environment Justice, and then Ruth Santiago,
with the University of Michigan Comite Dialogo Ambiental and El Puente, Latino Climate
Action Network.
Ms. Shepard shared the key components that require development for effective implementation
of Justice40 and that it requires the WHEJAC's input. Ms. Shepard stated that the first question
is, what are the key elements that are important in developing definitions of investment benefits
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and are there examples of definitions from federal or state legislation that would be helpful to
review? Ms. Shepard stated that there are a number of recommendations for the definition of
investment benefits but noted that the first is to direct investments in geography and investments
in defined frontline geographies by census tract or other designations based on environmental
justice criteria, for example, Minneapolis Green Zones.
Ms. Shepard stated that second is direct investments in people, investing in benefits for Black,
Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, LGBTQ, people of color, and immigrants to
improve health and economic opportunities. Ms. Shepard noted that third would be indirect and
direct investment in community, explaining that this would be investments which support local
communities, community-based organizations, community ownership, cooperatives, small
business, community job training, and local ownership tracks.
Ms. Shepard stated that another recommendation was to focus on external direct investment
benefits, meaning investments that are outside Environmental Justice communities but provide
essential services to environment justice communities such as water and sanitation. Ms. Shepard
stated that another recommendation is that all investments must do no harm to environment
justice communities, explaining that this means that 100 percent justice and it would be
unreasonable to have any climate investment working against historically harmed communities.
Ms. Shepard explained that it is acknowledged that Justice40 be the floor not the ceiling, and
that 40 percent should not be seen as a cap but as a starting point, focusing on guiding principles
program criteria to maximize federal investment benefits and avoid harm in environmental
justice communities. Ms. Shepard explained that there needs to be a just recovery to support
community-driven recovery and mid- to long-term rebuilding and implementation projects with
improvements that further equitable mechanisms for adaptation, for recovery, and for rebuilding.
She stated that for investments to be considered truly beneficial, process and implementation are
critical. She stated that all investments should incorporate a community driven, community-
controlled approach so that communities most directly impacted benefit in the way intended.
Ms. Shepard stated that the WHEJAC Justice40 workgroup focused on the first question with
key components that require further development for the effective implementation of Justice40
and components that required WHEJAC's input to develop activities and programs that needed
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the investment. She stated that existing programs for environmental justice communities have
found critical and important to serving their needs and were looked at in order to understand
what components of these programs are most effective, what components present challenges,
and then develop ideas for potential new programs that would meet a gap in environmental
justice needs. Ms. Shepard stated that when recommendations were submitted, the focus was on
what agencies can implement the recommendations or have programs that are existing that can
be expanded and enhanced.
Ms. Shepard stated that the institutions mentioned in the recommendations are the White House
and the broader executive branch of agencies such as the Department of Energy, Department of
Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, the
Tennessee Valley Authority, the Department of Transportation, Homeland Security and FEMA,
HRSA, which is the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Labor, and of course Cabinet Secretaries. She
also include the Appalachian Regional Commission and Economic Development
Administration, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and their
Broadband Programs, U. S. Congress, the Department of Interior, the Pesticide National
Synthesis Project, the Geological Survey, the Department of Education, Department of Defense,
Department of Health and Human Services, the White House Initiative on HBCUs (Historically
Black Colleges and Universities), and minorities serving institutions, and then lastly the U.S.
Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration.
Dr. Beverly Wright, WHEJAC Member, advised that she would present half of the
recommendations and will be joined by Ruth Santiago to further explain the rest. She explained
that there was a total of 26 U.S. government institutions that were named partners in
accomplishing goals with over 250 recommendations made. Dr. Wright presented the highlights
of the recommendations that were made under four topics, beginning with clean energy and
energy efficiency where the recommendations included the following: grant programs for
community solar projects in cities and rural communities; community resilience projects
including sustainable and regenerative agriculture, clean water infrastructure, and broadband
installation. Dr. Wright stated also ensuring access to affordable clean energy and prohibiting
FEMA funding from going to permanent fossil fuel generation and infrastructure. Dr. Wright
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also stated requiring public input and hearings for investments in disaster recovery efforts to
ensure impacted communities have a voice in how funds are spent. She noted that the Tennessee
Valley Authority should set an ambitious goal of transitioning to clean energy by 2030. She
stated expanding Department of Energy low-income programs by enacting the Affordable Solar
Energy for Our Communities Act to create new DOE low-income solar programs to ensure DOE
programs are reaching the most disadvantaged communities. She stated that Federal Renewable
Energy Investment Tax Credit Revisions needing to extend a 30% renewable energy tax credit
for 10 years was also suggested, and to ensure that the benefits of clean energy reach
disadvantaged communities and service organizations.
Dr. Wright continued that under clean transit and transportation, investments into transit hubs to
catalyze economic and small business development in commercial corridors were recommended
and that fleets of school buses and sanitation trucks and other public vehicles be electrified. She
stated that investments in transportation hubs were recommended because the communities that
are most impacted by the lack of access to transportation are low-income people of color and
elderly communities. Dr Wright explained that school buses and sanitation trucks are some of
the dirtiest vehicles that travel throughout the Environment Justice communities spewing diesel
exhaust and fine particulates, which contribute to poor air quality.
Dr. Wright stated that under safe, affordable, and sustainable housing — and a correction in
communities should be added there, explaining that one, HUD should establish a voluntary
community relocation program that provides replacement housing cost to residents whose homes
were built with HUD funds on toxic sites, such as former waste dumps. Dr Wright indicated that
project eligibility criteria of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund should be expanded to
include homes, residences, schools and childcare facilities, and also Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program to support cooling and heating should be expanded. Dr Wright added the
recommendation to develop guidance and policy for governors, requiring them to certify that
relief assistance and funds received during major declared disasters and emergencies are spent in
an equitable and nondiscriminatory way by establishing a sustainable communities office for
communities that have been neglected by government and impacted by racist public policy,
environmental pollution and climate change. She mentioned Union Town and the Black Belt in
Alabama as an example.
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Dr. Wright mentioned next training and workforce development. She stated that increase
funding for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Environmental Career
Worker Training Program was recommended. Adding that access to basic sanitation supplies
and handwashing facilities for all agricultural workers as well as increase funding for the
Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization and Assistance to
Coal Communities programs. She added that expanding funding for existing training programs
as well as union apprenticeship and pre apprenticeship programs was recommend, along with
reducing or eliminate matching requirements for broadband construction projects in
environmental justice coal impacted communities and efforts to support workers in coal
impacted communities. She stated that workers affected by coal closures need targeted
workforce development and training programs in addition to investment in broader economic
development strategies that spur quality job creation. She noted that expanding funding for and
giving priority to training programs that pay the trainees was also recommended. Dr. Wright
went on to include developing a frontline climate corps to support youth leadership development
and training of underemployed workers and establishing heat illness safeguards for all outdoor
workers that don't have the luxury to work in climate-controlled spaces; to require full and
nationwide reporting of pesticide usage on school sites and child day care facilities and included
climate justice education as an essential component of K through 12 curriculum in the district.
Dr Wright then turned the presentation over to Ruth Santiago.
Ms. Ruth Santiago, WHEJAC Member, explained that under the category of remediation and
reduction of legacy pollution, establishing a program requiring the reduction of permitted
emissions of hazardous air pollution to prevent the exceedance of EPA's cancer and non-cancer
risk guidelines was included. Stating, that to conduct civil rights compliance reviews under Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of states with delegated environmental authorities and establishing a
policy for disaster recovery dollars to fund healthy land restoration in environmental justice
communities as well as investing in educating the public about environmental justice and the
impacts of environmental racism. Ms. Santiago also stated that funding the implementation of
programs and policies in the bill by Sen. Booker and Rep. Haaland, The Environmental Justice
Legacy Pollution Cleanup Act was imperative. She added mandating new air quality
monitoring in frontline and fence line communities and supporting HUD to expand the Lead
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Education and Lead Abatement Program. She stated that also continued funding for black lung
benefits and decontamination of Vieques and Culebra in Puerto Rico was recommended. She
stated that expanding Medicare/Medicaid for lifetime access for individuals from frontline
communities directly impacted by environmental racism and injustice, i.e., the Flint Water
Crisis, was also recommended. She stated that developing an air monitoring network that
includes the detection of PM 2.5 in areas where a DOT funded transportation project, a fossil
fired power plant, or PM 2.5 major emitting facility is located within three miles of a residential
area was included.
Ms. Santiago stated that the next category of recommendations is development of critical clean
water infrastructure including lead water pipe infrastructure replacement and creating a federal
low-income water and sewer bill assistance program, noting that this program will assist low-
income customers with paying their water and sewer bills. She stated that ensuring that
Environmental Justice communities are tested for lead water pipe infrastructure and replacing
pipes where necessary to protect the most vulnerable — children, pregnant women and the
elderly — from lead exposure and lead service line replacement should be an integral part of a
long term solution, including periodic benchmarks for all water systems to achieve, regardless of
water testing results. She added developing a robust and public transparent national database
and GIS maps to centralize and locate lead testing data for schools, cities/municipalities, and
states.
Ms. Santiago stated that in the category related to climate mitigation and resiliency is investing
Justice40 funds to designate the South Coast Aquifer in Puerto Rico as a sole source public
water resource and decontaminate the aquifer. She noted that next is modernize temporary labor
camp standards/farm labor camp standards to mitigate the risks that climate change, extreme
weather events, and pandemics pose on migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families.
She stated that also to support funding for frontline/EJ communities to organize, convene, and
develop climate action plans that address climate resilience, communication, and prioritize
potential climate impacts was recommended.
Ms. Santiago added that intersectional recommendations was not explicitly listed but very
relevant. Ms. Santiago stated that in this category, the workgroup acknowledged the alliance
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that usually exist between universities, especially, strictly Black Colleges and Universities,
Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Asian American and Pacific
Islanders Serving Institutions to support communities addressing legacy pollution problems and
challenges. The Administration should leverage its discretion and resources to ensure that
undocumented individuals and families are not left out or ineligible to benefit from EJ40
investments. She added that improvement in health equity by mandating that NIH support
community academic partnerships in all relevant research centers and in grant programs was
added. Ms. Santiago noted that also carrying out the nation-to-nation consultative duties of the
U.S. to federally recognized tribes in the identification, planning, and implementation of
infrastructure investments and projects consistent with the January 21, 2021, Memorandum on
Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships and Best Practices on
Consultation was added. She noted that funding for infrastructure projects, such as grants,
should be multiyear and providing support for Tribes to build long-term capacity, stability,
consistency, and a strong foundation was recommended. She ended including that Federal
agencies must consider the self determination of non-federally recognized Indigenous peoples
and grassroots organizations, community organizations, and entrepreneurship in infrastructure
development.
Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, stated that key components that require further
development for effective implementation of Justice40, and require the WHEJAC input are,
what are the key elements that should be included in defining "disadvantaged communities, and
are there examples of definitions from federal or state legislation that would be helpful to
review? She stated that it is believed that underserved communities include majority minority
communities that have a high rate of health disparities, that are non-attainment of clean air and
water standards, have been formerly redlined, have high levels of food insecurity and child
nutrition levels, children receiving the school lunch program, looking at income and percent of
households on supplementary income benefits, that have numbers of superfund, waste, landfills,
and toxic facilities, that have low education attainment and low high school graduation rates,
that have high maternal and infant mortality rates, that have high asthma rates and deaths, with
poorly maintained stock of housing, and those that have a lack of grocery stores and a
proliferation of Dollar stores and fast food outlets. Ms. Shepard opened the floor for comments
from the WHEJAC.
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Ms. Ruth Santiago, WHEJAC Member, highlighted that in the recommendations when talking
about clean energy, the reference is renewable energy, especially solar and preferably onsite,
localized, and rooftop solar, especially with battery energy storage systems in the case of Puerto
Rico. She stated that in the civil society proposal called, We Want Sun was proposed because
there are references to clean energy that include things like methane, so-called natural gas.
Ms. Susana Almanza, WHEJAC Member, stated that even though there is the number of
superfund sites in White Sands refill landfills, she suggested adding the amount of industrial
zoning because a lot of the urban core, the industrial zoning is where all the polluting industries
are. Ms. Almanza suggested looking at industrial zoning versus the other side of town in
communities of people of color, because most cities are mapped as to where industrial zoning is
commercial and single families
Dr. Robert Bullard, WHEJAC Member, stated that in the recommendation related to HUD and
housing, the recommendation that was made concerning addressing HUD policy that allows
assisted housing for some of the poorest households in the country, including disabled
households, and low-income households with families was left out, because assisted housing
that's in flood plains, and the way that the vouchers and certificates operate is that the certificates
are attached to the housing units and the household itself cannot take those to other places
outside of floodplains. The change would be to have HUD policy in place that would allow
certificate holders to take those certificates to units outside of flood plains so that they don't have
to repeatedly go back to those flooded units. He stated that in addition to that, HUD would
aggressively purse assisted housing for low-income and disabled households that would be built
outside of flood plains.
Mr. Tom Cormons, WHEJAC Member, stated that the scale of the federal response needed to
address the historic inequities is needed to address the problems that require legislation, which
elevates to an entirely different order of magnitude in terms of the resources.
Mr. Cormons stated that secondly, the how is just as important as the what. He explained that
how the administration and the federal government interacts with communities that benefits
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from Justice40 is incredibly important to ensure transformative, uplifting interactions with
communities that historically has not had the resources or capacity to take full advantage of
federal programs.
Dr. Beverly Wright, WHEJAC Member, reiterated that the category of safe, affordable, and
sustainable housing added "in communities" because that was the only place to address the issue
of whole communities that are lacking in infrastructure due to racist policies and discrimination,
environmental toxins, and climate change. She explained that there are some communities that
need the attention and a whole government approach. She stated that the community needs to
have the impact of a reprieve from what they're dealing with in a way that can be recognized.
Ms. Catherine Flowers, WHEJAC Member, stated tht wherever HUD is mentioned discussing
housing, USDA's rural housing should be included as well to address in terms of EJ
communities because USDA has sent money back to Washington instead of investing in the
communities that need it.
Ms. Andrea Delgado, WHEJAC Member, pointed out that the recommendations include very
specific details on housing and calls out USDA specifically for Section 514, 515, and 521
Housing as well.
Ms. Karen Martin, DFO, confirmed Ms. Delgado's point and added to Dr. Bullard's point, that
the reference to HUD is included in the report regarding the flood plains. She also informed Dr.
Wright that the correction adding "the communities" was made.
Ms. Michele Roberts, WHEJAC Member, wanted to reiterate what Ms. Susana Almanza said
with respect to the industrial zoning. She stated that it's very important because some industrial
zones are being expanded and have been expanded under the Trump administration, and this
needs to be prioritized, in addition, the people engaged in those communities should be part of a
just transition that could bring a wholistic approach to the healing in their communities given
many of them are legacy.
Ms. Roberts stated she appreciated that various schools such as HBCUs and others are listed out,
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not all children are able to reach the HBCUs. Therefore, care should be taken to drop down to
community-based schools such as that of freedom schools and others where there is access to
making sure that children had adequate access to careers whether they go to college or not, to
include that of the homeschooling and children who have literally been thrown out of school.
Mr. Kim Havey, WHEJAC Member, emphasized that one of the things that should be
recommended to CEQ and the White House is that they move forward boldly with plans for
specific requirements to have a hundred percent of electricity be renewable by 2030. The White
House should set aggressive targets for renewable electricity and to end the subsidies and
support for additional fossil fuel infrastructure by 2030, which would mean that infrastructures
that'll last for 50 or a hundred years in 2045 will no longer be built.
Ms. Maria Balen Power, WHEJAC Member, agreed with the renewable energy, but
emphasized the piece around doing no harm. She stated that this process matters. She stated
that there are initiatives in the northeast like the Transportation Climate Initiative that is a matter
of concern as it could have significant harm around the siting of new infrastructure. She stated
that the fight continues regarding an electrical substation in East Boston that is projected to go
next to eight million gallons of jet fuel and next to a playground in an Environmental Justice
community. She Ms. Power explained that it's not just what's happening, but the path to get
there and new initiatives cannot be implemented, especially market-based solutions, that will
cause harm to low-income communities and communities of color.
Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, commend the workgroups and stated that it is
apparent that the emphasis of Justice40 is making sure resources go back into the hands of those
that rightfully deserve resources and rural communities are crucial and should be highlighted
here.
Mr. Harold Mitchell, WHEJAC Member, shared information from a report from a study done
in South Carolina in reference to floodplains. He stated that the Interstate Cooperation, like
North Carolina, is causing a manmade releasing of dams into South Carolina and flooding a lot
of the rural areas, and that it is not only in South Carolina but across some other sites as well.
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Mr. Juan Parras, WHEJAC Member, commented on the issue of zoning and how Houston
being a major city in the U.S. and it still having no zoning regulations implies that industry can
build anywhere, and they are going to areas with least resistance, which will be African
American communities and low-income people of color. A national policy that pushes for
zoning laws keeps industry out of low-income communities, and while Houston provides a lot of
services to the rest of the country it is also a sacrifice zone.
Ms. Jade Begay, WHEJAC Member, stated when reviewing the section on intersectional
recommendations on community and university partnerships, there was no mention of consent in
reference to tribes and consultation or the principle of consent, specifically pre, prior, and
informed consent, should be integrated and uplifted into this initiative and through all federal
agencies. Ms. Begay also recommended when defining disadvantaged communities, and MMI,
Missing and Murdered Indigenous people, who are impacted by industry and the violence of
industry should be added.
Ms. Viola Waghiyi, WHEJAC Member, stated that she wanted to add that when talking about
zoning to include vulnerable zones in indigenous people and other tribes and communities that
hunt, fish, or gather subsistence food and medicinal plants and when talking about zoning, those
vulnerable areas should be included to include military toxics in the section regarding polluters.
Ms. Carletta Tilousi, WHEJAC Member, stated that her understanding is that Biden's
administration is pro-nuclear, which has been a big devastation in indigenous communities. She
stated that they come and mine uranium and leave the toxics behind. Communities have faced
this and there has been a lot of deaths due to nuclear energy.
Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, asked for a consensus vote for the final
recommendations with the corrections or additions that were stated. The recommendations were
accepted by consensus. She then closed out the discussion and turned the floor over to Richard
Moore for the next agenda item.
WHEJAC E.O. 12898 WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
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Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, began explaining that the primary task of the
working group was on Executive Order 12898. He stated that there were several charges given
to the workgroup. He spoke directly of two of the charges; one was to identify sections of
Executive Order 12898 should be revised, and the other was to identify components should be
added. He stated that one aspect was what is the role of an executive order, and how much
power and authority does an executive order have. He noted that this was very crucial to the
initial discussions. He explained that the other aspect was to orient the members as a
workgroup. He noted that although some of the workgroup members have worked together
throughout the years, some members have not. He stated that the workgroup was reminded in
terms of the WHEJAC Council, that they are not necessarily representing the organizations or
institutions that they come from but looking at environmental and economic justice from a
broader standpoint. The floor was turned over to Dr. Kyle Whyte too present the
recommendations.
Dr. Kyle Whyte, WHEJAC Member stated that the executive order needed to be upgraded. He
explained that at a minimum, the tackling climate change executive order had already made
changes. He stated that there is no longer an interagency workgroup on environmental justice,
and that there is a White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council. He explained,
therefore, that there are changes that have to be made immediately to the Environmental Justice
Executive Order.
Dr. Whyte explained that the presentation would cover key points of the recommendations
provided to the Council
Dr. Whyte stated that a lot of attention was paid to updating the definitions, including having a
large section on definitions and focusing on inclusivity. He stated that environmental justice, in
the recommendations, is not about fairness but about just treatment. He explained that just
treatment means full protection from disproportionate health and environmental hazards. He
stated that environmental Justice community, in the definition for the recommendations,
emphasizes the geographic location where people experience risk of higher or
more adverse human health or environmental outcomes. He stated that this is important because
it empowers the screening tools to identify those risks of experiencing those health and
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environmental effects and issues.
Dr. Whyte explained that another aspect of recommendations throughout the document is the
representation of culture. Environmental injustice, risks to culture and negative effects on
culture is among the major concerns. , He explained that in the understanding in which people
have articulated about environmental justice having to do with places where we live, work, and
play, addition terms were added to reflect the total activities that people are engaged in in places
that matter to them and added, "practice their cultures" to that. He also shared a slide that talked
about ensuring "healthy, culturally vibrant, sustainable, and resilient environments." He stated
that in addition to the focus on disproportionate injustice, there is a focus on what it means to be
a healthy, culturally vibrant, sustainable and resilient community in the environment where you
live, learn, work, worship, recreate, and practice your culture.
Dr. Whyte added that there is a section that originally was focused on subsistence consumption.
He stated that that was too narrow, and so it was opened up to protections not only to subsistence
consumption, but to cultural practices associated with biota, more broadly right, including
medicinal plants or animals, that you subsist from that are part of your sustenance. He stated
that this was another area where there was articulation of culture.
Dr. Whyte also explained that a lot of effort was spent articulating an accountable conception of
"meaningful participation" with a lot of focus on the idea that it has to mean influence and
decision making. He stated that it has to be about technical assistance and cultural linguistic
considerations. He noted that access is a huge issue and it has to be accessible, and there has to
be a capacity-building component to meaningful participation.
Dr. Whyte explained that the thinking was about what recommendations would look like. He
stated that reference was made throughout the document subsequent to the definition of
meaningful participation. He explained that the term "meaningful participation" invokes all of
those things. He stated that every time meaningful participation is referenced, it goes back to all
of those aspects, including tribal consultation. He encouraged the group to really hone in on
how "meaningful participation" is defined and then the significance of that definition every
single time it is used throughout.
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Dr. Whyte stated that an important facet of the work done is that environmental issues are
handled by federal agencies and has to be explicit that environmental issues are handled as civil
rights issues relevant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. He stated that it was emphasized
throughout the recommendations, including the responsibilities of agencies, the strategic plans of
agencies as well as other areas that need accountability. He stated that Title VI should be
adopted explicitly. He explained that it should be seen as part of their duties addressing
systematic racism as it affects health and the environment. He stated that across agencies,
environmental justice is about civil rights enforcement.
Dr. Whyte explained that clearly articulated systematically throughout the recommendations was
the importance of the enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act of NEPA. He
stated that given the comparison between the previous executive order from 1994, and the
recommendations that we're making for an upgrade to an environmental justice executive order,
these points had to be made explicit.
Dr. Whyte explained that a lot of time was spent trying to create different layers of
accountability, both to all federal agencies but also to the White House Environmental Justice
Interagency Council. He stated that something similar to an example he would share is
occurring in different parts of the report, addressing different layers of the overall environmental
justice program. He stated that each agency has to have a strategic plan. He noted that the
strategic plan has to have timetables. He explained that the workgroup was very specific. He
noted that there has to be reports. He stated that the agency should not only have a certain time
period for creating the strategic plan, but it should also have meaningful participation. He
explained that they also should need to report, a year after they begin, on their progress and the
implementation. He stated that the interagency council also then would have to report on the
overall program. He explained that there are multiple layers of reporting that was built in, which
is accredited to the advice and guidance of the workgroup and the larger WHEJAC Council. He
noted that the development of the strategic plan has "meaningful participation" in all the major
aspects of it.
Dr. Whyte stated that strategic plans were included and reducing, preventing, eliminating
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pollution, legacy pollution, and cumulative impacts are included in other parts of the
recommendations. He stated that many people shared challenges having to do with states or
counties or other units of government. He stated that while it is understood that an executive
order operates within the federal government, it needs to be a major issue for federal officials
that they understand the role of these other units of government in exacerbating environmental
injustice. He shared an example of where the WHEJAC attempted to address this issue within
the powers of an executive order.
Dr. Whyte explained that for those strategic plans, they need to convene an environmental
justice advisory committee whether pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act or an
equivalent body to provide ongoing expertise, input, and review of agency strategic plans. He
explained that the interagency council, 14 months from this Order, then needs to provide a
comprehensive report on all of the actions of the agency. He noted that there's agency
responsibilities and agency strategic plans, and then there's the role of the interagency council,
multiple levels of reporting, different timetables that the agencies are held accountable, and then
the important role that the interagency council plays.
Dr. Whyte stated that the final point is that the WHEJAC decided for the executive order that it
should begin with a signing statement and a policy statement. He explained that a signing
statement is something that's going to come from the president, and a policy statement is
something that is drafted here. He stated that the policy statement reflects a lot of the purpose
recommendations and of an environmental justice oriented executive order. He stated that it sets
a stage and lays out really important matters. He shared an example of a sentence from the
policy statement, "This Order now adds that affirmatively advancing equity, civil rights, racial
justice, equal opportunity, and environmental justice is the responsibility of the whole of our
government." He explained that the signing statement is something that the president would
develop and would become a part of the public record of the executive order. He explained that
it would create an important expression of the spirit of the executive order. He noted that in the
recommendations is that there be that signing statement.
Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, opened up the floor for comments, discussion, and
suggestions.
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Mr. Juan Parras, WHEJAC Member, Noted that updating the executive order is really crucial
and important because, as time goes, things always change. He stated that there are many things
impacting the EJ communities, and updates are needed to actually give the communities a strong
arm to have something to fight for. He noted that in the past, the executive order, while it had
good intentions, it lacked a lot of muscle to really encourage communities to use their power to
have a community without air toxins and industrial pollutants. He stated that the impact of this
executive order is going to increase a following on environmental justice issues. He stated that
his hopes is that this will allow the communities the ammunition to fight for justice.
Mr. Angelo Logan, WHEJAC Member highlighted two things he felt important in the
conversation. He state that first is that the plans that will be developed by the agencies result in
reduction, prevention, and elimination of pollution and the cumulative impact. He stated that he
looks forward to the conversations and the work that will be accomplished. He stated that the
other is identifying potential legislative barriers that would be overcame by potential legislative
approaches in the plan. He stated that he wanted to make sure this is highlighted. He also noted
that as stated in previous presentations, the administration in and of itself cannot do all of the
work, and that the legislative body is needed to weigh in on the plans to identify where those
potential legislative fixes are.
Ms. Susana Almanza, WHEJAC Member, stated that one thing that was heard from members
of WHEJAC and other community members was how definitions needed to be brought up to
date, such as just treatment. She noted also looking at the whole issue of environmental justice
and being more inclusive and looking at what was meaningful participation. He noted that
adding to the geographic location was also important. She noted the importance of hearing from
the public and including all of those recommendations from the public, not just the Council. She
stated that this has really changed the executive order from 1994 to its present stage, and
hopefully this is only one step. She stated that hopefully this will help move forward with other
working groups within environmental Justice40 and climate justice.
Dr. Beverly Wright, WHEJAC Member, expressed her appreciation for the deep dive into the
meaning of environmental justice and defining EJ communities. She expressed a note of caution
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that sometimes when expanding a definition, it opens up the flood gates for groups who are able
to take advantage based on one small part of a definition. She requested that the committee go
back and review the expansion of definitions to ensure that there are no unintentional
consequences that could allocate benefits away from the EJ communities.
Ms. Viola Waghiyi, WHEJAC Member, stated when talking about accountability in 304,
meaningful participation, there needs to be accountability, maybe a scorecard of agencies that
are charged to carry out the recommendations and EJ communities that are given opportunities
to determine if they were meaningful and involved in meaningful participation. Also, regarding
tribal consultation, that tribes help define what tribal consultation is, not just state or federal
agencies because a lot of times, it's not up to par by what we want the tribal consultation to be.
Ms. Michele Roberts, WHEJAC Member, stated that from the committee's perspective from
the Environmental Justice Health Alliance, communities have come against challenges that
bleed over into other federal family members who felt they did not have to ascribe to the
executive order. She stated that it is good to see the push being made to ensure that the entire
federal family signs on equally on a score card. She stated that it would be good to know what
kind of accountability tracking mechanism is necessary and/or needed. She posed the question
of how can that be tied together between the executive order branch and that of the legislative
pieces that is seen coming in as well through that of the McEachin, Booker, and other bills? She
asked how can the WHEJAC make sure that the entire federal family understands, participates,
and is held accountable in making sure environmental justice is upheld from their particular
purview? She noted that this may be something that can be explored.
Dr. Kyle Whyte, WHEJAC Member, stated that the WHEJAC will review based on Ms.
Roberts concerns. He stated that it is clear in the report on what federal agency means so that
certain groups cannot slip through the cracks. He stated that it is an executive department, a
government corporation, government-controlled corporation, or other establishment in the
executive branch or any independent regulatory agency. He noted that in terms of the possibility
of a scorecard or an accountability mechanism, although scorecard may not have been use, there
are 15 different criteria to score their efforts. He explained that they federal agencies would
have to score their efforts in terms of reduction, prevention, and elimination to meaningful
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participation to how they address lack of infrastructure, to whether their doing scientifically
formed scenario planning.
Dr. Whyte stated that the WHEJAC spent a couple of pages laying out criteria and they
presented it as a reviewer reporting mechanism, that goes to the top of those agencies, that gets
reported to the interagency council. He explained that the interagency council then has to report
as an accountability measure to the White House. He stated that this should be reviewed
carefully in terms of exactly what was shared. He also noted that in response to the mention of
the legislation issue, the committee recommended it be part of the responsibility of agency
officials to identify legislative gaps.
Ms. Catherine Flowers, WHEJAC Member, noted that when talking about respecting culture,
the part of a lot of cultures is honoring the dead. She shared an example of visiting Louisiana's
St. James Parish and the company that bought the property required the community to ask for
permission to go and honor the dead. She posed the question of how can the WHEJAC help to
restore these communities the type of cultural recognition that they need for something as simple
as honoring their dead?
Ms. Viola Waghiyi, WHEJAC Member, stated regarding the scorecard that she would like to
see where the EJ communities score the efforts put out by those charged to carry out these
recommendations, or another third party.
Ms. Carletta Tilousi, WHEJAC Member, stated that the document focused on collaboration
with the different multi-agencies and that more coordination would state in tribal and local
government, including stakeholders like community organizations and nonprofits and also
communities that are located in big cities that are considered a community. She stated that a lot
of time was spent talking about that and emphasizing in different parts of this executive order
that there are participatory requirements that this EO would take moving forward. She noted
that sometimes this is overlooked, and organizations and communities are left behind, so it's
important to note this as the document is being edited. She stated that the other pieces that the
committee tried to make sure of is that tribes were added because of the unique trust
relationship, historically, with the federal government.
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Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, stated that it was time to move towards the end of
this discussion for a consensus from the Council. He stated first, however, he wanted to just say
one thing in terms of the increased and intentional outreach. He stated that this has been
discussed previously with the agencies when talking about assisting and developing strategic
plans. He stated that another point brought up in terms of sacred sites, a piece of that, around
sacred sites, as where we live, work, play, pray, and were we go to school and where we learn.
He stated that this is very, very crucial as it came out of the original documents of the first
People of Color Summit. He also stated that the wording needs to be correct as this also
includes cemeteries and historical buildings, et cetera. He stated that the other was the use of the
word "culture." He noted that this was a strong section that was not in the original
documentation of the executive order.
Mr. Moore moved the Council to a consensus vote on the recommendations along with the
inclusion and strengthening of areas based on the discussion or points from Council members.
The vote was to move forward with the recommendations by a show of hands. He turned to Ms.
Carletta Tilousi for her closing remarks.
Ms. Carletta Tilousi, WHEJAC Co-Chair, thanked everyone for working hard in putting the
pieces together. She stated that there is still a long way to go and this will be a challenging road
ahead and the importance to stay focused on the protection of the communities.
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Ms. Karen Martin, DFO, welcomed everyone back. She turned the floor to Dr. Cecilia
Martinez to introduce the guest speaker, Secretary Deb Haaland.
Dr. Cecilia Martinez, CEQ, stated that it was an honor and privilege to present Secretary Deb
Haaland, the Secretary for the Department of the Interior. She stated that Secretary Haaland is
from Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico and comes from a military family - her father served and
actually received a Silver Star for saving the lives of many people and her mother was a Navy
veteran. She stated that while this is an incredible feat of her family, it is not uncommon among
Native people.
Dr. Martinez stated that Native people serve the military in very high rates. She explained that
the reason, obviously, is because as an indigenous culture people want to keep our country safe,
keep our people safe and make sure that we continue to build a strong and vibrant community
with human rights. She noted that in addition to that, Secretary Haaland has served in the House
of Representatives in Congress. She stated that she met Secretary Haaland when they were both
serving on then Candidate Biden's Climate Engagement Advisory Committee and noted that
Secretary Haaland is the first Native woman to occupy her position.
Dr. Martinez stated that having served alongside Secretary Haaland on the Engagement
Committee, she is aware that she brings certain principles to her job. One being that not only do
we need to advance the protection of human rights and the protection of all communities, we
need to enhance the protection of the planet and all the Earth's life systems, and no one should
bear the disproportionate cost. She also stated that she believes that we should not shift burdens
from one community to the other, thus serving all communities in her position, and she has
dedicated her life to that kind of principle and to that kind of action. She turned the floor over to
Secretary Deb Haaland.
Secretary Deb Haaland, U.S. Department of Interior: "Thank you so much, Dr. Martinez.
Cecilia, my dear friend. And it's nice to see so many friends on this call. I'm really happy to be
here. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm so pleased to welcome you all back from your break and
kick off the afternoon session of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council public
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meeting. I'm coming to you from the ancestral homelands of the Anacostan and Piscataway
people and honor them as the first stewards of this region. A person's ZIP Code, income, or
background shouldn't determine if they have access to clean water, breathable air, reliable
electricity, or natural outdoor spaces. But right now, communities of color and poor families
face threats to their health, welfare, and traditional knowledge, a legacy of pollution, an act
now/think later approach to development and extraction is accelerating climate change,
destroying habitats, contaminating air and water, and increasing hazardous waste and air
pollution.
Environmental injustice is personal to me. My own community, the Pueblo ofLaguna, is home
to the Jackpile Mine, once the largest open pit uranium mine in the world. The Jackpile Mine
not only produced radioactive waste that contaminated our environment and continues to do it
today, but also disrupted our Pueblos culture and exploited our working people who were
unknowingly exposed to cancer-causing radiation. And not only that but threats to their health
and safety in other ways too. My cousin lost the hearing in one of his ears, and that happened
all over the place. Unfortunately, these conditions are mirrored across communities of color
nationwide. Climate change is making it hard to access safe and nutritious foods, endangering
health and culture practices and keeping many families from their American dream.
Today's meeting is a historic milestone. We 're coming together to say enough is enough, and
we 're ready to forge a new path that is not only addressing climate change but also ensures that
we tackle longstanding injustice. The Biden-Harris administration hit the ground running to
address the interlocking crises that our country faces: the global pandemic, economic
uncertainty, racial injustice, and the climate crisis. As part of the President's "all of
government" approach, the Department of the Interior will tackle environmental challenges
through the lens of equity to secure climate justice and equitable economic opportunities in
disadvantaged communities. For generations we put off the transition to clean energy, and now
we 're facing a climate crisis. It's a crisis that doesn 7 discriminate.
Every community is facing more extreme weather and the cost associated with that. But as you
all know, communities who have borne the burden of environmental injustice are also those that
have been denied the resources to address the health and economic impacts of those injustices.
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That act now think later approach to managing our public lands and waters hasn't worked well,
not for the communities who live with the legacies ofpollution, not for the coal and oil workers
whose jobs and benefits are being cut, not for the local, state, and tribal governments who
struggle to pay teachers andfirefighters when the market drops, and not for the tribal nations
who are consulted too little and too late on projects that have lasting impacts, and certainly not
for the sustainability of our country and our planet.
As the first Native American Cabinet Secretary, I bring with me a new perspective to addressing
these issues. I believe we can meet this moment with solutions that uplift communities
everywhere with the power of indigenous resilience, language, and knowledge. It's why the
White House Council of Native American Affairs is bringing an all of government approach to
live up to our trust and treaty responsibilities and conduct robust andfrequent tribal
consultation. That is one of the President's priorities. Ingrained in indigenous culture and
traditions is the belief that we have an obligation to the next seven generations to care for each
other. And of course, I'm here because that what my ancestors did.
I learned this in my mother's Pueblo household, on my grandparents' corn field on the Pueblo
Laguna and meeting with indigenous people from across the globe. It is indigenous resilience
and worldview that every country and community can learn from so that we care for our lands,
waters, and resources not just across budget years but across generations. With this world
view, we can usher in a new era to meet this moment and move our planet towards a more
sustainable future. It's a vision that's built into the America the Beautiful initiative, an historic
call to action from the President to conserve and restore 30 percent of America's lands and
waters for the benefit of all people by 2030.
America the Beautiful offers some of the most cost-effective ways to address the climate crisis,
stem the steep loss of nature and wildlife that we are witnessing right now, and address
inequitable access to the outdoors for communities of color across the country. This National
Environmental Justice Advisory Council will be a critical piece to making the President's vision
for a more equitable future a reality. With all of you in this room collaborating, sharing, and
working toward a common goal, we can meet the urgent demands of the climate crisis. Your
work will not only help communities who carry the burden of climate injustice but also empower
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American workers and businesses to lead on a clean energy economy.
The Interior Department is in a unique position to be a leader and a partner to the Council. By
putting our country on a path to achieve net zero emissions, by transitioning in clean energy
production on public lands and waters, by creating good paying union jobs in clean energy and
conservation, by living up to our trust and treaty responsibilities to tribes by expanding access
to natural spaces so every person in this country, no matter where they live, their background or
income can reap the positive health and economic benefits of the outdoors. I know that it will
take hard work and perseverance to untangle this longstanding web of environmental injustice
in our country, but I know that with your leadership and your guidance we will be able to create
a more just country for all those generations to come.
Thank you so much for the good work that you do. I am very grateful for that, and I am honored
to be in your presence today. And now, I'll turn the floor over to Catherine Coleman Flowers,
Vice Chair of the WHEJAC. Thank you. "
WHEJAC CLIMATE & ECONOMIC JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL
WORKGROUP UPDATE
Ms. Catherine Flowers, WHEJAC Co-Vice Chair, thanked Secretary Haaland. She stated that
shifting the paradigm moving forward away from act now, think later, is what the WHEJAC is
seeking because that's the only way the principle of do no more harm to the communities will
get done. She explained that she is the Chair of the WHEJAC Climate and Economic Justice
Screening Tool work group and will be providing the update and discussion. She stated that the
workgroup's charge was to create a climate and economic justice screening tool that has to be
established by July of 2021. She thanked all of her colleagues that worked closely on the
recommendations. She then turned the floor over to Dr. Nicky Sheats and Jade Begay to make
the presentation.
Ms. Jade Begay, WHEJAC Member, presented an overview of the Executive Order 14008,
stating that it requires the creation of a climate and economic justice screening tool to be
established by July 2021. She presented questions that the workgroup addressed. She stated that
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first and foremost, what should be the goal and purpose of the climate and economic justice
screening tool? She presented an outline of the goal and purpose of the climate and economic
justice screening tool. She stated that some supplemental questions were what is the target user
for the tool and for what purpose would EJ communities and other target users need or use the
tool? She stated that finally, are there other existing tools other than the CalEnviroScreen used
by state (California) and local governments or other entities that are effective and should be
reviewed for consideration and development of this climate and economic justice screening tool?
Ms. Begay displayed an outline of some highlighted responses to the questions. She stated that
holding institutions, agencies, governments and people accountable as well as identifying areas
of need for specific communities and directing resources or programming accordingly. She
noted, for example, directing resources and benefits under Justice40, preventing further damage
in disadvantaged or overburdened communities, prioritizing resources, informing policy
changes, evaluating the effects of regulatory and policy interventions, tracking progress towards
EJ goals, helping communities advocate for themselves — similar to holding people accountable
but broader than that — and data on the permitting process that will allow communities to
meaningfully participate, data on permits — what is being allowed, what kind of emissions — and
data on emissions, pollution and emission indicators, healthy and equity indicators, process
indicators, economic indicators performance metrics, funding, and accountability for process.
Ms. Begay also added on the question that asks what is the target user for the tool? She stated
that the target users would be the federal government and various agencies to use as they
develop initiatives such as Justice40. She explained that additional target users would be policy
makers and environmental justice organizers and frontline communities. She turned the floor
over to Dr. Sheats to share more about the indicators.
Dr. Nicky Sheats, WHEJAC Member, started by introducing the second question. He stated
that the second question is, what indicators or data should, if possible, be included in the climate
and economic justice screening tool in the July 2021 release? He noted that it should say, "and
beyond." He also noted the two sub-questions: are there indicators in the current EPA EJ
screening that are useful and should be included, and are there indicators in the current EJ
screening that are not useful? He stated that he would focus on the answer to the overall
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question on how to approach this.
Dr. Sheats stated that first, the committee came up with broad categories of indicators, indicator
buckets, needed in order to identify various disadvantaged communities. He stated that then the
committee came up with the indicators to fit into the buckets that would give more detailed
information needed to identify disadvantaged communities. He listed the buckets, exposures to
burdens, proximity to hazards, sensitive populations that might be in the census block group,
demographic factors, SGS factors, energy issues, energy matters, economic development and
investment, kind of vulnerability indicators and infrastructure indicators. He stated that there
were a lot of indicators, but these are the broad buckets of indicators that was needed to identify
disadvantaged communities.
Dr. Sheats, channeling Professor Rachel Morello-Frosch, stated that the screening tool needs to
be flexible and adaptable, and it needs to evolve as things move along to continue to identify
various types of disadvantaged communities, maybe for more specific purposes like identifying
service gaps in these communities. He stated that the tool will need to evolve, possibly
including some indicators for some purposes and subtracting indicators for other purposes. He
stated that there will inevitably be areas that are missed that will need to be added in. He noted
that the tool needs to be nimble so there needs to be the right indicators and buckets to make the
tool nimble.
Dr. Sheats stressed the importance of continuing to update the tool to reflect the local knowledge
of residents in the disadvantaged communities. He stated that this is an area that traditionally
had not been handled well, government and policy makers. He stated that the residents of these
communities have the most knowledge about them and the most knowledge about their needs
and it's important to incorporate local knowledge.
Dr. Sheats stated that one lasts thing to mention is that the tool is not set up to identify tribal or
indigenous land. He stated that Dr. Whyte shared a series of questions that we be incorporated
into the tool to identify lands that are important for indigenous and tribal communities for EJ and
other reasons. He then opened the floor for questions.
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Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, posed a question. She stated that she noticed that
exposure burdens are present for an overlay, but no current health status. She stated that the
current health status of a community is a major indicator that should be met. She stated that if
you have a community with high levels of infant mortality, maternal mortality, chronic heart
disease, et cetera, that is an important indicator of environmental injustice and important
indicator that perhaps there should not be further facilities permitted in those communities. She
stated that she was wondering why health status is not included.
Dr. Nicky Sheats, WHEJAC Member, stated that under sensitive populations, there is the low
birth rates, maternal death rates, rate of cardiovascular disease, rates of asthma and COPD,
cancer, diabetes, obesity, lung disease. He agreed with Ms. Shepard that these are key things.
Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, reiterated the caution for unintentional consequences
and stated that this should be something that the Council keeps an eye on.
Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch, WHEJAC Member, emphasized the principle of wanting to create
a great tool that can capture the picture of what's going on nationally. She stated that the same
time, however, the administrative datasets can miss a lot of things that are local on the ground.
She stated that there needs to be assurance that local knowledge and local data sources will be
integrated and supplement results from the national screening tool and hopefully address data
gaps that are not captured by the national datasets.
Dr. Morello-Frosch stated that the other thing big challenge for developing an outstanding tool
going forward is having to cultivate a culture of collaboration across agencies and data sharing
to feed into the USDS in order to make this viable. She stated that looking at the list of metrics
develop, much like the Justice40 initiative, it touches several different agencies. She stated that
the development of the tool is going to require collaboration from agencies and data sharing in
ways that are unprecedented. She stated that there were a lot of great metrics for which right
now does not have identified data sources. She stated that some of that will require some
conversations about the need to develop that data and to make it available to address these
important issues.
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Ms. Ruth Santiago, WHEJAC Member, stated that she is very interested in knowing whether
there will be a robust narrative accompanying the data. For example, the EPA ECHO website
has lots of information, but often you need an expert to interpret the information. Having a
narrative in plain and accessible language to the impacted community is very important in
making this data available.
Ms. Santiago stated that another concern of hers was about jurisdictions, places that lack
adequate data collection like Puerto Rico. She stated for example, air quality monitoring results
are disastrous in the U.S. because many air monitors are not collecting 75 percent of the readings
that they should. Then there is automatically a classification of attainment when it's probably
false. She posed the question, what do you do when you don't have data, and how do you avoid
underestimating the burden that certain communities have because of the lack of data?
Ms. Catherine Flowers, WHEJAC Co-Vice Chair, stated that there was a robust discussion
about that because there is no uniform way of knowing who in the U.S. does or do not have
access to wastewater infrastructure or wastewater failed infrastructure. She stated that there is
no national database, and there is no uniform way of collecting that and some states do a good
job, and others don't. She noted that Vi raised examples of the type of issues that Alaska is
facing where the same thing is true, where there's no good data. She explained that this is one
of the reasons to also explore ways to incorporate local data that is collected by people on the
ground.
Dr. Nicky Sheats, WHEJAC Member, stated that you can try using indicators that are
universally available and identify the bucket and what indicators to choose to get to that bucket.
He stated that you may also have to test out the tool and make sure that somewhere like Puerto
Rico or New Jersey is getting reasonable results. He stated that you may need to do some
customizing for particular areas if when you test out the tool you are seeing that it is not serving
the purposes of that particular area. There might have to be some more indicators identified that
can serve as proxy for the things you are trying to get at.
Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch, WHEJAC Member, stated that another principle that is going to be
important for this tool is to acknowledge data uncertainties and to also be really clear that no
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data doesn't mean no problem and that this cannot be the default assumption. She also
explained that when ground truthing results and poor data or no data is available, other resources
should be explored where research groups have tried to fill data gaps. There has been a lot of
work, for example, on air quality to account for the fact that air monitoring is very uneven and,
in some cases, not located in places where air quality is really poor. There are ways in which
other data resources can be sought, but the overarching principle is that no data does not
necessarily mean no problem.
Mr. Angelo Logan, WHEJAC Member, wanted to touch on goals and purpose and wanted to
see if the work group had discussion around the idea of prioritizing resources and investment to
achieve improvements, not rather than but on top of the protections, going beyond the
protections to the investments of constant improvement. He stated that communities should
thrive - not just survive. He emphasized real investments in communities above and beyond the
protection part and making sure that this is in the document.
Mr. Logan added that it complicates things in the sense that when you invest in communities that
are already beautiful and making them even more beautiful by eliminate the dangers and the
toxins and the environmental degradation, can spur gentrification - both in urban areas as well as
in natural environments. He inquired as to whether the work group had conversations about
potentially putting protections in place to prevent gentrification as well.
Ms. Michele Roberts, WHEJAC Member, stated that there were discussions about that
particular process. She stated that the work group looked across the board from that of those
initial communities and thought deeply about issues such as displacement versus relocation. The
topic was explored from that spirit and equally thought about the deep, grave, egregious
injustices that have been placed on communities and even more so the displacement piece.
Ms. LaTricea Adams, WHEJAC Member, questioned if there had been preliminary thoughts
around making recommendations for business rules and being very specific about how metrics
are collected and defining variables. She explained that things can be translated from a data
perspective in a myriad of ways and can potentially allow for manipulation of data which will or
will not support getting to the core of the issue.
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Ms. Adams also shared a thought about quality review. She asked the question, what does that
entail, who is involved in that process, does it involve neutral parties, and how can we get to a
place of accountability for the accuracy of the tool and data? She also mentioned thinking about
the expectations for agencies with the scorecard. What are the consequences and
recommendations for plans of action for agencies or entities not meeting the threshold? What is
the goal established for each respective organization?
Ms. Catherine Flowers, WHEJAC Co-Vice Chair, stated that in working on this process there
is a longer timeframe. She stated that tasks were divided up to come up with indicators and try
to see what data was out there. She stated that there was still time to develop a tool. She stated
that at some point the workgroup would be able to incorporate a lot of the input since this is just
the beginning.
Dr. Nicky Sheats, WHEJAC Member, stated that a lot of the issues raised by Ms. Adams relate
to all work groups. He stated that there are a lot of issues on the tool that still need to be
discussed. He stated that there needs to be more discussion about some individual indicators
that may have challenges around them and methodology on how you add up indicators. He did
not know if this would be WHEJAC's purview, but how do you ensure that the communities that
have the most challenges get more of the benefits?
Ms. Jade Begay, WHEJAC Member, mentioned sustainable business practices. She stated that
under the economic indicators, supplemental indicators were added to track number of minority
owned businesses, employment by demographic and workforce participation. She noted that if
the committee has anything additional to add in that set of indicators, that would be helpful.
Ms. Viola Waghiyi, WHEJAC Member, spoke regarding data and lack of data. She stated that
there were lengthy discussions because sometimes in communities the only data available is
from the polluter, and that basically lets the polluter off the hook. She stated that the funding
needs to go directly to communities who come up with their own question. She explained that in
the research they want to find out about their environment, their people, their homes. She stated
that communities are their own experts, so there needs to be funding going directly to
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communities and/or organizations that work with communities directly because the data does
inform policy to strengthen broken and outdated chemical and environmental laws.
Ms. Waghiyi stated that a lot of times the EJ communities are never at the table, and research
data should be useful not only to inform community right to know issues but also ways that
communities may take action to reduce their exposures and address health disparities. She stated
that when we talk about environmental justice, we also need to bring in the health piece to
address the health disparities. It is important that communities are involved when it comes to
data and research and that they are involved from the beginning. Funding needs to be set aside
directly to help with community based participatory research projects.
Dr. Robert Bullard, WHEJAC Member, stated that the government will not ask the right
questions to address many of the challenges and concerns of communities that are on the
frontline and the most impacted. He noted that this means that when developing a tool, you have
to really think outside of what the government has defined as the boundary. He stated that the
tool is only as good as how you develop it, and the assumptions that you use to drive it, and the
implementation strategies that you use to make the change. Having facts, having data or having
documentation — sometimes irrefutable — is never enough to achieve successful outcomes.
Even when tools are developed, for instance, that generate excellent maps and data, oftentimes
the maps and the data and the findings stop short of application for decision making for funding
of something that has been historically neglected.
Dr. Bullard stated that this is not new, and those who worked on this early on, 30 years ago,
those were the concerns then and those are the concerns now. He stated that his hopes are that
when we think about pushing recommendations forward, that we acknowledge that and to try to
come up with strong recommendations that would move in the direction of mandates or
something that the communities most at risk would get the greatest priority in resolution. He
stated it should not stop with metrics development. It stops there, this will just be a great
identifier and nothing that follows can really go to the heart of solving the problem.
Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, stated that one of the things appreciated within all of
the reports is the deep dive of what is needed. He stated that part of that deep dive is systemic
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racism. He stated that the connection between the systemic racism some cases classist by
design. He stated that this is very very crucial to understand.
Mr. Moore stated that another piece of work is around military toxics and many communities
that live around and, in some cases, next to military sites. The research has been taking place for
many, many years and this is a crucial matter to address.
Mr. Moore also added a point of discussion regarding the inclusion both from urban and
indigenous and rural communities. He stated that level of voice is consistently flagged in these
meeting and because of the WHEJAC's integrity, those voices continue to stay at the table with
represented members and public comment and other forms of communications and
recommendations.
Ms. Carletta Tilousi, WHEJAC Co-Vice Chair, stated that some communities are going to need
training on how the technology works and how data is being collected. She stated that there
should be a suggestion of funding being put aside for that. She stated that the WHEJAC should
not be burdened with training people and carrying the expenses of training.
Ms. Tilousi also stated noted that companies always claim that they're not responsible for health
issues. She stated that there mapping the contamination should be added. Communities are
being approached for further data collection and further research and those communities and
their health needs should be protected. She explained the importance of confidentiality -how
data is being collected, protected, stored and use.
Ms. Andrea Delgado, WHEJAC Member, stated that on the underlying thread of the need for
additional data, an issue that was discussed and is relevant to the health of farmworkers and
communities in agricultural and rural areas is pesticide exposure. She stated that there was
discussion on the need for integration of such data into EJ screen. She stated that in the past the
Environmental Protection Agency recognized that such pesticide exposure is one of many
environmental issues and that was not included in the previous EJ Screen. She noted that at the
time, EPA claimed that it was due to insufficient data - which is connected to several of the
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comments that WHEJAC members have made.
Ms. Delgado stated that the WHEJAC needs to make sure that this is no longer a pretext as far as
that is concerned. The recommendations, relevant to both Justice40 as well as EJ screen, is to
ensure that there is going to be investments in the research and data collection around pesticide
usage, as well as incidents of illness and injury. In some pieces on that issue area, that it is going
to mean new research. In other instances, it will mean investing in updating existing datasets
that are currently sitting within the Department of Interior, USDS specifically, as well as CDC
and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, made a recommendation to explore the tech
companies that have already developed mapping tools. She stated that some of these companies
are very sophisticated and very cutting edge. She stated that she wonders whether the federal
government can really develop the kind of tool needed within the timeframe. She reminded the
Council of when Obamacare went online, and the website crashed and they had to bring in tech
companies. She stated that it would be beneficial to also look at what is already in existence that
is developed and in use.
Ms. Catherine Flowers, Co-Vice Chair, advised the Council that the discussion validated a lot
of the discussions that took place within the workgroup. She stated that everyone has been
working diligently on each of their areas but stated that it is very important to go back and read
the recommendations because some of the recommendations that were made are included. She
stated that if it is found that there are additional recommendations that need to be made, please
raise those. She then called for a consensus to accept what was put forth along with whatever
changes need to be made and everyone was in favor of accepting the recommendations.
Ms. Karen Martin, DFO, stated that the recommendations for the Council have been officially
submitted t and they are the WHEJAC recommendations. She stated that those
recommendations would be combined into a full report with the cover letter and corrections
from the chairs, and the report will be forwarded to CEQ. She asked that the workgroup submit
the corrections in the evening. She moved into the next agenda item, Public Comment Period.
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WHE JAC ORAL PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Ms. Karen Martin, DFO, stated that several people registered for public comment and as many
as possible will be given a chance to speak. She stated that all of the commenters on the line
today to speak met the deadline to pre-register. Anyone who did not get a chance to register,
and would still like to make a public comment, can go to the WHEJAC webpage and submit
comments through the comment form until May 27, 2021.
Mr. Michael Goldstein, Public Commenter: Good afternoon, all. I would again like to start by
thanking the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council for this opportunity to
present comments. My name is Michael Goldstein, and I bring several roles and perspective to
these comments, along with 25 years of work in support of environmental justice communities,
specifically as the managing partner of the Goldstein Environmental Law Firm representing
affordable housing developers building in EJ communities; as president of the Goldstein
Brownfields Foundation, funding EJ programming in Florida and the Southeast U.S.; and as
chair of the National Brownfield Coalition's Public Policy, Redevelopment Incentives, and
Regulatory Partnerships Committee, advocating for more, better, smarter tools for environmental
use. My comments today expand upon the comments previously delivered to this community on
April 28th upon my first recommendation that day, which was general in nature and a broad
suggestion that WHEJAC should explore options for dramatically increasing the funding
available for affordable housing.
Today, I speak with more specificity as to how WHEJAC can and should encourage the
Executive Branch and the U.S. Congress to further invest in addressing the crisis in affordable
housing in this country in EJ communities. This unique opportunity has acute and overriding
policy, legislative, educational, and social intersections with environmental cleanup, public
health, equitable redevelopment, and economic empowerment and self-determination. In the
interest of time, I offer the following four recommendations. One, WHEJAC should closely
study and thereafter recommend that Congress increase the 4 percent and 9 percent low-income
housing tax credit under Section 42 of the IRS code to 6 percent and 12 percent for affordable
housing built on brownfield sites requiring actual remediation.
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Two, WHEJAC should closely study and thereafter recommend that Congress increase the
stepped-up basis under Section 42 of the IRS code from 130 percent to 150 percent for
affordable housing built on brownfield sites in difficult development areas and geographic areas
of opportunity and provide for 130 percent stepped up basis for affordable housing built on
brownfield sites outside of DDA NJO zones requiring actual remediation. Three, WHEJAC
should closely study and thereafter recommend that Congress pass a new one-time low-income
housing tax credit in the amount of 80 percent of the cost of land acquisition to develop
affordable housing built on brownfield sites requiring remediation.
And four, WHEJAC should closely study and thereafter recommend that Congress pass an
enhanced tax incentive, for example, a further stepped basis, the current cap with short hold
times, or up to 20 or 25 percent with the same hold time, for redevelopment of brownfield sites
for affordable housing in opportunity zones located in EJ communities. Thank you and bless
you all for your important, transformative work on these matters.
Ms. Naomi Yoder, Public Commenter: Hello, my name is Naomi Yoder. I can hear you, so I
think you can hear me. Great. Thank you. I'm a staff scientist at non-profit Healthy Gulf. We
work in the five Gulf states, and my role is working on environmental justice and the impacts of
petrochemical plants and facilities in the Gulf Coast communities. I wanted to comment on
several things today for the climate and economic justice screening tool. I would like to
comment on a few specifics, and before that, I'd like to advocate for having a larger system of
protecting people and our ecosystems in general. So, behind all of this instead of fighting one
facility at a time, like Formosa Plastics in St. James Parish, we need to be able to protect people
from pollution and from the impact of industry in our communities. That is not available to us.
So as a part of the recommendations, we would ask the WHEJAC to include some greater sense
of protecting people and our ecosystems.
In particular for the climate and economic justice screening tool, we would like to advocate — I
would like to advocate for using all air pollutants and air toxics and water pollutants, so
expanding the number of those that are included and making further restrictions on those
pollutants instead of having these broad categories that polluters can get by with. We also feel
strongly that the companies — the point south companies that are emitting all of these toxins
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should pay for the monitoring that we desperately need as so many of the panelists have already
said. We don't have the date of who's going to pay for that. That should be part of the cost of
doing business if you're a large polluting facility or any polluting facility. We need to be
measuring, reporting, and having meaningful consequences for violations and problems with
polluters. There is a lack of data as Member Ruth Santiago mentioned, and this should be
remedied. I think that's the end of my time. Thank you.
Ms. Mary Cromer, Public Commenter: All right. Hi, my name is Mary Cromer. I am Deputy
Director of Appalachian Citizens' Law Center in eastern Kentucky. Thank you for this
opportunity. I've led ACLC's environmental justice program for the past 12 years, and most of
that work has dealt with the many environmental justice effects of coal mining on families and
communities in central Appalachia. We've submitted written comments, but I wanted to talk
here about a couple of issues that we hope your recommendations will take into account
regarding environmental justice in central Appalachia.
First, with regard to what communities are considered to be disadvantaged, we ask that
proximity to coal mining, whether active or former mine sites, be considered. There are many
authorities out there that demonstrate the ways in which proximity to mining affects health
outcomes and correlates with numerous environmental risks, including lack of access to safe
drinking water and contaminated surface waters. In addition, in Appalachia coal mining
primarily occurs in real close proximity to communities, which creates many direct hazards from
landslides and water and air pollution. In recent years, mountain top removal has left flattened
mountains topped with piles of rubble directly above many of our towns and communities. And
as storm intensities increase due to climate change there is a risk of devastating landslides.
Second, when considering how to implement this group's recommendations, please consider the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. I noticed that DOI was on your list,
and of course we heard from Secretary Haaland. But I want to encourage you to focus on
OSMRE specifically. It's a small agency. It's often ignored, but it's critical to environmental
justice issues in central Appalachia. Only through OSMRE can we ensure that the reclamation
of our mine sites, both those pre-law mine sites is now abandoning through bankruptcy. And
third, our region's long dependency on coal mining has also entailed a long history of
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disinvestment, and one of the primary effects of that is that many in our region lack access to
safe and affordable drinking water and wastewater services.
I represent citizens in Martin County who are fighting for safe and reliable and affordable water.
It's one of the poorest counties in the country, but those citizens already pay some of the highest
water rates in the state of Kentucky. Despite this, the water system is so dilapidated that it
cannot provide reliable, safe water to its residents, and 88 percent of those residents use water
for drinking and cooking. Infrastructure funding to rebuild our failing water infrastructure and
build wastewater systems is desperately needed, but in doing so we urge the administration to
focus on using those funds not only to invest in infrastructure but also in our people. Too often
assistance to coal communities funding is used to support workers in training for jobs that aren't
found in Appalachia, that are elsewhere.
We need infrastructure funding that will invest in our people in Appalachia by training them to
do the work that is necessary to build, rebuild, and maintain basic infrastructure in our region.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Ms. Nina McCoy, Public Commenter: Yes, I am Nina McCoy from Martin County Concerned
Citizens. I am working with Mary Cromer on clean, reliable, and affordable drinking water for
our community. In 1964, President Johnson started the war on poverty in Martin County.
Between 1980 and 2000, 25 percent of our county has been bombed and blasted to get the coal
out. A lot of people lost their wells that they had had for years and years, and now we have
extended a system of water that was built in 1968 for about 500 families out to 3,500 throughout
the whole county. And it has gotten so bad that we're losing 76 percent of the water because it
is so poorly done. And this year, in 2019, our community was considered one of the 25 worst in
the nation.
And what we have found is in the past 20 years we've had predatory engineers and contractors
from outside that have used grants that have done it so poorly that it's become a liability. Our
water system is poorly done. Our sewer system, only 25 percent of the people are on it, and it's
so poorly done that it is a danger to the community — the sewer system itself. And the rates have
increased for water and sewer by 91 percent. And they have these grinder pumps that if
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someone's grinder pump fails, then they have to pay $1,500. And we have so many people at or
below the poverty level. So, my recommendation is I would like for y'all to help poor
communities hold contractors and engineers accountable.
I would like for you to make sure that water and sewer infrastructure is a priority and that
training people within the community to do that type of work — those people within the
community will make sure that what is done is the best for the community. So I hope that
training for this type of work will be a priority for the White House and for environmental
justice. This is such an important aspect of being a green economy is to fix things. You can't
just build a bridge. You can't just lay the pipe. You've got to be able to fix it when it needs
fixing and to keep it up. Thank you.
Ms. Cheryl Johnson, Public Commenter: Hi, everyone. My name is Cheryl Johnson, and I'm
executive director of People for Community Recovery. But I'm also a resident of public
housing in the city of Chicago, Altgeld Gardens. And I've been doing this work for nearly 36
years, and it's very interesting. And I love what Dr. Bullard just stated and everyone else stated,
but I want to just be real about it because I live it every day in my community. It depends on
what region in this country you live in when it comes to these environmental policies and
programs being implemented in your area. To say I've been doing this worth for 36 years this
coming August and to say that our organization has been around since we've been talking about
EJ issues for a long time, my organization was founded by my mother, Hazel Johnson.
And in my neighborhood, in the city of Chicago in the state of Illinois, the concerted effort to
ban EJ issues has been going on for decades. The only way that we get services for our
communities is through a federal complaint or lawsuit to enforce the city or the industries in our
community to clean up their act when historically our city and our state know that they have put
our communities in contaminated areas, particularly where I live, where Altgeld Gardens sit.
But I'm saying this to say that to this day all these programs that come down — when they trickle
down to the local level, and particularly communities like mine — my community had never had
a sustainable environmental program because we never could get funded because our
organization felt that we'd always been blackballed if we talk about EJ issues because EJ was
not part of the funding mechanism.
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And to be even told — I hate to say it, but I would never mention a person's name — to go out to
Burger King with this person, and they told me that, "Your Region 5 is going to never grant you
another grant after our opportunity, so you should never apply again." So saying all those things
and seeing that my community is a desert in every area that you talk about, the environmental
quality that we are experiencing to date in my community is still the same that we were fighting
30 years ago. And it shouldn't be like that.
And to say that now that the new administrator came and told the city not to give a permit is that
they create an EJ assessment tool and do a community impact, our city's going to do whatever it
can to not make sure that happens. So, what's the enforcement from a federal level to a local
level when they don't have to comply, or do we just go to continue to file lawsuits? Thank you.
Ms. Nayyirah Shariff, Public Commenter: Hi, peace, y'all. My name is Nayyirah Shariff, and
I live in Flint, Michigan. I am the director of an organization called Flint Rising, which formed
in the aftermath of the Flint Water Crisis, and prior to serving in that position, I was part of the
community group who fought for information about what was in our water and helped design the
testing process where we went out and recruited residents to have their water tested. And I
wanted to — with the seven years now that it's been since the switch, I have a couple of
comments that I would like to add around I believe it was the Justice40 initiative, around the
remediation and reduction of legacy pollution.
One of the things that we advocated from the very beginning as part of our reparations process
was Medicare for life. We did not advocate for — what we received actually was Medicaid
expansion, and that is really disrespectful for directly impacted communities because Medicaid
is very limited in a lot of different aspects. For one thing, you cannot move outside of the state,
so you're basically trapped in a system that colluded to poison you. In Flint's instance, we had
the government who was an active participant in poisoning us, but in many instances, they are
complicit along with large corporations. And with Medicare, you can relocate to wherever you
want, and then also Medicaid, the system is pretty limited as well because Medicaid as a whole
is just trash, especially when you need specialists.
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And for me in the seven years since the switch, I have seen myself personally having to use
specialists, and fortunately I have health insurance where I don't have a lot of barriers for that.
But I know for Medicaid, if you are on Medicaid, there are a lot of barriers for you to get the
level of healthcare that you need. And then, the other thing I would like to add is to make sure
that as far as funding for water infrastructure that there's new avenues like grants and not WIFIA
and state revolving funds because those are structurally racists for a lot of Black and brown
communities. Thank you very much for your time.
Ms. Sylvia Dove, Public Commenter: I'm Sylvia Dove. I'm from Consumers for Dental
Choice based in Washington, D.C., and we really urge the Council to recommend an increase in
federal government efforts to address the environmental injustice of mercury pollution,
especially that resulting from dental amalgam use. Dental amalgam, sometimes called silver
fillings, it's a filling material that is 50 percent mercury, which is, of course, toxic. And many
people are disproportionately exposed to a double dose of this mercury, first when it's implanted
in their teeth and a second time when it contaminates their environment and the fish that they
eat.
To solve this problem, we ask the Council to recommend an increase in efforts to eliminate the
use of dental amalgam, starting with the federal government programs that seem to use it the
most. While private dentists are switching to mercury free alternatives for more affluent
patients, we're seeing that the federal government is still purchasing large quantities of mercury
for use in dentistry for military personnel, American Indian children, people incarcerated in
federal prisons and others on Medicaid who are receiving dental care through different federally
funded programs. We really think it's time for federal agencies to start purchasing only mercury
free materials in use to protect our environment and the lower income communities and
communities of color that are most affected by dental mercury pollution.
And I sent more detailed comments and documentation in writing as well, including resolutions
supporting this approach from the National Medical Association and the National Congress for
American Indians. So thank you for all y'all's work.
Mr. Raymond Kemble, Public Commenter: Good evening. I'm Raymond Kemble from
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Dimock, Pennsylvania, the poorest county, Susquehanna County, in the state of Pennsylvania.
Due to gas drilling and fracking, our aquifer has been polluted. We haven't had water in our
house for 10 years, and there's numerous people in our county the same way. We have Eureka
Resource that is now trying to put a waste facility for fracked fluids, and they're going to
discharge it into our creek bed, Burdick Creek (phonetic) which runs into the Marshalls Creek
(phonetic), into the Susquehanna River. This should not be allowed. I'm getting feedback.
All right. Okay. So Kendra Two (phonetics) wants to put injection wells into the county, 15
injection wells they're trying to put in. We don't need injection wells to be put into our county,
and we don't need injection wells anywhere in the country. There's got to be better ways to get
rid of their disaster fluids coming up from the drilling process. I'm an ex-water truck driver. I
drove these sites. I know what happens. Illegal dumping into the creeks, illegal dumping on
farm fields. They want to use the water of the roads for dust control. I mean, this is ridiculous.
This needs to stop.
Our government really needs to do something here and stop these industries from polluting
everything in our country with their frack fluids. It's just off the wall. Everything here in this
county, in the Massawa Shale (phonetic) is radioactive, and they want to dump this in injection
wells or dump it in our creek beds and to our waterways where people will downstream get
water in the Susquehanna River. There are thousands and thousands of people that will draw
water from that river, and here we are dumping all this frack fluid into the streams up here. This
has to stop, and I beg the government to do something about this.
Again, Pennsylvania, we have in our constitution we have the right to clean water, clean air, and
clean soil for now and future generations to come, but we don't have water. And right now,
there's a new megapack not a mile from my house, and 15 houses down there have now lost the
water. And the aquifer is polluted. And this industry will turn and tell you, "Oh, we're doing it
better." No, you're not. You're just figuring out how to lie about it better, and the self-
regulation stuff where they had to do the self-regulating has to stop. DEP, EPA, they need to do
their jobs. EPA was here years ago and tested the water in Dimock and found out that the water
is not drinkable due to the fracking fluids. So that's my comment. Thank you.
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Ms. Tea Tanka, Public Commenter: I'm very pleased to be in this meeting and honored to be
with you. Listening to all the comments from today, it's very disheartening to hear about all the
hurt that is being felt by communities throughout the nation and the environmental pollution that
is going on. I am here representing APO in Lake County, Illinois. We are a group of citizens
who have come together trying to raise awareness for ethylene oxide emissions from two
facilities in Lake County. Ethelene oxide is the number one carcinogen.
It's much more dangerous than dioxane. It's more dangerous than asbestos, and it's being
polluted freely by two companies in Illinois. Both of them are three miles apart. Hundreds of
thousands of people live within those communities. Many, many children live within these
boundaries, and the ethylene oxide emissions you cannot smell it. You cannot see it. It's an
invisible carcinogen, and our communities have a disproportionate number of cancer cases.
What is happening is that the polluters self-report. They're allowed by the EPA to self-report
their emissions and from the Intercept article that came out last month, right after our
community found out about it and we started to make noise, the companies went in and scrubbed
their data in the CRI database of the EPA. And by doing so, 64,000 pounds of ethylene oxide
emissions were cleaned up from the books.
So these companies are learning how to lie better, just like the previous commenter was saying.
But they're not being held accountable, and any regulations that go out nationally needs to make
sure that each region — so region 5, for instance, handles Illinois — each region is actually held
accountable that they're implementing whatever new regulations was put in place because it
doesn't matter. If the Illinois EPA doesn't — if they don't want to use U.S. EPA validated
testing and if they want to use something else or let the polluters self-report their own numbers,
then it doesn't help the communities. Basically, the communities are left to hang dry. Frontline
monitoring must be a requirement from the U.S. EPA or something that different regions and
different states cannot play with.
Basically, we need to step away from reliance on self-monitoring — I'm sorry, on self-reporting
from the polluters. They're never going to be telling us the truth, just like we have found that
they have been lying to us for decades. Thank you very much for all the work that you all are
doing. I am blessed to be in the company of people like you, so thank you everyone. Bye-bye.
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Ms. Charlotte King, Public Commenter: My name is Charlotte King, and I am basically a
private citizen. I have a master's degree in sustainable energy and environmental management,
and I have two concerns. One is that people of color who have advanced degrees, we're being
systemically marginalized in the area of sustainability, and we represent less than 4 percent in
these decision-making roles, public and private. Secondly, many people on this call have talked
about the need for measurement by communities on their own relative to environmental justice.
The measurement that they are talking about that they need is leveraging the social cost of
carbon metrics, which are used for federal funding. And yet, no one is trained on how to do it,
and those of us who know how to do it, we're not being tapped to provide technical assistance.
The question that I registered is how will the environmental justice forum speak to the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goal, which is sustainable communities? What measures can
be strengthened to prioritize sustainability in affordable housing that can better inform strategies
to achieve measurable outcomes, including significant increase in mortgage financing tied to
sustainability for affordable housing, connect more comprehensive sustainability policies for
zoning, community planning, and enforcement of planning system controls? And finally,
require sustainability disclosures for block grants, urban planning, and housing policy. I so
appreciate you letting me present my question, and I will provide it in writing with supporting
documentation.
Ms. Belinda Joyner, Public Commenter: My name is Belinda Joyner. I live in North Hampton
County, which is in Garysburg, North Carolina, tier one county, very poor county, home to
about five Title V facilities that's been permitted by DEQ. North Hampton County, like I said,
is a Tier One county, 52 percent African American. Invitae, like I say, is the wood pellet plan
that's right in our backdoor. Last year — well, 2019, we had a public hearing. They wanted to
expand, which DEQ gave them permission to do that. I was in a meeting with Secretary Regan
last year, and my question to them was with all the opposition that they had, why was the permit
granted? And I was told that as long as they were in compliance with what the state said that
they should be that they had to give them that permit. My question then was then what's the use
of a public hearing? And they said to make the permitting process stronger.
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So my question then was, well, when are you all going to do it? We're impacted, and what we
need for you all to do — because I've heard some awesome stuff here today — DEQ in the state
of North Carolina, we are a dumping ground. We have about five facilities of wood pellets. We
have chicken farms. We have hog farms, biomass, and it's killing us. They talk about COVID
and us being affected by COVID. This is the reason why because of all the stuff that's dumped
in our communities. Dr. Bullard, I'm so glad to see you today. I've been in a lot of meetings
with you at the EJ summit down at the Bricks and Whitakers. And we're still fighting.
We need to you all to talk to DEQ so that they will take into considerations the comments of
those people like myself and others that's being impacted by all these polluters, and it's killing
us every day. And it seems to me it's like profit over people. So, if the general assembly, they
need to evaluate. We have other states, such as New Jersey, California, that has taken citizens
that are being impacted in these communities — they have taken their comments in their process
of permitting whether or not the permit is granted. And we appreciate that. I appreciate
everything that I've heard here today.
It's really been awesome, and I just need you all to speak for us that really don't have a voice
because they're not listening to us. But they're killing us every day. Like I said, DEQ,
everything comes to North Carolina because of the lack of communicating with the citizens.
They just don't care. They just dump it, and being Black and being poor, they feel like they can
just give us anything and we're supposed to take it. And it's time out — they say that
environmental justice is supposed to be equally, but that's just like saying, "I pledge allegiance
to the flag with liberty and justice for all." And we know that that don't mean anything, so we
need your help here in North Carolina. Thank you.
Ms. Heather Croshaw, Public Commenter: Thank you, WHEJAC, for the opportunity to speak
to you today on behalf of my organization, the St. Croix Environmental Association. It's truly
an honor to address you today. Known locally as SCEA, my organization is based on St. Croix,
U.S. Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory and also an environmental justice community. I am here
today to tell you about the notorious Limetree Bay refinery, its continuous toxic pollution, and
environmental injustice that faces our community. We ask you for your help for empowering us
to hold Limetree Bay accountable for poisoning our home.
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For the past month, the community of St. Croix has been subjected to daily poisoning by
noxious fumes originating from Limetree Bay refinery. In the recent week, the smell has
become even worse. Residents downwind from the refinery have to breath in this toxic air
pollution on a near daily basis. These fumes are causing headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness,
coughing, and respiratory irritation. People have even woken up in the middle of the night with
extreme headaches. We've heard countless accounts of children projectile vomiting. Schools
have been shut down.
On several occasions community vaccination clinics had to be closed. Public services like the
Bureau of Motor Vehicles have had to close as well, along with many small businesses, all
because of fumes overwhelming people and making them sick. Then, yesterday, actually as I
was drafting our comment for today, one of the Limetree Bay refinery coper units had a major
fire that spewed an orange toxic cloud into the sky across the western half of the island. We've
had reports that it's rained oil again on homes and infield green. People rely on their cisterns for
water, homegrown food for survival. Now, they are contaminated.
We are waiting for EPA to get the situation under control, but we need action now because
people are in harm's way. We are afraid that the refinery will explode if it is allowed to
continue operating. Our local environmental protection arm of our government does not have
any of its own air monitoring equipment, so we must rely on self-reporting from the refinery.
And like others have suggested, it doesn't work. To make matters worse, the refinery just
received a notice of violation for EPA for not operating its sulfur dioxide monitors. So, I'm here
to ask for you to help us please. Empower the citizens of St. Croix to monitor this refinery.
Help us hold Limetree Bay accountable. We need monitoring equipment now, like a UV hound,
and also training to help citizens operate these types of monitoring equipment. We have the
capacity and the resilience to be strong, and we can do this. But we need your help. Thank you,
all, for your work on environmental justice, and I'll be submitting more written comments as
well.
Mr. Tim Guinee, Public Commenter: Thank you very much. My name's Tim Guinee. I'm a
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member of the Climate Reality Project, and I first want to express my gratitude to the Council
for the extraordinary work that you're all doing and also to all the amazing people who are doing
public comment today. I return again this week to give you an update on the Byhalia Pipeline
situation in Memphis, Tennessee and the need for federal action to stop the environmental
injustice occurring there.
There is an enormous regulatory gap which is endangering the people of southwest Memphis
and which I believe the members of this committee could help alleviate. Last week, the
Memphis city council met to discuss an ordinance to protect its water supply. A representative
of Plains All American, one of the companies behind the Byhalia project, threatened litigation if
the city moved forward and stated that federal action supersedes local action. The city, in my
opinion, fearing the financial resources of the oil company — they postponed any action to
protect their people until July. But there's a problem with the federal permitting of this pipeline,
the very federal action that Byhalia is upholding as superseding local authority.
The fast-tracked application on nationwide permit 12 ignored both the threat to the city's
aquifer, which a million people drink from, and the fact that the pipeline is being shunted
through a resilient lower wealth Black community, which already carries the burden of 17 toxic
release inventory facilities and cancer risks four times the national average. If you want proof
that this area has long been a sacrifice zone, you need look no further than the EPA's own 2017
snapshot, which showed that two-fifths of all of the national priority list superfund sites in the
entire state of Tennessee are in Shelby County.
Now, I recognize that the data that I'm pulling from is a couple of years old. It's the most recent
that I've been able to find, but it makes a couple of things clear. Number one, that historically a
disproportionate burden has been placed on this community. And number two, the fact is the
federal government has also known about this situation. You have the opportunity now to stem
this tide of injustice. Please advise the White House to rescind the permit advanced by the Army
Corp of Engineers under nationwide permit 12 on the basis that it wholly ignores the issues of
environmental justice and the possible endangerment of the people's water supply in Memphis.
The use of the permit should also be reevaluated for other pipeline projects to make sure that full
deliberation has been carried out to protect the people and the environment of the United States.
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I thank you very much for my time.
Ms. Zulene Mayfield, Public Commenter: Okay. Good afternoon. I'm here. Thank you so
much. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am Zulene Mayfield. I am the chairperson of
Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living. We're an organization here in Chester,
Pennsylvania, and during the course of our 29-year-old battle against waste polluting and
polluting facilities, we've had some successes. But we are still burdened by the largest
incinerator in the country, a mass burn about 3,600 tons of trash every day, polluting our
community. Many people on the call, Ms. Shepard, Dr. Bullard, Dr. Beverly Wright, I met years
ago unfortunately, and unfortunately, we are still on the battlefield. I think that one of the
recommendations that I have — and I will submit written comments. We have tried to fight these
battles, and we've held our own as communities.
But our federal government has to acknowledge that there are some communities that require
extra protection, and there are markers that would indicate where there's in access to poor
healthcare, where there's poor health. Right now, currently in the city of Chester, 38.5 percent
of our children have asthma, the fifth highest than the national average and third highest than
those that live in the fourth richest county in Pennsylvania. The city of Chester is a poor
community. I believe that these communities and communities like Chester and across this
nation — that there should be an Endangered Communities Act, and that declaration would mean
that before a polluting facility is sited there that they have to prove that there will be no net
increase in pollution.
It also should be enhanced scrutiny and enhance regulations, added resources to that community
such as technical help. There's a huge disparity in education sometimes, and it should be
incumbent upon the federal government and/or the polluter to educate the community as to what
they are doing. But there has to be enhanced regulation because these communities,
communities like Chester, are being polluted to death, and that's what I'm advocating for. I will
send in written comments. Thank you.
Ms. Sue Halpern, Public Commenter: Thank you so much for this opportunity. I want to say
your discussion today has all been right on and much appreciated. I am the vice president of the
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South End Neighborhood Association in Stanford, Connecticut. Now, Stanford, Connecticut is
30 miles outside of New York City. The south end of Stanford is 177-acre peninsula surrounded
by two tributaries that flow into Long Island Sound. It consists of a national registered historic
neighborhood under the Department of Interior. There are over 200 mostly multifamily homes,
families of many ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
There are now over 10 high-rise apartment buildings on what was a highly contaminated
industrial and manufacturing site. Some 20,000 people are expected to live and work on this
small section of Stanford. The south end is the former site of many industries, including a coal
gasification plant, heavy boat manufacturing, transformer production, tool and die and postal
equipment manufacturing. We currently live with an asphalt plant, a salvage yard, a sewage
treatment facility, and a cement and stone plant at our periphery. At the far end of the peninsula
is one of our city parks, which was once a toxic landfill, a dumping site for tires and plastic
bottles. It is now being used by hundreds of people daily, and we also have an old boatyard
being used for rock crushing and stockpiling of fugitive soils.
All these activities produce toxic chemical mixes of potential serious soil, air, and water
contamination. There are almost daily foul odors and air quality levels carrying PCBs, TPHs,
arsenic, lead, and mercury, all by-products of these industrial sites. There are serious concerns
of community health, safety, and welfare due to poor communications with city and state
departments. We are concerned about the exposure over time of uncovered, untested, and
undetected possible carcinogenic substances affecting the public's health.
We are asking for air, soil, and water testing and open communication to the thousands of
residents who now reside in our community. This is a very serious health and environmental
issue for Stanford and the surrounding towns. Listening to others in this country with similar
issues is astonishing for me and I'm sure for you, and I appreciate the difficult task you all have
taken on, on behalf of the country. Thank you.
Ms. Karen Martin, DFO, thanked the public commenters that were able to join and stated that
the deadline for written public comments is May 27, 2021. She stated that all public comments
will be shared with the WHEJAC. She then turned the meeting over to Ms. Peggy Shepard and
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Mr. Richard Moore to start the business meeting discussion.
WHEJAC BUSINESS MEETING REFLECTION & CONVERSATION
Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, thanked everyone, again, who made public comment.
He stated that unfortunately, in many cases, this is not the first time these comments are heard.
He stated that it could be his own neighborhood or many of the others that are on the Council's
neighborhood, but issues that have been heard before, legacy communities, legacy issues, and
legacy chemicals. Mr. Moore open it up to the Council members for comment regarding the
public comments.
Ms. Viola Waghiyi, WHEJAC Member, stated that coming from an EJ community whose
health has been harmed by polluters, including military and multinational corporations and
industries, she hears their voices. She stated that from all of those that testified, there's
reoccurring themes from holding regulators accountable. She stated that all efforts have been
exhausted with state and federal regulations and they need to be held accountable. She pointed
out that there were pleas from communities whose health and children have been harmed by
industries and polluters taking data off the EPA site so they can continue to pollute. She noted
that this has been going on for 19 years and there has never been proper oversight. She stated
that polluters need to be held accountable by regulatory agencies, including EPA, our state
department, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. She reiterated some specific
commenters concerns and noted her 19 years of doing this work. She stated that everyone
comes from communities trying to make ends meet, put food on the table, and keep heat in their
homes and everyone is being heard.
Ms. Susana Almanza, WHEJAC Member, thanked all the communities that testified and those
that are sending in their comments. She stated that what was heard over and over again about
for over 30 years how the environmental quality has not changed for many communities,
especially communities of color. She also noted concern about the lack of enforcement that is
needed. She also noted people's concern about the need for Medicare for life versus Medicaid
and how the Medicaid benefits are limited and how you just can't move around with those
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limited Medicaid benefits. She also noted a lot of talk about the polluters doing self-reporting
and that seems to be a big issue and a concern that people have and how EPA regions need to be
held accountable.
Ms. Almanza also stated that the pollution that is going into the aquifers and also that deep well
injections in several states need to be eliminated. She stated that concern was raised about the
testimony that people give as the EPA and public hearing processes, and that they feel like it's
just part of "check the box" instead of really being listened to and adhering to and making
changes for those permits.
Ms. Almanza went on to discuss how people were talking about the need to require or have
expert protection for those communities who already have health issues and how maybe coming
together with an Endangered Community Act that will put more criteria in regulations on
facilities. She noted that the water contamination seems to continue to be a big concern for
everyone when it comes to the polluters and the Byhalia Pipeline continues. She stated that
heard at the last public hearing was all the concerns that come with that, but also, they talked
about the federal gap and the permitting and the fast tracking. She stated that fracking and the
need to have full deliberations to review the impact on water and humanity has always been a
problem.
Ms. Almanza stated that she continues to hear that some communities require extra protection.
She stated that there is a lot of work that is needed to make sure to protect the communities. She
stated that the WHEJAC will work hard along with a lot of the other people that are working on
different issues under the Biden administration to hopefully bring some changes and relief for
the communities. She reassured the listeners that the WHEJAC will put the recommendations
and suggestions forward and do whatever it is their power to help protect humanity and the
environment.
Mr. Tom Cormons, WHEJAC Member, stated that the points made with regard to water
infrastructure, especially in areas highly impacted by mountaintop removal mining, have broad
applicability to a lot of discussions. He noted mention of the most foundational infrastructure
being communities and the need for investments in needed infrastructure. He stated that
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investments should be made in what communities need and not highjacked by profiteers, but by
people who are accountable to the community and providing needed economic stimulus, jobs for
people in the community and have a stake in the community. He closed stating that he really
appreciated the reference to the importance of the Office of Surface Mining, which currently
does not have a federal director, something that we certainly need to prioritize.
Ms. Michele Roberts, WHEJAC Member, stated that it is exceptionally important to listen to
the public comments and it goes to show that a full interagency governmental approach is
needed and that all of the federal family members must be engaged in the process equally. She
stated that it reaffirms and confirms the depth that was sought trying to make a strong tool,
understanding that it is not the only piece, but from the Justice40 through the executive order
and the climate tool piece is all exceptionally important. She noted that there are legacy
challenges that are still caught in gaps as not all agencies are being held accountable to that of
EJ. She stated that it is incredibly important that WHEJAC really take a deep look at these
legacy community issues and make sure that they are captured in the climate tool assessments
and the executive order and Justice40 language.
Dr. Beverly Wright, WHEJAC Member, stated that listening to the reports given by
communities who are suffering in 2021 is sad because these were the same reports heard 30
years ago and it seems to be getting worse. She stated that that's mainly because the root of the
problem is not being dealt with. She stated that the root of the problem is the permitting system
and the fact that permits are given based on industrial standards and not health standards. She
stated that as good as the work that is being done is, this will continue until the root of the
problem is addressed.
Dr. Wright stated that the Endangered Communities Act really spoke to her. She stated that this
might be a way of making progress with communities that are being hit in all directions that
have been overlooked. She stated that these communities are an endangered species in that
sense and there needs to be a wholistic approach to dealing with these communities that have all
kinds of things coming at them.
Mr. Juan Parras, WHEJAC Member, recommended that there be follow up with all the
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individuals that made comments and find out what region they are in, what they need, and
follow up with whomever would be responsible. She stated that there are a lot of common
issues that were brought up so there could be a report card for all of the regions to find out who
is servicing or who is not servicing. She stated that it would be creating a center for making sure
that people are getting help in other regions and also finding out who is doing a good job and
who is not.
Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, updated the Council regarding the next step in terms
of protocol and process. He stated that the reports, along with a signed cover letter from the co-
chairs, will be submitted to CEQ after the meeting. He stated that a version of the final
recommendations will be posted online after the meeting, and the website will be updated and
replaced with the report in the final format by the first week of June. He then turned the floor
over to Ms. Shepard to continue with the remaining business items.
Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, stated that it would be very appropriate and relevant
as a Council to send a letter to CEQ with recommendations for how the public comment period
should be addressed. She stated that it every relevant federal agency that is subject to the
executive order should have its own environmental justice public comment period so that the
employees and staff there are hearing directly from the public and can address the comments
directly.
Ms. Shepard noted that regarding steps forward, the climate and economic screening tool work
group is going to continue to work and provide input on the screening tool through July. She
stated that a new workgroup will be established for the scorecard, and that workgroup will be
developing recommendations on what types of indicators or data would be useful in an agency
scorecard, and basically evaluating the agency's work. She explained that there cannot be more
than 13 WHEJAC members on the work group. She stated that when the times comes, if
members want to participate in this work group, to please send Karen Martin an email.
Ms. Shepard stated that WHEJAC members will need to decide if the executive order and the
Justice40 workgroups should be maintained to provide recommendations on the implementation
over the next several months. She stated that the Justice40 workgroup decided that they did
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want to maintain their workgroup. She stated that the executive order work group would need to
decide if they will maintain the group and how those meetings will occur. She also stated that if
other WHEJAC members are interested in joining any of the work groups to let Karen know.
She asked the Council to weigh in on any other work groups that members think should be
established.
Ms. LaTricea Adams, WHEJAC Member, stated that based on the frequency of some of the
comments or recommendations around health, that there could potentially be a specific group
dedicated that to specifically emphasizing issue surrounding body burden as well as maternal
health and around children's health as well.
Mr. Tom Cormons, WHEJAC Member, stated that he was interested in the conversation about
additional work groups and wants to have that conversation in the context of the decision to
carry forward the Justice40 workgroup because real change and progress requires follow through
and sustained commitment. He stated that a metaphor he would use for the recommendations
that the WHEJAC put together, and the Justice40 workgroup specifically, is tossing a paper
airplane off the top of a tall building. He stated that the hope is that it will land well if that's the
end of the engagement, but really needing stay onboard the plane and stay in constant contact
with the cockpit to ensure that things land the way needed. He stated that he would really like to
lean into and look forward to thinking about schedule for Justice40 as they take on additional
things.
Mr. Harold Mitchell, WHEJAC Member, stated that assessing the last two public commenting
periods, if looking at additional type work groups, it seems like that running theme would be
enforcement. She also stated that look at the assessment and see what is a greater need that is
heard from communities that has been a revolving theme for the last 30 years, that hadn't been
addressed and create a particular group around that. He noted that he was not sure if it would be
strictly enforcement and accountability because it seems that everything is the impacted burdens
on communities. He stated that instead of just the kneejerk reaction of creating something, get
specific to put something together to address those recurring comments that keeps popping up.
Ms. Ruth Santiago, WHEJAC Member, stated that workgroups or sub-workgroups could be
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created within the Justice40 group. She stated that there could be an energy group as a lot of the
comments had to do with energy issues and that would be in line with the Executive Order
14008 that lists energy.
Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, stated that perhaps the members who have made
recommendations could do a couple of sentences being more specific as to the work group they
recommend. She stated for instance, energy is a huge topic, so drilling down on what the
objectives and outcomes would be would seem important.
Dr. Beverly Wright, WHEJAC Member, stated that one of our biggest concerns was on
implementation and finding ways to make certain that when recommendations are made and
then funds are appropriated that there is a process that is put in place so that the intention of that
recommendation and the people it is supposed to help are helped. She stated that she was unsure
of what the committee would be called but would be interested in participating in that
committee. She asked Ms. Shepard for a suggestion in which she suggested Justice40
Implementation.
Mr. Juan Parras, WHEJAC Member, stated that what was heard that was never heard in the
past was concerns about fracking, the new way to drill for oil. He stated that it creates
earthquakes in communities that have a lot of fracking and it contaminates the water. He stated
that there should be a program or a committee that starts addressing all the fracking that is going
to start taking place in the entire nation. He stated that it was a common theme and something
that focus is needed on before it gets completely out of control.
Mr. Kim Havey, WHEJAC Member, stated to build off of what Juan said, putting forward a
recommendation that there is a policy subcommittee to address some of the broader policy issues
like fracking, energy, public health, sanitation, access to water, et cetera. He stated that a policy
statements could be developed to help guide the work.
Ms. Peggy Shepard, WHEJAC Co-Chair, stated that she would be interested in a work group
on developing a frontline climate corp. She stated that she was very concerned that there's a
climate corps idea that's being raised by a lot of the conservation groups. She stated that Biden
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did talk about that in his earlier platform, so it would be nice to think about a frontlines climate
corps that operates in our communities with youth from the community.
Ms. Shepard opened the floor for a consensus vote on continuing Justice40, beginning on the
scorecard, and was decided that the screening tool will be continuing until July. She stated that
if there is a consensus vote on continuing Justice40 and the scorecard with the provision that
determinations will be made on the other workgroups, that would be about six recommendations.
She called for a consensus vote and everyone was in agreement. She stated that the scorecard
working group will be started and Justice40 will continue. She asked that the members who
have asked to start new work groups to put together a paragraph about specifically what the
workgroup would focus on.
Ms. Shepard then took a consensus vote on maintaining the executive order workgroup and
everyone was in agreement. She stated that the executive order workgroup will be maintained as
well. She stated that schedules will be set up over the next few weeks for the continuing
workgroups. She stated that there was also an important discussion in the workgroups that
WHEJAC would like to meet with the Interagency Council on a regular schedule. She stated
that request was included in the transmittal letter that goes with the recommendations and will be
followed up more specifically in a letter the Interagency Council. She then turned the floor over
to Dr. Cecilia Martinez for closing remarks and any additional comments.
CLOSING REMARKS AND ADJOURN
Dr. Cecilia Martinez, CEQ, thank the chairs and extended a thank you to the Council for the
amazing work. She stated that they have been taking copious notes, making sure that we're
capturing the gist. She stated that all the documents will be reviewed thoroughly and moving
forward on seeing how the recommendations can be integrated. She stated that Chair Mallory, if
she were there, would be deeply gratified with the recommendations and work of the Council.
She stated that she looks forward to the next meeting and thinks it is going to be an incredible
journey.
Ms. Karen Martin, DFO, stated that she has a meeting scheduled to figure out the schedule for
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the next meeting in advance of the next set of deadlines the government is working against. She
stated that she would keep the Council posted on any new dates and will also post it on the
website and on the EJ listserv and publish it in the federal registry.
Mr. Richard Moore, WHEJAC Co-Chair, thanked the Council for the incredible work as well
as the working staff and the public commenters. With that, he adjourned the meeting.
64 |
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APPENDIX A - MEETING ATTENDEES
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Ibrahim
Absa
Environment Quality Authority
Ricky
Ackerman
Eastside Community Network
Gerardo
Acosta
Office of Communities, Tribes and Environmental
Assessment
Astrika
Adams
Office of Advocacy
Susana
Addo Ntim
US FDA
Ann
Agler
Legacy Land Conservancy
Mary
Aguilera
Buckeye Environmental Network
Carina
Ahlqvist
N/A
Iqra
Ahmed
Environmental Defense Fund
Mary
Aiken
CBO
Christina
Akly
NEE
Nicki
Alexander
U.S. EPA - Region 2
Lylianna
Allala
City of Seattle
Tessa
Allen
EPA
Camila
Alvarez
N/A
Susan
Alzner
Shift7
Lillian
Andrews
NASEM
Jan-Michael
Archer
University of Maryland School of Public Health
Deyadira
Arellano
People's Collective for Environmental Justice
Maria
Arevalo Gonzalez
EPA
Chauncey
Arnold
Alliance for Appalachia
Elizabeth
Arnold
DOE
Patrick
Arnold
10 Billion Strong
Jessica
Arriens
National Wildlife Federation
Kristi
Ashley
Federal Aviation Administration
Ross
Astoria
University of Wisconsin at Parkside
Ellen
Atkinson
Citizen
Anita
Au
Southern California Association of Governments
Ted
Auch
FracTracker Alliance
Laura
August
CalEPA
Andrew
Baca
Environmental Protection Agency
Alan
Bacock
USEPA R9
Jay
Baker
Western States Air Resources Council
Shalanda
Baker
Department of Energy-Energy Justice
Kim
Balassiano
USEPA
Rich
Baldauf
US EPA
Teresa
Ball
Sierra Club
Paul
Balserak
American Iron and Steel Institute
65 |
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FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Cara
Bandera
Self
Komal
Bangia
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, CalEPA
Lucienne
Banning
Ecology
Erik
Baptist
Wiley Rein LLP
Betty
Barnes
EPA
Xavier
Barraza
Friends of Valle de Oro
Catharine
Bartone
VTDEC
Samantha
Basile
U.S. Global Change Research Program
Nikki
Bass
USEPA
Jay
Bassett
USEPA Region 4
Erica
Bates
WA Department of Ecology
Nizanna
Bathersfield
US EPA
John
Beard
Port Arthur Community Action Network
Karen
Bearden
350 Triangle
Allyson
Beasley
Western Environmental Law Center
Regine
Beauboeuf
HNTB
Patrick
Beckley
US EPA
Mary
Bell
EPA/OECA
Jeremy
Bendik-Keymer
University of Chicago
Felipe
Benitez
Corazon Latino
Agatha
Benjamin
US EPA
Kent
Benjamin
US EPA
Ariel le
Benjamin
US EPA
Kristopher
Benke
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Karen
Bennett
LBBS
Stephanie
Bergeron Perdue
Baker Botts
Susan
Bernard
Wiley LLP
Genie
Bey
DC Department of Energy & Environment
Prerna
Bhat
Council on Environmental Quality
Brittany
Bianco
FDOT
Jessica
Bielecki
NRC
Mathia
Biggs
USGCRP
Cassie
Bittorf
Stericycle Inc.
Lynda
Black
CREEJ
Michael
Blair
Innovate Inc
Uni
Blake
American Petroleum Institute
Julie
Bledsoe
Appalachian Voices and Kingston Coal Ash Workers wife
John
Blevins
USEPA, Region 4
Gretchan
Blum
ERM
Coline
Bodenreider
UC Berkeley
Julie
Boetger
Ohio Poor People's Campaign
66 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Ian
Bosmeijer
Sunflower Electric Power Corp.
Terry
Bowers
DOD
Christina
Bowman
University of Maryland
Cynthia
Bowser
Westside Residents
Jennifer
Boyle
ODEQ
Karen
Bradbury
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Maricel
Braga
Harvard University
Caitlin
Briere
US Environmental Protection Agency
Shannon
Broome
Self
Erin
Broussard
Arizona Electric Power Cooperative
Caroline
Brown
Citizens CA GND organization
Erica
Brown
AMWA
Charles
Brown
World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry
Charmaine
Brown
Mortgage Bankers Association
Nicole
Brown
AECOM
Lucas
Brown
EOP
Robin
Brown
CCOAL-Concerned Citizens Organized Against Lead
Michael
Brown
Sustaining Way
Sarah
Buchhorn
CMAP
Anna
Bunting
EGLE
Simon
Bunyan
White House Council on Environmental Quality
Scott
Burgess
OMB
Jeff
Burkett
Liberty Utilities
Omari
Burrell
EPA Region 6
Peter
Butkovich
Dykema Gossett
Stan
Buzzelle
US EPA
Jennifer
Calkins
Western Environmental Law Center
Stacey
Callaway
Ecology
Morgan
Capilla
US EPA
Lydia
Cardona
GreenLatinos
Katherine
Cassese
Laurel School'
Lupe
Castillo
Xicanalndia Gardens
CRYSTAL
CAVALIER
7 Directions of Service
Brian
Chalfant
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Eliodora
Chamberlain
US EPA Region 7
Jim
Chapman
Urban Design 4 Health, Inc.
Donna
Chavis
Friends of the Earth
Lisa
Chiffolo
Toyota
Elaine
Christian
City of West Palm Beach
Rachel
Cleetus
Union of Concerned Scientists
Kara
Coats
DOD Regional Environmental Coordinator Program
67 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Christopher
Coes
Department of Transportation
Deborah
Cohen
USEPA
Debby
Cohen
None
Melissa
Collier
MDEQ
Nikkita
Collins
Self-Employed
Tokesha
Collins-Wright
Louisiana Chemical Association
Colin
Colverson
Tennessee Valley Authority
Sarah
Conley-Ballew
Rural Action
Chelsea
Conover
Appalachian Voices
Jasmin
Contreras
EPA
Emily L.
Cooper
Mars Hill United Methodist Church, Mars Hill, NC
James
Cordes
Court Reporter
Christine
Covington
Deloitte
K
Craig
State Government
Ayana
Craig
N/A
Bria
Crawford
EPA
Brandi
Crawford-
Johnson
EJ Advocate
David
Cremer
FHWA-Office of Tribal Transportation
Mary
Cromer
Appalachian Citizens' Law Center, Inc.
Heather
Croshaw
St. Croix Environmental Association
Kelley
Cureton
Green | Spaces Chattanooga
Martha
Curran
U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development
Mary
Curry
WNC Climate Action Coalition and Climate Reality
Fran
Dalton
Garfield Park Neighborhoods Association
Lew
Daly
Roosevelt Institute
Corbin
Darling
EPA Region 8
Owen
Davies
N/A
Michelle
Davis
HHS
Jarod
Davis
Dow
Maria
De Jesus
Ironbound Community Corporation
Viktoriia
De Las Casas
Troutman Pepper
Robert
Dean
Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT)
Jesse
Deer In Water
Citizens Resistance At Fermi Two (CRAFT)
Natasha
DeJarnett
University of Louisville
Catherine
Denenberg
Anderson County TN Commissioner
Marney
DeVroom
FJ Management Inc.
Christine
Diaz
Clean Water for NC
Shantray
Dickens
FAA Civil Rights
Catherine
Diggs
Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice
Cat
Dillard
Rethinking Plastic
68 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Chris
Dodge
Save the Bay
Jenna
Dodson
West Virginia University
John
Doherty
IUPAT
Lilian
Dorka
EPA, OGC External Civil Rights Compliance Office
Dr MK
Dorsey
IberSun Solar
Barbara
Doten
California Global Education Project at CSU Long Beach
Sylvia
Dove
Consumers for Dental Choice
Melinda
Downing
Department of Energy
Kathy
Doyle
Relief EHS, LLC
Tim
Duda
Terra Advocati
Kim
Duncan
None
Amanda
Dweley
ILLUME Advising
Amanda
Dwyer
Lynker
Pamela
Eaton
Green West Strategies
Jeannie
Economos
Farmworker Association of Florida
Murry
Edwards
Contract Design & Development, LLC (CDD)
Katherine
Egland
EEECHO
Fleming
EL-AMIN
FHWA
Denise
Elliott
Greenbrier River Watershed Association
Mike
Elster
US EPA
Marianne
Engelman-Lado
EPA
Lena
Epps-Price
US EPA
Ann
Erhardt
PSC
Mark
Erickson
Appvion Operations, Inc.
Neeraja
Erraguntla
ACC
Michael
Esealuka
Healthy Gulf
Diandra
Esparza
Intersectional Environmentalist
Monica
Espinosa
EPA Region 7
Christopher
Espinosa
N/A
Sydney
Evans
Environmental Working Group
Mike
Ewall
Energy Justice Network
Carole
Excell
WRI
Ericka
Farrell
EPA
Sloan
Farrell
Dept. of the Interior, Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Civil
Rights
John
Faust
OEHHA/CalEPA
Stacey
Feindt
Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
Gabby
Fekete
US EPAOIG
Cynthia
Ferguson
DOJ/ENRD
Kay
Ferguson
ARTivism Virginia
Nicolette
Fertakis
EPA
69 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Timothy
Fields
MDB, Inc.
Leslie
Fields
Sierra Club
Catharine
Fitzsimmons
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Jane
Flegal
CEQ
Briana
Flin
Nexus Media News
Alex
Foley
Deloitte
Taryn
Fordes
Cause-Related Consulting
Dominique
Fortune
Golf Course Superintendent Association of America
Teresa
Foster
ATSDR
Tasha
Frazier
US EPA
Kailea
Fredrerick
NDN Collective
Tamara
Freeman
EPA R7
Denise
Freeman
U.S. Dept. of Energy
Molly
Fritz
Booz Allen Hamilton
Jan Marie
Fritz
U. of Cincinnati/U. of Johannesburg/NEJAC
Kerry
Fugett
Daily Acts Organization
Kari
Fulton
Climate Justice Alliance
William H.
Funk
williamhfunk.com
Hannah
Gallagher
Edelman
Emily
Gallo
HNTB
Pratima
Gangopadhyay
Toyota Motor North America
Antonio
Garcia
EPA Region 5
Lisa
Garcia
Grist
Antonio
Garcia
EPA Region 5
Curt
Gardner
BASF Corporation
Lola
Gardner Moore
Private Citizen
DEMI
GARY
Oak Ridge Institute
Harrison
Garrett
FDOT
Johnathan
Garza
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Megan
Gavin
U.S. EPA
Laurie
Gelman
Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Panos
Georgopoulos
Rutgers University
Frandelle
Gerard
Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism, Inc.
Tina
Gerhardt
independent
Laurie
Gharis
TCEQ
Bob
Giannelli
U.S. EPA
Edward
Gibbs
Retired
James
Giedeman
Self
Ora
Giles
Transcription, Etc., LLC
Linda
Giles
Transcription, Etc. LLC
Lauren
Godshall
Tulane University
70 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Leo
Goldsmith
USGCRP
Michael
Goldstein
The Goldstein Brownfields Foundation
Nick
Goldstein
ARTBA
Amelia
Gomez
State Water Resources Control Board
Victoria
Gonzalez
SCF
Sheryl
Good
EPA
Amelia
Gooding
IERG
Shannon
Goodman
Lifecycle Building Center
Sarah
Goodspeed
Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy
Margaret
Gordon
West Oakland Environmental Indications Project
Eric
Graber-Lopez
BlueWave Solar
Eve
Granatosky
Lewis-Burke Associates LLC
Stacey
Grant
N/A
Miranda
Green
The Guardian
Matthew
Greene
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Celeste
Greene
University of Virginia
Patrick
Griffin
Deloitte Consulting
Tyneshia
Griffin
New Virginia Majority
Carrie
Griffith
EPA
Christina
Gruenhagen
Iowa Farm Bureau
Tim
Guinee
Climate Reality Project
Christina
Guthrie
US EPA
Anitra
Hadley
N/A
Lawrence
Hager
Northern Virginians for Peace and Justice
Erica
Hall
Florida Food Policy Council
Sue
Halpern
South End Neighborhood Revitalization zone
Christine
Haman
Consultant
Stina
Hamlin
State of Mind Media
Stephanie
Hammonds
WVDEP-DAQ
Rachel
Hanes
USBR
Kuki
Hansen
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Robin
Happel
Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy
Jewell
Harper
Eco Action Community Organization
Garry
Harris
Center for Sustainable Communities
Garry
Harris
Managing Director
Emily
Harris
FCC AG
Jill
Harrison
University of Colorado Boulder
Krystal
Harwick
HDR
Jennifer
Hass
DHS
Ryan
Hathaway
Department of the Interior
Amanda
Hauff
US EPA
71 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Paul
Hausman
Self
Christy
Haven
HNTB
Dr. Monica
Hawkins
US Environmental Protection Agency
Jill
Heaps
Earthjustice
Jenny
Heeter
NREL
Kurt
Hellauer
HMMH
Erich
Hellmer
Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica
Marilyn
Hemingway
Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce
Carey
Hengstenberg
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
Jenji
Henson
EcoRise
Courtney
Herbolsheimer
Environmental Protection Agency
Juliet
Herndon
NJ TRANSIT
Stephanie
Herron
EJHA
Rebecca
Hersher
National Public Radio
Rachel
Heydemann
Alameda County
Nalleli
Hidalgo
TEJAS
Kimberly
Higgins
Volpe Center
Jamie
Higgins
US Army Corps of Engineers
Andy
Hill
MountainTrue/Watauga Riverkeeper
John
Hocevar
Greenpeace USA
Matt
Holmes
Little Manila Rising
John
Holmes
Guidehouse
Dominic
Holt
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Brian
Holtzclaw
US EPA
Emily
Horton
Washington State Department of Health
Emily
Horton
Washington State Department of Health
Marion
Hoyer
US EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality
Renee
Hoyos
Virginia DEQ
Renee
Hoyos
VDEQ
Wayne
Hubbard
Urban American Outdoors
Bryan
Hubbell
USEPA/Office of Research & Development
Maria Gabriela
Huertas Diaz
San Juan Bay Estuary Program
Rebecca
Huff
EPA
Marjorie
Hughes
DOT
Joseph
Hughes
OSHA-DOL
Rebecca
Hull
Georgia Tech - SLS
Holmes
Hummel
Clean Energy Works
Brandon
Hunter
Center for Rural Enterprise & Environmental Justice;
Columbia University
Lynne
Huskinson
PRBRC
Matt
Iwicki
The Boeing Company
72 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Tom
Jacobs
Mid-America Regional Council
Robin
Jacobs
EPA
Isabel
Jamerson
WA Department of Ecology
Tyler
Jenkins
Senate EPW
Lisa
Jenkins
Morning Consult
Jasmine
Jennings
Earthjustice
Hannah
Jewess
USEPA
Yeou-Rong
Jih
Greenlink Analytics
Hannah
Johns
Youth4Nature
Bonita
Johnson
US EPA
Doris
Johnson
Deep EJ Program
Cheryl
Johnson
People for Community Recovery
Sabrina
Johnson
US EPA
Nancy
Johnson
None
Marian
Johnson-
Thompson
University of the District of Columbia
Sharon
Jones
None
Elizabeth
Jones
Pittsylvania County NAACP Environmental Justice
Committee
Cyndi
Jones
RAISE
Kim
Jones
EPA
Simone
Jones
Sidley Austin
Dominique
Joseph
EPA
Towana
Joseph
USEPA - Region 2
Belinda
Joyner
Concern Citizens of Northampton County
Emily
Joynt
North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality
Elizabeth
Kafka
Preserving Grayson
Sally
Kaiser
Big West Oil Refinery
Casey
Kalman
Union of Concerned Scientists
Jordan
Katz
USDOT Volpe Center
Glen
Kedzie
American Trucking Associations
Raymond
Kemble
N/A
Judith
Kendall
EPA
Erin
Kendle
MARAD
Maddie
Kennedy
National Sea Grant
Kameron
Kerger
USDS
Gwendolyn
Keyes Fleming
Van Ness Feldman, LLP
Rabi
Kieber
USEPA Region 2
Marva
King
EPA Retiree
Charlotte
King
United Nations RCE
John
Kinsman
Edison Electric Institute
73 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
William
Kinsman
Blue Star Strategies
David
Kluesner
U.S. EPA - Region 2
Mary
Knight
Private
Brianna
Knisley
App Voices
Sarah
Koeppel
DHS
Deidre
Kohlrus
Energy Workforce
Bill
Kornrich
CareNET, Conservation committee of Sierra Club
Colin
Korst
FTA Region 5
Renee
Kramer
NC DEQ
Katie
Kruse
EGLE
Colette
Kubichan
Seeking
Lindsay
Kuczera
Virginia Tech
Megan
Kung
Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
Yeana
Kwagh
EPA
Amy D
Kyle
N/A
Osprey
Lake
Women's Earth and Climate Action Network
Yukyan
Lam
NRDC
Kim
Lambert
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Shahra
Lambert
Florida Department of Agriculture
Gena
Larson
Wl DNR
Megan
Latshaw
Johns Hopkins
Diane
Lauricella
NAACP
Avery
Lavoie
ORISE
Todd
Lawrence
Urban Green Lab
Erma
Leaphart
Sierra Club Great Lakes Program
Maddie
Lee
Center for Climate & Energy Solutions - Arlington, VA
Tina
Lee
NOAA Office for Coastal Management
Michael
Lee
Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Charles
Lee
US Environmental Protection Agency
Matthew
Lee
U.S. EPA
Pam Tau
Lee
Retired
Julian
Leichty
OEHHA
Janelle
Lemen
NRECA
Dion
Lerman
Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management Program/Penn
State
Kevin
Letterly
Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
Natalie
Levine
National Parks Conservation Association
Amber
Levofsky
Permitting Council
Sheila
Lewis
USEPA/Office of Environmental Justice
Caroline
Lewis
The CLEO Institute
Sharon
Lewis
Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
74 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Jason
Lichtstein
Akerman LLP
Paige
Lieberman
EPA
Jane
Lien
USDS
Christopher
Lindsay
IAPMO
Anna
Lising
Washington State Governor's Office
Van Ness
LLP
Van Ness Feldman, LLP
Stacey
Lobatos
EPA
Michelle (Shell)
Lohmann
Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board - Dept of Energy
Dillon
Long
EPD
David
Lonnberg
Shift7
Kathryn
Loster
U.S. DOT
Craig
Lott
VA DEQ
Christina
Lovingood
USEPA-OIG
Victoria
Ludwig
US EPA
Jayla
Lundstrom
ANTHC
Tai
Lung
US EPA
Michelle
Lusk
CKRC
Allyza
Lustig
USGCRP
Kowetha
Mack
Self
Charles
Maguire
EPA Region 6
Risa
Mandell
OSH
Win Win
Mar
Environmental Conservation Department, Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation
Cristina
Marcillo
USEPA
Mariya
Marinova
CUNY
Larissa
Mark
VDOT
Moira
Marquis
Individual
Carolyn
Marsh
Save Whiting And Neighbors
Marilynn
Marsh-Robinson
EDF
Brett
Marston
Wiley Rein
Akilah
Martin
USACE
Karen
Martin
N/A
Carlos
Martin
Urban Institute
Ezekiel
Martin, PhD
MACOMA Environmental Technologies
Sofia
Martinez
LosJardines Institute
Albert
Martos
Caterpillar Inc.
Brendan
Mascarenhas
American Chemistry Council
Nakul
Mate
Independent Consultant
Tokollo
Matsabu
Environmental Defense Fund
Kimi
Matsumoto
US EPA
Ahmina
Maxey
Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition
75 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Zulene
Mayfield
Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living
Betsy
McCabe
ICPJ
Robert
McCaslin
Grand River Ottawa Member of LRBOI
Nina
McCoy
Martin County Concerned Citizen
James
McDonald
U.S. EPA
Alicia
McGill
GA EPD
M. Patrick
McGuire
Edison Electric Institute
Caitlin
McHale
National Mining Association
Shannon
McNeeley
Pacific Institute
Fiona
McRaith
Bezos Earth Fund
Ameesha
Mehta-Sampath
US EPA Region 2
Diana
Mendes
HNTB Corporation
Jerilyn Lopez
Mendoza
The Climate Center
Arianna
Menzelos
Recent Graduate/Columbia University
Cassandra
Meyer
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Kathy
Milenkovski
AEP
Kenyatta
Miles
Shell
Ruth
Miller
Native Movement
Igalious
Mills
Texas AgriForestry Small Farmers and Ranchers
Pierre Kent
Minault
Sierra Club
ML
Minter
Community
Amelia
Min-Venditti
WA State Department of Ecology
Katherine
Mlika
U.S. Digital Service
Paula
Mohan
UW-Madison
Carol
Monell
EPA
Chris
Moore
Eastman Chemical
Kristi
Moore
ERM
Camille
Moore
PDG
Olivia
Morgan
LSU
Nina
Morgan
GASP
Katie
Morgan
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Louis
Morse
Chester Concerned for Quality Living
Elizabeth
Moses
World Resources Institute
Terrence
Mosley
DOE
Elica
Moss
Alabama A&M University
Eli
Motycka
None
Melissa
Muroff
Delaware County District Attorney's Office
Laura
Murphy
Ohio River Guardians
Ayako
Nagano
NEJAC
Olga
Naidenko
Environmental Working Group
Earthea
Nance
Texas Southern University
76 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Jeannine
Natterman
CDPHE
Matthew
Naud
Resource Recycling Systems
Daria
Neal
U.S. Dept. of Justice
Kenya
Nicholas
USDA
Thomas
Nieland
UUFHC
Nicole
Noelliste
Sidley Austin LLP
Robin
Nolting
Heart of Illinois Sierra Club
Leanne
Nurse
US EPA
Angela
Oberg
Rutgers University
Lotanna
Obodozie
Center for American Progress (CAP)
Shawn
O'Brien
Troutman Pepper
Monique
Ogunsusi
EPA
Makeda
Okolo
NOAA
Melis
Okter
NNOAAOCM
Amity
Oliver
Big West Oil, LLC (North Salt Lake, UT)
Grace
Olscamp
The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah
Allie
Omens
Metro Nashville Public Works
Desmond
Ondatje
Citizen
Danielle
0' Neil
US EPA
JUSTIN
ONWENU
Sierra Club
Jeremy
Orr
NRDC
Cintia
Ortiz
LULAC
Paul
Oruoch
Bayer Cropscience
Patricia
Padilla
Global OHSE Consulting
Jarryd
Page
ELI
Camille
Pannu
UC Irvine School of Law
Demetra
Panos
USFWS
Melissa
Papasavvas
USEPA
Jennifer
Park
EPA
Shivani
Patel
NJDOT
Regan
Patterson
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
Allison
Patton
Health Effects Institute
Jane
Patton
Center for International Environmental Law
Ben
Pauli
Kettering University
Drue
Pearce
Holland & Hart LLP
Rebecca
Perrin
US EPA
Leonard
Peters
The County of Kauai Transportation Agency
Cynthia
Peurifoy
N/A
Millie
Piazza
Dept. of Ecology
Richard
Pinkham
Booz Allen Hamilton
Emily
Piontek
Appalachian Voices
77 |
-------
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Erika
Pirotte
Navajo Nation Department of Justice
Jonna
Polk
Environmental Protection Agency
Emily
Pontecorvo
Grist
Natalie
Popovich
Berkeley National Lab
Lisa
Porter
Appalachian Voices
Joe
Posey
First United Methodist Church
Leanne
Poussard
NOAA NCCOS
Jasmine
Prat
NOAA
Krystal
Pree Hepburn
Sustainable Workplace Alliance
Candice
Price
Urban American Outdoors
Araceli
Pruett
Clark County DES
Francesca
R.
StopEtO
Kesha
Ragin
Chevron - Regulatory and Legislative
Cyndhia
Ramatchandirane
Earthjustice
Reine
Rambert
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Sameer
Ranade
NYSERDA
Kelsey
Ranjbar
OEHHA
Elise
Rasmussen
WA state dept of health
Shantha
Ready Alonso
U.S. Dept of the Interior
Veda
Reed
EPA
Dawn
Reeves
Inisde EPA
Amani
Reid
PA IPL
Sean
Reilly
E&E News
Amber
Reimondo
Grand Canyon Trust
Lindsey
Reitinger
Booz Allen Hamilton
Emily
Rhodes
Just Transition Fund
Sarah
Rice
NCDEQ
Virginia
Richard
private citizen
Charissee
Ridgeway
CEQ
Jerry
Riggs
ENERCON
Russell
Riggs
NAR
Kathy
Robb
Blue Access LLC
Aimee
Roberson
American Bird Conservancy
LaKeshia
Robertson
EPA
Jennifer
Robins
DOJ
Donovan
Robinson
OMB
De'Marcus
Robinson
BehindTheSTEAHM
Juan Carlos
Rodriguez
Law360
John
Rogers
ToxStrategies Inc.
Patrick
Rogers
Private Citizen
Theresa
Romanosky
Association of American Railroads
78 |
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FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Anna
Romanovsky
EPA
Anna-Marie
Romero
66061
Lynn
Roper
ADEM
Ian
Rosenblum
DHSS&T
Joi
Ross
APEX Direct Inc
Tamara
Rountree
Dept of Justice
Sherry
Rout
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis
Nicole
Rucker
USGCRP
Sheila
Ruff in
22315
Galaxy
S20 Ultra 5G
US Aarmy Garrison - Tobyhanna
Simone
Sagovac
Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition
Eri
Saikawa
Emory University
Sandra
Saint-Surin
FHWA
Rian
Sallee
Department of Ecology
Alicia
Salvatore
Institute for Research on Equity and Community Health
(iREACH), ChristianaCare
Georgette
Samaras
The University of Tennessee Me
Ibraheem
Samirah
Virginia House of Delegates
Leotis
Sanders
NJ TRANSIT
Benjamin
Sarver
US EPA
Sharon
Saucier
GMD/EPA
Charles
Sea if e
Department of Energy
Austin
Scheetz
U.S. Global Change Research Program
Alison
Schlick
Zero Waste San Diego, Save the Albatross Coalition,
California Resource and Recovery Association
Corey
Schoellkopf
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Rio
Schondelmeyer
Office of Management and Budget
Dean
Scott
Bloomberg BLAW
Neil
Seldman
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Shayna
Sellars
US EPA
Caroline
Sgaglione
Booz Allen Hamilton
Monisha
Shah
NREL
Julie
Shannon
USEPA
Nayyirah
Shariff
Flint Rising
Karrie
Shell
US EPA
Desiree
Shelley
Mothers Out Front
Rebecca
Shelton
Appalachian Citizens' Law Center (ACLC)
Channing
Shepherd
US EPA
Tracy
Sheppard
US EPA
Donald
Sherman
WHO
Richard
Shingles
Sierra Club, Virginia Chapter; EJ Outreach Group Leader
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FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Max
Shipman
Just Transition Fund
Gina
Shirey
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
Jacqueline
Shirley
RCAC
Gyami
Shrestha
U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program
Charles
Shull
Shell Oil Company
Heather
Sibbison
Dentons US LLP
Bridgett
Simmons
National Housing Law Project
Lena
Simmons
Cumberland County SWCD
Matthew
Simon
N/A
Daniela
Simunovic
Better World Group
Emily
Singer
Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Katherine
Sinitiere
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
Pinar
Sinopoulos-Lloyd
Queer Nature
Marie
Skaf
Deloitte
Robert
Skoglund
Covestro LLC
William
Slade
Con Edison of NY
Bill
Slade
Consolidated Edison Co. of NY, Inc.
Andrew
Slocombe
OEHHA
Allison
Sm
th
Louisville Metro Government
Robert
Sm
th
PPPO
Megan
Sm
th
shift7
Sara
Sm
th
College of Menominee Nation
Terry
Sm
th
Deloitte
Andrew
Sm
th
Drexel University
John
Sm
th
EPA Region 7
Marilyn
Snell
Urban Renewable
Jennifer
Sokolove
Water Foundation
Gevon
Solomon
EPA
James
Southerland
Retired
Tawana
Spencer
City of Laurel Environmental Affairs Committee
Patricia A.
Spitzley
RACER Trust
Ramsey
Sprague
Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition
Karen
Sprayberry
SC DHEC
Duane
St. Amour
Croda Inc.
Gianna
St.Julien
Tulane Environmental Law Clinic
Beau
stander
Big West Oil LLC
Lucy
Stanfield
US EPA
Erin
Stanforth
Mecklenburg County
Joyce
Stanley
US Department of the Interior
Andrea
Stein
Roger Williams Park Zoo
Dimitris
Stevis
Colorado State University
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FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Jordan
Stone
Association of American Railroads
Christine
Stoneman
DOJ
David
Storms
U.S. Department of HUD
Megan
Striegel
RISE
Gregory
Suber
US NRC
Katy
Super
EJHA
Katie
Surma
Inside Climate News
Steve
Surtees
CPWR
Elyse
Sutkus
US EPA
Robina
Suwol
California Safe Schools
Anastasia
Swearingen
American Chemistry Council
Aaron
Szabo
CGCN Group
Sandra
Talley
NRC
Tea
Tanaka
Self
Tea
Tanaka
Private citizen
Chandra
Taylor
SELC
Delores
Taylor
USDA/FAS
Larry
Taylor
Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection
Patricia
Taylor
Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI)
Kurt
Temple
US EPA
Tami
Thomas-Burton
EPA
Savasia
Thompson
REACT (Rubbertown Emergency ACTion)
Eden
Thorkildsen
Department of Ecology
Joyce
Thurman
EPA
Joyce
Thurman
EPA
Jeanette
Timm
Bureau of Reclamation
Betty
Tisel
CMEJ - community members for environmental justice,
Minneapolis
Mike
Tongour
TCH Group
Allen
Townsend
University of Virginia
Geoffrey
Toy
Emory University School of Law
Jenn
Tribble
TDEC
Michael
Troyer
U.S. EPA
Steve
Try on
U.S. Department of the Interior
Theodora
Tsongas
Self
Kim
Tucker-Billingslea
GM
Uloma
Uche
Environmental Working Group
Monica
Unseld
Until Justice Data Partners
Carmen
ValDez
HEAL Utah
Amy
Vance
DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Gloria
Vaughn
EPA
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FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
Esmeralda
Vaughn
HNTB Corporation
Lindsey
Veas
Booz Allen Hamilton
Rebeca
Villegas
National Wildlife Federation
Lisa
Voyce
HDR
Travis
Voyles
Senate EPW
Carla
Walker
City of Cincinnati
Claudette
Walker
GMD
Wendy
Wallace
Deloitte
Amelia Bland
Waller
Preserving Grayson
Margaret
Walls
Resources for the Future
Meghan
Walsh
USDA
Michael
Walton
Green|Spaces
Charlene
Wang
FHWA
Julianne
Warren
Fairbanks community
Michael
Warren
NJ Advance Media
Audrie
Washington
EPA Region 5
Brady
Watson
SACE
Jennifer
Webber
The Humane Society of Hobart
Maya
Weber
S&P Global Platts
Kimi
Wei
The Wei LLC
Larry
Welsh
Private citizen
Eric
Werwa
Department of the Interior
Chasity
White
Rise Saint James
Chad
Whiteman
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Kristin
Whitman
Shell
Walker
Wieland
Cal EPA
Keisha
Williams
State of Michigan
Jane
Williams
California Communities Against Toxics
Drew
Williams-Clark
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Dana
Williamson
EPA
Holly
Wilson
EPA
Daphne
Wilson
EPA Region 4
Sam
Wilson
Washington Department of Ecology
Adriana
Windham
FHWA
Jahi
Wise
WHO
Claire
Woods
Greenfield Environmental Trust Group
D
Wu
NYS OAG - EPB
Jennifer
Wyatt
Chevron Canada Limited
Scott
Yager
NCBA
Maggie
Yancey
DOE
Carolyn
Yee
California Environmental Protection Agency, Department
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FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
ORGANIZATION
of Toxic Substances Control
Naomi
Yoder
Healthy Gulf
Hilary
Zarin
DOI
Yu
Zhuang
Wisconsin DNR
83 | Page
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APPENDIX B - SUBMITTED WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS
I hope this email finds you well. Congratulations on your nomination to the White House Environmental
Justice Advisory Council. Your leadership on environmental justice is longstanding, and President Biden
and members of his administration are lucky to have someone with your experience and leadership as
an advisor. I am writing to you in your new role as EJ Advisory Council member, on behalf of the Stop
Formosa Plastics coalition. As you know, plastic production fuels the climate crisis, harming local
communities with toxic air and water pollution. Residents of Cancer Alley, the corridor between Baton
Rouge and New Orleans, face regular exposure and health concerns from the overburden of industrial
pollution, particularly in working class, Black communities. The proposed Formosa Plastics
petrochemical complex would be built in a predominantly Black district of St. James Parish, already
being overrun by petrochemical development. If constructed, the Formosa complex would double toxic
air emissions in the St. James community, and it would desecrate the graves of people who were
enslaved on the plantations that used to operate there. As well, this petrochemical complex would
destroy storm protecting wetlands, harm local fish populations and our seafood economy, and emit 13.6
million tons of greenhouse gases per year to accelerate the climate crisis. Members of the Stop Formosa
Plastics coalition, including Sharon Lavigne, founder and director of faith and grassroots organization
RISE St. James, would like to schedule a virtual meeting with the members of the newly formed
Environmental Justice Interagency and Advisory Councils to discuss the proposed Formosa Plastics
project. Robust legal opposition and grassroots power prompted the US Army Corps of Engineers to
suspend its federal permit decision for the Formosa Plastics plant complex, pausing the plant's
construction. Now, reevaluation of the federal permit is underway. The members of our growing
coalition appreciate the opportunity to meet with you or another appropriate contact from the White
House Environmental Justice Advisory Council about this proposed project, the threats it poses, and the
need to revoke its federal permits. Please advise how to schedule a meeting. Most sincerely, Delia Ridge
Creamer (she/her/hers), Oceans Campaigner | Center for Biological Diversity
Good afternoon -Please find attached written comments that my organization, the Center for
Neighborhood Technology (CNT), would like to make to WHEJAC prior to the group's May 13 meeting.
We will also submit a summary of these comments in the online comment form. Our comments pertain
to Justice40, an initiative that we strongly support. If you have any questions or follow-ups, you can
contact me directly. Thank you for the consideration and for your work on this important topic - Bob
Dean, CEO, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago IL 60602
I scanned my comments to WHEJAC last week discussing our environmental and health concerns in the
South End of Stamford, Ct. as well as a letter dated March 2004 regarding a neighborhood park called
Kosciuszko Park. The park was a landfill that is now used by hundreds of people daily. There is erosion
at site with exposure of capping material. I sent it from library scanned from my email address. Thank
you, Sue Halpern, Stamford Ct
Dear WHEJAC council members: Good afternoon! Thank you for the opportunity to share my input on
how the federal government could address environmental injustices under the Justice40 initiative or
other programs. My name is Emily Piontek, and I work in Central Appalachia as a grassroots organizer on
a range of energy justice issues. I have attached a written comment that I hope you will consider as you
make recommendations to the Biden Administration and to Congress. In short, I call attention to the
environmental injustice of unaffordable energy bills throughout the Appalachian region. This problem
results from the toxic combination of rural and urban poverty with high percentages of aging housing
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stock, including pre-1970s manufactured homes and mobile units. Its severity has been exacerbated by
the pandemic. I believe that energy services are a human right, and that their affordability must be
addressed as we respond to the climate crisis itself. Take good care and thank you for your work. Emily
Piontek (Blacksburg, Virginia)
Full Name (First and Last): Wayne Hubbard
Name of Organization or Community: Urban American Outdoors
City and State: Kansas City KS
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: Hello and thank you for this time. I am Wayne Hubbard, Co-
Founder of Urban American Outdoors. We created the 1st diverse outdoor TV show in 1998 to connect
all communities to nature. We also created Urban Kids Fish in 2015, a national program to get diverse
families outdoors in safe spaces. Furthermore, we have worked with USDA Forest Service, USFWS and
NPS on outreach, engagement, career opportunities and consulting. Black, brown and Native American
children collectively comprise at least 26% of the US population but only 10% are involved in STEM
fields. Only 78% of this collective group graduate from High School. What innovations are planned to:
Incorporate more STEM-not just in elementary schools-but to expose children in community, nonprofit
and religious based programs to expose them and their families to the endless opportunities in STEM
which is the beginning of understanding of Environmental Justice and possible solutions. Also, what are
your plans to get the conservation and environmental cores to participate in Environmental Justice
projects in urban areas and communities.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
We have consulted and worked extensively to remove barriers and roadblocks in creating opportunities
for urban communities, youth and young adults interested in entering the Environmental and
Conservation fields. We would like to see the Council advise the administration on creating and funding
youth corps year-round and summer environmental programs. Also create a real pipeline for graduates
to be directly hired in the federal government and environmental partnerships. We would like them to
work with organizations like Urban American Outdoors for over the past 20 years has been boots on the
ground to create real connection with communities nationally that have been overlooked in these
spaces.
Full Name (First and Last): Raymond Kemble
Name of Organization or Community: no
City and State: Montrose
Type of Comment: Present Comment at Meeting
Brief description about the concern: no
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
No
Full Name (First and Last): Deni Elliott
Name of Organization or Community: Greenbrier River Watershed Association
City and State: Lewisburg, WV
Type of Comment: Present Comment at Meeting
Brief description about the concern: abuse of eminent domain by FERC aggression against
demonstrators and environmental damage to areas of low social/economic status (a full written
comment will be sent via email)
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
Please ask President Biden to investigate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's abuse of eminent
domain, to keep the treaties with our indigenous peoples, to listen to the whole population, and to
uphold the common good.
Full Name (First and Last): Mary Jane Curry
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Name of Organization or Community: Western North Carolina Climate Action Coalition; the Climate
Reality Project
City and State: Waynesville, North Carolina
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: 1. Tribal and Indigenous issues: Indigenous tribes and nations are
still being brutalized and arrested for peacefully protesting fossil fuel corporations' illegal assaults on
their sacred lands, their water supply, the air they breathe, and their homes and communities. Even
when these depredations are halted, tribal lands and land bordering them remain contaminated. 2.
Private citizens having to do the EPA's job by lobbying, commenting, and otherwise fighting weakened
rules governing industrial pollution such as that from the nearby Canton, NC, Evergreen Packaging.
What they dump into the Pigeon River still warms it, damaging the ecosystem. Western North Carolina
depends on tourism and our citizens deserve clean, healthful water.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do? 1.
Stop all fossil fuel drilling, gas extraction, tar sands, pipelines, encampments, and any other construction
or action by fossil-related corporations or businesses associated with them. Finally, honor the treaties
the US government has broken repeatedly. Get serious about investigating and prosecuting crimes
against Indigenous women and girls. Indigenous people believe, with plenty of reason, that men
working for fossil fuel companies are responsible for at least some of these crimes. 2. Enact strict, swift
laws to stop industries from poisoning wildlife and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods.
If a paper mill cannot be made environmentally safe, it should be replaced by a clean industry.
Full Name (First and Last): Tim Guinee
Name of Organization or Community: Climate Reality Project
City and State: NY
Type of Comment: Present Comment at Meeting
Brief description about the concern: Update on the Byhalia Pipeline in Memphis, with an ask that
WHEJAC advise the White House to rescind the use of Nationwide Permit 12 for Byhalia because it fully
ignored the environmental justice impacts and the possible threat to the city's water.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
First, I again want to express my gratitude to the Council for the extraordinary work you are doing. My
name is Tim Guinee. I am a member of the Climate Reality Project. I return to you again this week to
give you an update on the Byhalia Pipeline in Memphis Tennessee and the need for federal action to
stop the environmental injustice occurring there. There is an enormous regulatory gap which is
endangering the people of Southwest Memphis and which I believe the members of this committee
could help alleviate. Last week the Memphis City Council met to discuss an ordinance to protect its
water supply. A representative of Plains All American (one of the companies with Valero) behind the
pipeline threatened litigation if the City moved forward and stated that federal action supersedes local
action. The city, in my opinion fearing the financial resources the oil company might bring to bear in
legal proceedings, postponed any action to protect their citizens until July. But there is a problem with
the federal permitting of this pipeline. The fast-tracked application of Nationwide Permit 12 ignored
both the threat to the city's aquifer, which a million people drink from, and the fact that the pipeline is
being shunted through a lower-wealth, Black community which already carries the burden of 17 toxic-
release inventory facilities and cancer risks 4X the national average. If you want proof that this area has
long been a sacrifice-zone, you need look no further than the EPA's own 2017 "snapshot" which showed
that 2/5's of all National Priority List Superfund sites in the entire state of Tennessee are in Shelby
County. ( https://19ianuary2017snapshot.epa.gov/tn/list-superfund-sites-tennessee .html ) I recognize
this data is a couple years old, but it is the most recent I have been able to find. But it makes clear two
things: 1) The historic and disproportionate burden this area has been saddled with. 2)The fact that the
federal government has known about the situation. You have an opportunity now to stem the tide of
86 |
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injustice. Please advise the White House to rescind the permit advanced by the Army Corps of Engineers
under Nationwide Permit 12 on the basis that it wholly ignores the issues of environmental justice and
the possible endangerment of the people's water supply in Memphis. The use of the permit should also
be re-evaluated for other pipeline projects to ensure that full deliberation has been ensured to protect
the people and environment of the United States. Thank you for your service.
Full Name (First and Last): Chya Aisha
Name of Organization or Community: Bronzeville
City and State: Chicago, IL
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: Language is powerful. Let's discuss how best to engage and
communicate with and about communities who have been and continue to be oppressed.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
Shift deficit language and framing of issues (i.e. disadvantaged, vulnerable, sensitive, frontline, redline,
marginalized, minority, etc.). This removes the onus on the community and to the Federal Government
and Private Sector. I also recommend that we move away from "justice" and move to freedom. Justice
as a term silences the oppressor/offender. We need a communication style that isn't punitive and not
problem-based to transform and evolve.
Full Name (First and Last): Candice Stevenson
Name of Organization or Community: Preserving Grayson
City and State: Elk Creek, VA
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: I am representing the grass roots organization, Preserving Grayson,
here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia. The town that is our county seat of government
has fewer than 1,000 residents, and our county seal from 1793 is "protectors of nature." Our beautiful
countryside is being engulfed by one of the most toxic forms of agribusiness — the Christmas tree
industry. Corporations are buying up thousands of acres of our natural woodland in patches scattered
throughout communities & then clear cutting and destroying the natural habitat and creating toxic and
unsustainable waste fields. Thousands of gallons of chemicals are aerial sprayed over the span of 7 years
to produce full grown Christmas Trees. The aerial chemical spraying knows no bounds, spraying near
homes, wells, and waterways. They operate with complete impunity, flouting the few laws that are in
place, never paying even the tiny fines that have taken citizens great lengths to prove the infractions.
The cancer rates of Grayson County are the highest in all 95 counties of Virginia, according to the latest
data and rising. We have reports of damaged eco systems everywhere, healthy beehives have died
shortly after spraying, we're hearing reports of rabbits filled with tumors, finding dead turtles, birds and
small mammals. Our creeks feed into one of America's nationally protected Heritage Rivers, the New
River. After these Christmas trees are harvested, the land is useless for generations. Citizens have been
trying to get local and area officials to address our concerns, but nobody is taking charge of making
these changes. The migrants who work these strenuous and dangerous jobs face desperate working and
living conditions. Overcrowded conditions, and lack of health care especially during the pandemic, are
main concerns. Many have gotten got sick, & are living in trailer camps, even the children have reported
no beds or blankets in the middle of winter. Migrant workers have no bathroom facilities and are
working with chemicals unprotected. Our farming laws were developed in the 1930's, and farming
technology and chemicals are entirely different now. Christmas trees are considered agricultural instead
of forestry in Virginia. The health of our community should raise a flag somewhere that these actions
need to stop until we can further investigate the spike of cancer in our area. No data does not equal, no
problem. The biggest concern among talking about this in our community is retaliation from the
industry. We need these companies held accountable for the damage they have done to our
community, and to no longer be able to self-regulate and threaten the community. Please view our
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website where we have a platform for the community and for people to share their experiences along
with a 1.5 minute video documentary.
https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.preservegrayson.com%2F&a
mp;data=04%7C01%7CNeiac%40epa.gov%7C0259cf9c7c5e43326c5108d9165a97a6%7C88b378b367484
867acf976aacbeca6a7%7C0%7C0%7C637565401346441070%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8evJWIioi
MC4wLiAwMDAiLCQIioiV2luMzliLCBTil6lklhaWwiLCXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=sFnR0Llgzxt
51vwB8hDWbEz620IQI87ateLt%2BZpiN14%3D&:reserved=0
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
We are asking for a moratorium on aerial spraying, we want a health & environmental study, and are
asking for oversight to hold this industry liable for enforcing laws and ensuring they are adequate
enough to protect us. We want Christmas trees to be regulated as forestry instead of agriculture, and
we want Halloween pumpkins, to be disqualified from agricultural labeling as they are not produced for
food. These products need to be labeled for consumers to be aware of the toxins as many people get
sick ("Christmas Tree flu") from bringing these products into their homes. We want water testing to be a
requirement & for these businesses to have financial responsibility for water & soil contamination.
Revoke the legal access to exploiting migrant workers by rejecting their H2A Agricultural Clearance order
granted by the United States department of labor. The efforts for Economic Justice should include those
of us marginalized by living in underserved rural areas, and that a new balance is needed between
corporate agriculture and human rights. We need pesticide exposure data, we need the government to
partner with existing technological systems for this purpose rather than creating its own department, as
this is an emergency that cannot wait.
Full Name (First and Last): Paul Vetter
Name of Organization or Community: Coalition for American Electronics Recycling
City and State: Washington, DC
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: E-Waste Recycling Leaders Call on Biden Administration to Ratify
Basel Convention Treaty ratification key to comprehensive strategy for circular economy, responsible
recycling The Coalition for American Electronics Recycling (CAER), the voice of the emerging e-waste
recycling industry, today called on the Biden Administration to ratify the Basel Convention to ensure
electronic scrap and other wastes are responsibly reused or recycled. CAER members are committed to
processing e-waste to high standards for protecting the environment and workers. Yet despite our
efforts, e-waste exports from American homes and businesses continue to be exported to developing
countries where these toxic materials are processed in primitive conditions that lack safeguards to
support sustainability and safety. Because the U.S. has not ratified, exports of hazardous e-waste,
plastics and other waste become criminal trafficking once they are on their way to developing countries
that have signed onto the Convention. The U.S. is the only developed nation that has not ratified the
Convention. Only eight United Nations countries have not ratified: East Timor, Granada, Haiti, San
Marino, South Sudan, Fiji, Solomon Islands and the U.S. By ratifying the Basel Convention, the U.S. will:
Enact a key part of a comprehensive set of policies needed to drive the circular economy to achieve net-
zero emissions, a key goal for the Biden Administration. By supporting responsible domestic reuse and
recycling, the Basel Convention will reduce the need for resource-intensive virgin materials and thus
reduce emissions. Promote environmental justice in developing countries. Ensure U.S. e-waste is
responsibly recycled in the U.S. with safeguards for the environment and workers while creating up to
42,000 jobs. Have a seat at the table where the global movement of post-consumer resources are
discussed and governing regulations and standards are agreed upon Promote growth of U.S. recycling
operations because it will allow the import of e-waste into the U.S. for responsible recycling, which will
also ensure the scrap materials are processed at higher environmental and worker safety standards than
are used in developing countries. Together with passage of the Secure E-waste Export and Recycling Act
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(SEERA), ratification of the Basel Convention will ensure the U.S. has the policy foundation needed to
ensure we join with other developed countries to ensure hazardous wastes are responsibly managed.
SEERA and Basel ratification will also increase the amount of domestically produced waste that will be
responsibly recycled in the U.S., promoting economic growth and job creation. About CAER CAER
members believe electronics recycling should be performed securely and sustainably to protect the
environment and national security while strengthening the American economy. CAER includes more
than 130 companies and supporting members operating more than 300 facilities in 37 states as well as
Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
We urge the Biden Administration to ratify the Basel Convention for the reasons outlined above.
Full Name (First and Last): Andrea Vidaurre
Name of Organization or Community: Senior Policy Analyst
City and State: Rancho Cucamonga
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: The People's Collective for Environmental Justice would like to
report that our collective and allied environmental justice organizations are coming off a local win on a
warehouse indirect source rule that will reduce warehouse pollution and truck traffic here in the
Southern California region. We recognize this is one regional win and we know much more needs to be
done across our region and the country to address the high levels of air pollution and subsequent health
issues that are pervasive. Members of our collective, along with Prof. Dan Klooster and 277 students at
the University of Redlands authored and published a report last month on an analytical view of the
logistics industry's impacts on environmental justice communities across Southern California, titled:
WAREHOUSES, POLLUTION, AND SOCIAL DISPARITIES. Some key findings from the data include: There
are more than 3,000 large warehouses (over 100,000 sq ft) in southern California, and they are
concentrated in areas that rank in the highest percentile for toxic emissions in the state (worse than
86% of the state's census tracts). The populations living within half a mile of a warehouse are 85%
people of color (compared with California, which is 64% people of color). There are 640 schools in the
region that are located within a half-mile of a warehouse. More than 450 warehouses are located in the
top 10% worst census tracts for traffic-related pollution. The majority of warehouses are located in
areas that do the least amount of online shopping in southern California overall. And the communities
dominated by Amazon warehouses have the lowest rates of Amazon sales per household. The report
can be found here:
https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/Purhhttps%3A%2F%2Fearthiustice.org%2Fsites%2Fdefa
ult%2Ffiles%2Ffiles%2Fwarehouse research report 4.15.2021.pdf&data=04%7C01%7CNeiac%40e
pa.gov%7Ce7a708a490a540a0572a08d91728e49c%7C88b378b367484867acf976aacbeca6a7%7C0%7C0
%7C637566287442861560%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8evJWIioiMC4wLiAwMDAiLCJQIioiV2luMzliL
CJBTil6lklhaWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&:sdata=9GBfv3aFdCV8e4cwVIQh%2FGvzWzYXkAPJnW
lTxCpCHK4%3D&reserved=0 Locally, we also need federal action on a sustainable goods
movement and a sustainable plan with meaningful engagement.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
We hope WEJAC can prioritize the issue of goods movement and their impacts on BIPOC communities.
We need to start every rule making possible that electrifies our system of moving goods, addresses the
rampant labor violations in the industry and stops the dangerous land use associated with this industry.
WHEJAC can make recommendations and designate funding for groups like ours to support solutions
that will reduce harmful emissions and protect public health. Please follow up with our collective with
our Senior Policy Analyst Andrea Vidaurre.
Al Hendricks asked that I forward to you his response to the EPA's request for public comment in regard
to the EPA's Passaic River Cleanup Plan. As noted in his letter, with this proposed cleanup plan, the EPA
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has disregarded its own Environmental Justice mandates and selection criteria by which cleanup plans
are prioritized per CERCLA. Further, it shows a lack of innovation, as the EPA proceeds along the path of
toxic waste management in virtually the same manner as has been done for decades. This Plan shows
nearly a total disregard for innovation and acceptance of alternatives that are available right now, that
are PERMANENT SOLUTIONS, cost effective, and conform to the EPA's Environmental Justice mandates
and CERCLA cleanup plan selection criteria. While the Administration "talks" about their push for
Environmental Justice to end Environmental Racism, the EPA's proposed Passaic River Clean Plan does
none of that. Regards, Bill Cutler, Volcano Partners, LLC
Full Name (First and Last): Ashby Rice
Name of Organization or Community: Self
City and State: West Chester, PA
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: Stop all the divisive rhetoric about various form of supposed
"injustice". We're not a country of victims who need government to coddle and protect us from all those
"evil people and corporations" who've been inflicting all manner of injustice on "disadvantaged groups"
for decades. Actions like forming the WHEJAC serve only to validate victimhood and advance self-
serving political interests.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
Dissolve and put a stop to this blatant political pandering. We don't have any broad systemic injustice in
this country...only the perception of same created and promoted by activists and politicians determined
to replace the "equal opportunity" philosophy that made our country great with an "equal outcomes"
agenda that will destroy it from within.
Full Name (First and Last): Anitra Hadley
Name of Organization or Community: Mount Vernon
City and State: NY
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: In the City of Mount Vernon, NY many residents are dealing with
the unthinkable - raw sewage backing up into their homes. This issue, which is particularly pronounced
in our lower income neighborhoods, has caused years of angst, emotional trauma, and added expense
for some of our most vulnerable community members. Mount Vernon is a majority, Black city in
Westchester County - one of the wealthiest counties in the United States of America. Our clay sewer
system is more than 100 years old and in desperate need of replacement. The City has estimated the
cost of replacement to be nearly 100M dollars. In addition to the devastating toll this issue is taking on
residents in our City, it is also taking a toll on our waterways. Though steps have been taken in the past
year to mitigate the environmental damage caused by our crumbling sewer system, the City remains a
defendant in a federal lawsuit lodged by the EPA and joined by the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation. In my view, the punitive nature of this relationship between the EPA, et. al., and the City
of Mount Vernon is antithetical to promoting a community involved approach to the resolution of
environmental justice issues and addressing the unequally burdensome impact these issues have in
Black, brown and poorer communities. Predominantly Black cities like Mount Vernon, NY have been
subject to years of disinvestment, devaluation, and, in some cases, deliberate destruction. To right these
past wrongs, we need collaborative and supportive partnerships with the federal government that take
into account our country's collective history and operate intentionally to provide much needed relief.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do? I
respectfully request that the WHEJAC advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to: (1)
recommend a less punitive approach to address environmental concerns in the City of Mount Vernon,
NY. and (2) recommend that the federal government provide the necessary funding, resources, and
technical expertise to allow the City to replace the decrepit sewer system and, thus rectify the
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environmental damages to our waterways, as well as, the detrimental effects this issue is having on the
mental, physical and economic well-being of our community members who are living with raw sewage
backups in their homes.
Full Name (First and Last): Leslie Allicks
Name of Organization or Community: The City of Mount Vernon, New York
City and State: Mount Vernon, NY
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: The city of Mount Vernon, NY is facing a major infrastructure issue
related to our aged and crumbling sewer system. This issue not only has negative environmental impacts
on our waterways, but it also has a human toll as many residents are dealing with raw sewage backups
in their homes. The physical and emotional toll of this issue is unimaginable for anyone not directly
impacted and devastating for those who are. Sewage and wastewater infrastructure is collapsing all over
town. The city of Mount Vernon, NY is an extreme example of ailing wastewater networks across the
country crumbling faster than cities can afford to maintain them - and communities of color may bear
an outsized share of the burden.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
We are requesting that the WHEJAC/the federal government work in partnership with our community to
resolve this issue for the betterment of the environment and those directly impacted by sewage
backups.
Full Name (First and Last): Michael Justino
Name of Organization or Community: Fleetwood Neighborhood Association
City and State: Mount Vernon, NY
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: The sanitary sewer system is in very poor condition. There are
numerous and often backups into people's homes. The sanitary system is also leaking into the store
sewer system, polluting our streams and rivers.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
Our city needs federal money to repair these sewer issues. Mount Vernon is a majority minority
community with a high level of poverty The property owners cannot afford to fund these needed
repairs.
Full Name (First and Last): Delia Ridge Creamer
Name of Organization or Community: on behalf of the Stop Formosa Plastics coalition
City and State: San Francisco, California
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: The proposed Formosa Plastics petrochemical complex would be
built in a predominantly Black district of St. James Parish, already being overrun by petrochemical
development. If constructed, the Formosa complex would double toxic air emissions in the St. James
community and desecrate the graves of people who were enslaved on the plantations that used to
operate there. As well, this petrochemical complex would destroy storm protecting wetlands, harm local
fish populations and our seafood economy, and emit 13.6 million tons of greenhouse gases per year to
accelerate the climate crisis, of which we are already at the forefront.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
The members of the Stop Formosa Plastics coalition are requesting the opportunity to meet with
members of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council about the proposed Formosa
Plastics petrochemical complex, the threats it poses, and the need to revoke its federal permit. The
WHEJAC can advise the CEQto tell President Biden to make stopping the project a top environmental
justice priority of his administration.
Dear White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Pipelines, and the infrastructure supporting
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pipelines like compressor stations, are often deliberately sited in places populated largely by Black and
Brown, and Indigenous peoples, and the rural, poor, polluting their water and air, desecrating sacred
lands, and destroying family farms, along with adjacent old-growth forests, and fragile ecosystems. One
of the main reasons for targeting those areas : the belief held by many in the fossil fuel industry that the
people living in those communities haven't the money, or the "political clout," to successfully fend off
the environmental destruction wrought by large Fossil Fuel Companies. That is why the Mountain Valley
Pipeline, Lines 3 and 5, Byhalia, et. alia, should be stopped before they can cause further damage, just as
Keystone was stopped on day-one of this new Presidency. Thanking you, for your time, Sharon Wilson,
Virginia
Full Name (First and Last): Eri Saikawa
Name of Organization or Community: Emory University Department of Environmental Sciences
City and State: Atlanta, Georgia
Type of Comment: Written Comment Only
Brief description about the concern: Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on WHEJAC's
May 13, 2021 virtual public meeting. We - Dr. Eri Saikawa, Associate Professor of Environmental
Sciences at Emory University; Rosario Hernandez, Director of Historic Westside Gardens; and Dr. Yomi
Noibi, Executive Director of Environmental Community Action Inc. ECO-Action - advocate for
environmental justice in Georgia communities including Metro Atlanta. We write to you to raise
concerns regarding the disproportionate exposure of communities of color and low income-earning
communities ("environmental justice communities" or "EJ communities") to lead (Pb) through multiple
pathways, including soil, air, paint, drinking water, and food. Our full comment has been submitted for
the record via whejac@epa.gov.
What do you want the WHEJAC to advise the White House Council on Environmental Quality to do?
We urge WHEJAC to advise the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the agencies
comprising the Interagency Council on Environmental Justice that (1) all federal agencies responsible for
regulating lead exposure in soil, air, paint, drinking water, and other media should seek to remedy the
disproportionate and cumulative impact of lead exposure on EJ communities, (2) agencies should
strengthen lead standards accordingly, and (3) agencies should equitably enforce environmental laws
regarding lead.
We request CEQto organize a longer meeting with us that includes EPA, USDA, DOI and possibly others
to align around the importance of our engagement moving forward and discuss specific opportunities
for that engagement on matters pertaining to forests, forestry, renewable energy and green jobs for
rural communities. We also ask that CEQ provide us with points of contact at EPA, USDA and DOI that
can work with us moving forward on these issues.
Intact, biodiverse forests are critical to solving the climate crisis, protecting communities from the worst
impacts of climate change such as flooding and supporting healthy communities and thriving rural
economies. The forests of the Southern US are our nation's most diverse, but least protected.
The South is the world's largest wood producing region with a rate of forest destruction from logging
estimated to be four times that of South American rainforests. In addition to widespread forest
destruction, wood processing mills are major sources of pollution. These impacts are concentrated in
the Coastal Plain region of the South, with disproportionate impacts to low income and communities of
color, including specifically across the rural Black Belt.
In the last several years these rural communities have come under increased assault by the rapid growth
of the wood pellet industry. Europe is subsidizing the conversion of coal plants to burn wood pellets.
They claim it is green and renewable, ignoring scientific evidence that burning wood pellets for
electricity is dirtier than coal and gas and will make climate change worse not better. Without enough
wood in the EU to supply its own needs, the forests of the Southern US have become the global target
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for this industry. The South is currently exporting more wood pellets to Europe than any other country
in the world. 22 wood pellet mills have already been built and a dozen more are planned, adding to the
forest destruction and pollution in communities already overburdened with both. Scientific and
community concerns about the climate, health AND economic impacts are being ignored at every level
of government.
We understand that big greens, national organizations, and Southern forest landowners are actively
being engaged by this Administration on these issues. The voices of communities impacted in the South
are absent. We want to help the Administration close that gap and live up to its commitment of making
sure that impacts to environmental justice communities are addressed. Below is a list of topics we want
to discuss:
1- Permitting and Health Impacts: The permitting process for wood pellet mills is ineffective in
protecting community health or addressing cumulative, disproportionate impacts on EJ communities.
Wood pellet mills are permitted under the minor source category though there is a well-documented
pattern of mills violating air permit limits. Government agencies at the state level are failing to address
the cumulative impacts of air pollution in Environmental Justice Communities. Public opposition is being
ignored. What oversight role does EPA have and why is USDA promoting biomass without any
acknowledgement of these disproportionate impacts?
2- Climate Change Impacts: Biomass is not a climate solution. Burning wood pellets to generate
electricity releases more C02 than coal. Governments around the world erroneously count biomass as
"carbon neutral" despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Biomass will make climate change worse,
not better. Carbon emissions from industrial scale logging are not being transparently reported. This
perpetuates the false notion that logging, and wood products are climate solutions. Where is EPA on this
issue and why is USDA promoting biomass as a climate solution? How can the EPA ensure that these
emissions are adequately and transparently reported? What can the Administration do to address these
issues at a global level?
3- Forestry Impacts: Widespread and unregulated clearcutting forests, including wetland forests, is
tearing apart our communities' natural flood control system at a time when flooding linked to climate
change is getting worse. Flooding is not only displacing people but causes the contamination of drinking
water and mold. Subsidized tree planting perpetuates the establishment of monocultures vs restoring
native ecosystems. What can be done at an administrative level to restrict the exemption of forestry
from the Clean Water Act and protect wetland forests in the Coastal Plain? What can be done to ensure
that subsidies for replanting are being used to restore ecosystems vs establish plantations for
commercial production?
4- Economic Development and Just Transition: Agencies at the state and local levels are wrongly
characterizing the wood pellet/wood products industry as providing green jobs/renewable energy jobs.
This industry is restricting other types of economic development, such as outdoor recreation, that could
be creating more jobs and more tax revenue for rural communities without the ecological destruction
and air pollution. How can resources available for "build back better" and the Administration's America
the Beautiful plan be used to ensure healthy jobs vs jobs that perpetuate pollution and ecological
destruction and how can rural communities access these funds? Why does the President's America the
Beautiful Plan state that private landowners are helping protect forests and create thriving healthy rural
economies, when that is not our experience?
5- Land Inequity: Land Ownership patterns across the South perpetuate and reinforce inequity. There is
not an equitable distribution of public lands in the Southern Coastal Plan/Black Belt and a long history of
discriminatory practices and policies have significantly restricted Native American and Black ownership
of private land throughout the region. This has operated to restrict these communities' access to nature
and associated health and economic opportunities. Major investments in strategic land acquisition will
be necessary to address these inequities and advance a just transition in the forest economy. How will
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the Administration's America the Beautiful Plan address this issue and how can we engage in its
development and implementation?
Sincerely, Erniko Brown
Dear White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council,
Attached are comments from Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) and National Parks
Conservation Association (NPCA), in PDF and Word form. Natalie Levine from NPCA has submitted these
same comments via email as well. We greatly appreciate all of your work, your Recommendations, and
the opportunity to submit comments.
Thank you, Allyson (Ally) Beasley (She/Her/Ella), MPH, JD, Staff Attorney, Western Environmental Law
Center
Dear WHEJAC,
On behalf of the St. Croix Environmental Association, we humbly submit our public comment for your
consideration. I apologize for any inconveniences for this email submission but the online portal for
submitting comments was taken down. Please consider our written submission, if it is indeed late. The
communicated deadline of May 27th for submitting a written public comment was only voiced verbally
during the meeting, rather than being posted on the website which is usual practice by government
entities. Also, the emails did not contain the deadline for submission either.
Can you confirm the receipt of this comment, and if they will be accepted? We would be so grateful.
Again, SEA very much appreciates WHEJAC's careful thoughts and considerations for our situation, and
their preliminary recommendations to help our cause thus far. We welcomed the opportunity to submit
written comments and to testify to tell our story to WHEJAC. SEA is looking forward to reading
WHEJAC's final report and engaging with them in the future on environmental justice initiatives.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Best Regards,
Heather, Board Member, St. Croix Environmental Association
Please help us in any way possible to repair and replace our sewers in our city. - Mary Kingsley, J.Philip
Real Estate #49FA1074963, Pelham, NY 10803
We need outside help, this has been a problem for many years and the current, past and no doubt
future leadership will not be capable of handling this problem. We need help from professionals with
no personal gain at stake. Leadership in Mount Vernon is purely lacking. Concerned resident, William D.
McLeod
I have been a resident of Mount Vernon for six years and love the area. But I am very concerned about
the failing sewage and wastewater infrastructure. It seems deeply unfair that the only majority-black
city in Westchester suffers from these systemic inequities and hope the administration does something
to address it. Sincerely, Nadya Labi
Mount Vernon's sewer systems are crumbling and threatening public health. Families have even had
sewage back up right into their homes. Because of the age of our system this situation is getting out f
control. When the most basic of human services is failing in a community it demoralizes its citizens and
cynicism sets in. Unfortunately, due to a variety of complex reasons we are now desperate for assistance
and are appealing to you as an intervention is needed. Please consider that we need this foundational
support to begin to turn the management of our city around. There are so many engaged, capable and
committed citizens who are now coming to the table and getting involved to plan for the city's future.
People who are all trying to do the right things. People who are sparking hope in others. But we need to
know that there is enough foundation to build a future on. Thank you for your consideration. Jennifer
Purdon
Please see my comment for the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
The sewage issue of Mount Vernon, NY here in Westchester County, severely impacted our home to
the point of us begin displaced for 4 months from October 2020 to February 2021 and for 3 month in
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November 2017 to February 2018, We are tax paying Mount Vernon homeowners and human beings
and the trauma over having to pump and dump our own waste from our basement has taken an
emotional toll that is indescribable for my Senior aged mother and our tenant and no human should
have to live like this year after year, when there is a fix that can be implemented.
Please see our full story here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2Q21/may/06/sewage-crisis-hits-
maiority-black-town-new-york-mount-vernon
We need the funds and resources necessary to replace our dilapidated sewer system and help to bring
attention to the need for federal resources. We need the federal government to work in partnership
with our community to resolve this issue for the betterment of the environment and those of us directly
impacted by sewage backups. Please let me know if you need any further information in order to get
some assistance to Mount Vernon, we are in dire need. Eileen Lambert, Mount Vernon Homeowner
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Volcano Partners llc
150 Spartan Drive, Suite 100, MaMand, Fl 32751
May 13d1, 2021
Diane Salkie. Remedial Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway, 1 Stli Floor.
New York. NY 10007-1866 Email: salkiediajie@epa.gov
Passak River Cleanup Plan: A Formula for Failure
Ms. Salkie:
We are writing you in response to the proposed cleanup plan for the Passaic River. As you know,
since 2007. there have been numerous plans proposed for the cleanup of the Passaic River, with little
to no action of actual cleanup. .And now. rather than deal with the real problem which is
contaminants that impact the prolonged health and economic / social vitality of surrounding
communities, a plan is proposed to bury harmful pollutants. Burying contaminants means those
contaminants remain a health risk for current and future generations. There is no escaping the reality
that decisions to build containment storage facilities are toxic "time-bombs7'. They wear-out and fail.
The EPA's files are full of catastrophic failures in the manner of the Kingston and Dan River pond
failures, and the flooding of the San Jacinto River Waste Pits in Houston due to Hurricane Harvey, to
name only a few. Even more recently, in Florida, the toxic wastewater reservoir nearly collapsed and
narrowly caused another "catastrophic event" in Tampa Bay.
The idea that burying contaminated materials/waste, hoping there is not a health crisis, is
irresponsible. Anything buried, eventually becomes un-buried. Mitigating health risks today for
future health risks tomorrow would ordinarily seem unwise, unless it impacts the parts of our society
that are the least able to fight back. For example, the contaminants released upon the community of
Kingston, TN, due to a spill were shipped to the Arrowhead landfill near Urn onto wn. Alabama, a
predominately African-American community. This community, like many other minority
communities, face the possibility of health risks due to a contaminated waste storage facility failure,
often impacting the groundwater or presenting other health challenges.
And now the EPA wants to bury contaminants again, either in the Passaic River or ship them off-site.
This plan is in disregard to the EPAs own Environmental Justice mandates, the April 30th
Memorandum on Strengthening Enforcement in Communities with Environmental Justice Concerns11''
and the manner by which cleanup plans are selected, established under the EPA's CERCLA
regulations. Clean Up Standards (Sec. 121):
"Remedial actions which treatment which p&manentfy and significantly reduces the volume, toxicity,
or mobility of the hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants is a principal element, are to
be preferred over remedial actions not involving such treatment The qffsite transport and disposal of
hazardous jiibjfawcer or contaminated mateiiab without such treatment would be the least favored
alternative remedial action where practical treatment technologies are available."
(1} Increase opportunities for community- engagement in the development of cleanup and reuse agreements to ensure
community concerns are addressed in a meaningful manner.
1
www.eementlpek.com
VP
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Hie storage of contaminants within or near a community, labels that community as not-worthy of the
protections granted oilier, perhaps wealthier coiiimuiiities. The EPA's decision to consistently ignore
its o*u mandates tells America's minority and impoverished communities that America value's you
less,, Even the EPA concluded in Uniontown, Alabama that after 4 million cubic yaids of toxic waste
from Tennessee was dumped in their backyard, (here was 'Insufficient evidence" flat the resident's
Civil Rights were violated.
The Passaic liver lias been, a contaminated waste dump for decades. Plans for a clean-up date back to
2007. And today, tie best cleanup solution the EPA can, come up with is violating its own mandates
and buying the contaminants ill the river or hauling them off to likely another minority community
where they will be stored a,s a future health, risk.
Has would not be so frustrating were it not, for the fact that an, alternative toxic waste solution does -
and has existed. That alternative is a technology developed at the. behest of the EPA and the US Anny
Caps of Engineers. It is a technology that conforms to the EPA's mandates by pemianently
destroying the toxicity of contaminated materials and convert those materials to a non-hazardous
building product, with commercial value called "Ecoinelt". This treatment process of contaminants is
in compliance with the EPA's Environmental Justice mandates and instead of being a blight on poor
communities, this process can be used to rebuild and create value in those same communities.
Of course, you know I, am speaking of the Cement Lock technology. An innovative technology that
has been brought before the EPA many times before and endorsee! by reputable 3rt Paly
organizations. It Mills the EPA's strategic goals by being a PERMANENT solution that treats toxic
materials In our environment because it significantly reduces the volume, toxicity, or mobility of the
hazardous substances.. He Cement Lock: technology has been, recommended to the EPA as a cleanup
solution for the Passaic River by the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and
Technology,, NACEPT (February 12, 2012). It was recommended again, by the Passaic Mirer
Coalition (November 14,2012). Even James Woolfard, the EPA Director of Office of Supofimd
Remediation .and Technology Innovation told Volcano Partners that Ms staff had reviewed '(he
Cement Lode technology and found it to be nature, laving completed fiifl-scale demonstrations as
well as commercial applications (My 31,2018).
Carton Capture
Concrete is the world's most widely used, building material. Cement accounts for 7% of all OOa
emissions. If cement niamifactoriiig, were a country, it would be the third-largest carbon emitter in
tie world, behind the U.S. and China. In the quest for innovation, Volcano Partners and its
engineering firm. Wood, have introduced the ability to reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHG) with a new
"carbon capture" technology as part of the Cement Lock 'process. With the production of Ecomelt
from Siiperfund material, CCte is captured and commercially re-introduced to industry fox food
preservation, carbonated drinks, refrigeration, etc. As a result, for every cubic yard of Ecomelt that is
manufactured, one cubic yard of cement production is eliminated along with the GHG that would
otherwise have been produced.
So why is the EPA leaning towards a deamp plan that is about as antiquated as might be possible?
Why does the EPA have an Office of Tethnology Innovation when in 2021 the EPA wants to bwy
toxic material, as it was similarly done 50-yeais ago? It would seem the calls for "innovation in ffu
field of hazardous waste management have fallen upon dmf'mrs".
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The polluters, per €E R.CLA, are liable fertile fill and total costs of response and damages. And as
long as there is buried toxic material, there is liability and health risks to many minority
neighborhoods in Hew Jersey from figure exposure. Perhaps it is time that those responsible for the
pollution of the Passaic River are held accountable. There are also "Orphan" sites under the control of
government agencies fat have liability and must be addressed at the tax-payers expense.
It .should be noted that besides permanently extinguishing the risk of future health risks, the Cement
Lock process is also an economical alternative since toxic substances are converted to building
materials and available in commerce at a lower' cost fan similar products, tiraeby redocing treatment
costs.
As always, I remain available to meet with you and others responsible far the enactment of the
Passaic River Cleanup Plan. We would hope that the EPA would consider their own cleanup
mandates with a focus oil how adhering to such mandates would benefit minority commnraties and
put an end to the environmental racism that has been allowed to flourish under past waste
management practices.
Regards.
BvV -frf
A1 Hendricks, President and C EO
Phone: *7-492-9731
Email: al.henATAsig'c.gment-lgdi.cem
C: Michael Segm, Administrator - regan.iin.cliael@epa.gov
Shereen Kandil - kandil.shereeiii@epa.goiv
www.cemenllDck.com
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WHEJAC May Meeting Public Comments
May 22, 2021
To Members of the Whitehouse Environmental Justice Advisory Council;
Thank you for your very difficult work and for the opportunity to comment on
these vital issues. And thank you to the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Council on Environmental Quality for convening this group of inspiring and
courageous front-line people of knowledge, experience, and action to develop
recommendations for the Biden Administration to address the long standing
inequities and injustices resulting from government policies., and to inform our
response to climate injustices,
As a public health professional with many years in the public and academic
sectors, I want to ask that the recommendations of the WHEJAC be given highest
priority lay the Biden administration for implementation. The time to correct and'
heal is NOW, and the public is watching,
Regarding Justice 40,, 100'% of investments MUST DO NO HARM to environmental
justice. Justice 40 should be the floor,, not a ceiling. Putting a ceiling on the
numbers of dollars of investments puts a limit once again on the value of human
life, to the disadvantage of those persons most in need.
Investments must be community controlled so that they are made to address
community needs that are identified and addressed by communities themselves,,
not determined by outside entities, And, investments must be sufficient to get the
job done, as determined by the communities being funded and affected, If
insufficient funds are made available, then the work will fail to correct the
problems.
Priorities need to shift, If the United States, in its current investment priority
system, allocates better than half of its funds to the military, to cause destruction
and death, then, it seems that a much greater amount should be prioritized to go
to life sustaining work. Perhaps a real shift in priorities is NECESSARY if we are to
face our interconnected environmental public health emergencies effectively:
catastrophic climate disruption,, global pandemic, systemic racism and injustice,
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It is inappropriate for communities to have to demonstrate through
superimposed criteria that an environmental justice problem exists. This
frequently results in the claim that there is insufficient data to show that a
problem exists, when in fact, no one has looked, As one member of the Council
stated: NO data does NOT mean that there is NO Problem.
We need to shift the paradigm for managing our lands and waters from the old
way of doing things: "act now and thirk about what we did later". We need to
consider what will work for sustainability of the earth before taking actions.
Again, think ahead and DO NO' HARM, For example, act to prevent gentrification
while developing infrastructure; avoid adding to fossil fuel extraction and use
when finding ways to address climate disruption by looking at the entire energy
cycle for each energy source.
We need to educate our youth: climate justice education with a focus on
sustainability of the earth needs to be built into the core curriculum for all K-12
programs as it affects every aspect of our world.
Again, I thank you, each member of the WHEJAC, for your courage, your
dedication, and your diligence in developing your recommendations. We are
learning so much from you. You are appreciated and I know there are many more
like me who will work to support your work.
Theodora Tsongas, PhD, MS
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To: Karen Martin & WHEJAC
From: St, Crofa: EtTOi'oiiMtiital Association
Dal#: May 27,2021
Re: Pubic Comment, May 27,2ftll Submission
1, . :-ik CMBBKBt (340 words)
Thanh- you fef including Abe St Croix Environmental Association in the Justice40
recommendations. We are also patefii to flie EPA for the Clean Air Act 303 order that has
paused the operations of the Limetree Bay oil refineiy for SO days. This mandated pause in
operations las given the community of St Croix natch needed relief from the noxious fumes
fat were causing widespread sickness, closing schools, md interrupting public amices. We
are hopeful that flis relief wil not be short-lived and that the refinery will be held
accountable for fiteir severe intact on this vulnerable enviroaapiental justice community.
He air monitors that the linietree Bay Refinery is required to operate are not turned on.
They are apparently weds if mot months away from functioning. In tie meantime, EPA is
operating temporary aionitoriiig equipment to develop baseline emissions data on Linietree,
but it is unclear how long EPA's monitoring will remain on St. Croix. Hie local
environmental regulatory body, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, does mot
have the equipment or personnel to conduct monitoring,, so effectively, this refinery lias been
operating without the monitoring necessary to protect the community from their frequent
accidents and emissions exceedanees. Given 'lie community's vulnerability, St. Croix needs a
UV Hound monitor in place, when and .if the refinery restate.
We need permanently landed community-based air, water, and soil monitoring that is
supported by EPA federal methods, because our community lacks resources and key data to
told Linietree Bay Refinery accountable for their pollution. We need tamed surveyors to go
door-to-door to conduct community health assessments based on informed consent so people
can disclose bow these toxic fames are making them sick. Historically, there has torn a
serious lack in health care record keeping, due to limited resources and infirastngture.
Currently, health impacts are limited to data collected from people visiting doctors, urgent
care clinics,, ami the emergency room. In a low-incoine community with many iminswed
residents, people are hesitant to invest in costly visits to doctors, resiiltiiig in under-reporting
of health effects,
2, Recommendations for WBOAC (251 ...._$)
SEA fecanraends the following policies and procedures for WHEJAC to relay to the Federal.
Government for their consideration.
• Require Linietree to monitor its emissions and timely release lie infer.ratios, upgrade
the refinery with best available control technology, and develop a sound mitigation,
plan.
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Provide tools, best practices, or resources so that St. Croix can create a lust Transition
plan, so the territory cm move from, a fossil-fuel based economy to one based on Hie
VI2040 vision, which, includes focusing on an economy based on renewable energy,
agriculture. Hue economy, plaeed-based tourism, and siistamiabflity.
Sus-tained. support for mooitoriiig programs in the awmnnity, university and local
government.
Federal funding for programs that address environmental justice through protecting
groundwater, surface water, air quality, and sol resources.. Additionally, support for
clean-up of existing degraded resources, as a result of the refinery (see WHEIAC
report)
Provide funding for community-based momforiitg and science programs
Funding for tie UV hound and training to protect the coiimiiiiMty
Assign. EPA monitors and EPA personnel in. St. Croix permanently because the local.
DFNR does not have the capacity to effectively monitor air qualify doe to lack of
equipment and personnel. Establish community resilient lints fiw shelters
Require iiQiJ-fliwrieatei fire foam
Test water and soil for effluent for PEAS (AFFF)
Ensure that all. requirements of the CAA 303 order are followed aid flat fie audit of
the IJiiietree Bay facility is performed by an independent, thud paly. In general,,
iactepeiideat monitors most be required and it should not be optional.
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Sol I'M \ RN 1' NVI RO H M E N TAL L AW C E N T E R
IISIepllorHf 613-S21 mm 1033 DEMORIBREUN SIRtE 1, SUiII MS 1-ilcSlrlHie • KM.i
NA5HMILUE. TO 37203
May 2X2021
Deai Members of the While House Environmental Justice Advisory Council,
We write to supplement the record of the WHEJAC's May 13. 2021 meeting. This letter
Mem comments filed by Southern iannmaxBiri Law Center, on behalf of Memphis
Community Against the Pipeline on April 25, 2121, as well is oral comments by MCAP at the
April 21* meeting of lie WHEJAC. In particular. we unite requesting specific recommendations
from the WHEIAC regarding southwest Memphis and the threat of the proposed Byhalia pipeline.
Nationwide Permit 12, fee Justice40 Initiative, and disavowing the use of eminent domain for
pipeline projects such as these. We appreciate the initial May 21* recommendations of this
Council flat set out what tf« of projects would not be considered is beneficial community
investments under the Justice40 Initiative. One of those categories mcliides '"'[flossil fiiel
procurement, development, infrastructure repair that irarid in any way attend lifespan of
production apic^r, transmission system investments to facilitate fossil-fixed generation or any
related subsidy".5 We agree that liiis type of project does not comport with the goals of the
Justioe40 Initiative or environmental justice. As you submit additional recommendations t:o tie'
White House as it imptemaiSs the Justice# Initiative we request tbat yon continue to consider tie
specific issues facing southwest Memphis, including the ininiinent threat of fiie Byhalia pipeline.
Southwest Memphis, witch. is over 37% Black, is overburdened by numerous polluting
facilities, incliidisg' a toxic unlined corf ash pond, a. crude oil reftoeiy Out has topped the national
emissions inventory in the category of stationary sources, a natural. gas plait, highway traffic, and
a. nil yard. 22 of the top 30 major emission, sources in Shelby County, Tennessee are in or near
southwest Memphis, hi addition to the on-gone pollution tardea, the proposed Byhaiis crude oil
pipeline threatens the hemes, drinking water supply, ami community health of southwest Memphis,
as it is to be routed through the historic southwest Memphis Boxtown community and over the
well-field that supplies drinking water to over one million. Memphians..
The southwest Memphis community lias also tome Ae burden of tie improper use of
eminent domain aid condemnation proceedings to acquire properly for fie pipeline. The use of
eminent domain proceedings by oil pipeline companies results in particularly harsh environmental
injustice. in the case of the Byhalia Pipeline project, 'lie pipeline company threatened landowneis
m southwest MempMs with condemnation litigation if toy did not agree to grant pipeline
easements to the company. Because many landowners cannot afford to lire a lawyer to fight a
mili-MlIion lolarpipelinecompany, the company's heavy-handed tactics pot many Memphians
in a real bind. However, when two landowners decided to stand and fight, the pipeline company
decided that it did not want i Tennessee slate court to rale on. the important legal question of
whether or not Tennessee statutes actually give the power of eminent domain to crude oil pipeline
companies.
' May 21,2021 WHEIAC Final Repot Executii* Older 14008, p. 57.
Charlottesville ¦ Qiapei nil • AUanta » mh*m» * Bin- < • * CftMtestm • naMmm • immum » WMMgien, oc
KM* rtcy&xt paw
103 | P a g e
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Since MCAP's fast set of written and oral comments to the WHEJAC regarding Ike
enTOOBmeiitsI threats facing southwest Memphis, and the specific needs 'flat could be addressed
through the Iustice40 tatiative, there have been important local developments that comtnmie to
demonstrate the need for federal intervention to achieve environmental justice.. On May 4®, the
local government decisioa-iiiatmg body refused to legislate to protect Memphis drinking water,
Maying an important vote on n aquifer protection ordinance. This action was taken pursuant to
an agreement with the pipeline developers, despite specific evidence of flue need far water quality
protection and despite widespread support for the action from the local community. On. May 5 ,
in crier to avoid a. judge making a cradil decision on whether or not Tennessee.' statutes actually
give the power of eminent domain to exude oil pipeline companies, Bylmlis Pipeline non-suited its
condemnation litigation against African-American landowners ill (he path of the pipeline. It did
litis while remaining free to threaten other landowners wiftt condemnation litigation is i means of
extracting easements from than. Byhaiia's attempted, use of eminent domain against Black
landowners in southwest Memphis highlights the environmental justice problems associated with
allowing large oil infrastructure projects to proceed under fast tack nationwide permits. By
relying on nationwide penuits, oil pipeline companies are able to step environmental justice
review. After shotting environmental justice review, flie companies then use the condemnation
power to install oil pipeline projects in minority communities, whether they lite it or not.
On May 6* the Department of Earth Science and Center for Applied Earth Science and
Engineering Research (TAESER.™) presented to Memphis, Light, Gas, ami Water ("MLGW)
regarding two important ookob legirdiBg the drinking water well-field thai is it risk from the
proposed Bylialia pipeline.. Fint.. they found evidence that there is another 'breach in the well-field,
making the water supply even, more vulnerable in the event of a pipeline, leak. They also
iiseovefei an arsenic contamination 'flireat to tie well-field. And on May 1#. MCAP filed a civil
rights complaint against the Tennessee: Department of Environment Bid Conservation reprctiiig
state permitting associated with the Byhafia Pipeline. {Aft. A)
As an maty with the authority to make recommendations flat would aid in achieving
environmental justice the WHEJAC can:
a) Recommend Abandonment of use of Nationwide Permit 12 for the proposed Byhaita.
pipeline. Nationwide Pennit 12 allowed fast tracked ana-oral for this project, without
an adequate look at the environmental or environmental justice consequences of the
pipeline.
b) Recommend completion, of * MI National Environmental Policy Act wvkm of the
proposed pipeline's environmental od environmental justice impacts.
e) Recommend flat (lie federal government invest in Southwest Memphis through tie
Justiee4Q Initiative.
d) Disavow the use of eminent domain or (he finest of eminent domain to acquire property
.in the path, of tie proposed Byhalia pipeline. Already, southwest Memphis residents
have lid in uphill battle to keep ftill access to the use and euoyment of then- property
under the ctond of threats oi, and actuaL condemnation lawsuits «i eminent domain
proceedings. The on-going scourge of Aftkan-Amniean land-loss, and environmental
harm should not fee exacerbated by the use of'these tools of disempowerment.
104 | P a g e
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We request that you consider this letter and make these iwoamHmhtkns to &e Wale
House, Thank yon for your consideration of these comments.
Best,
Chandra T. Taylor
Senior Attorney
Leader of SELC Environmental Justice Initiative
105 |
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Southern Environmental Law
Telepnon* 015-921-SM7O 1033 KMOMBREUN STflCET. SUITE 205
NA5HVIUE. TN 37203
May 16, 2021
VIA E-mail to Regan,Mlchaei@eoa,govi Dorka.Llhan@eoa.eov:
ifeMRegaii
U.S. Environmental Protection A eency
Mail Code 1101A
1200' Feoosvlvama Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Lilian Dorka
Director, External Civil Rights Compliance Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Mail Code 23I0A
1200 Petmsyfemia Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Re: Complaint under Title VI of the Civil lights Art of 1961, 42 U.S.C. I 2000d,
regarding the Tennessee Departmenl of Environment and Conservation
Dear Administrator Regan and Director Dorka:
On behalf of Memphis Caimtiiity Against Pollution, Inc. fMCAF'),1 the Southern
Environmental Law Center submits this complaint against the Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation ("TDEC") for its issuance of the Aquatic 'Resource Alteration
Permit and Section 401 Certification for the Byhatia Connection Pipeline (combined, "Byiialia
Pipeline Pemiif ").s which will result in. unjustified disparate adverse impacts on the basis of race
against .African Americans in, violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,42 U.S.C. §§
20CMM to 20Q0d-7, as well as the Title VI implementing regulations of the United Stales
Environmental Protection. Agency ("EPA"), 40 CJFJL Part 7.
Center
Faraimiss 815-921-801,1
1 Memphis Commiaify Against Pollution. he. {'MCAP") is a Tennessee' not-for-profit coqxxaiioit
founded in October '2020 and nicoipctf atecf .in, March, 2021. MCAP continues to opsin and advocate as
Memphis Community Against ie Pipeline, the name used at ftxmding. MCAP supporters include local
community naaijJbans who oppose tie Bybaia Csmaec.ti.cm. Pipeline. MCAP opposes the proposed Byhalia
Pipeline because the risks to drinking water, damage to surface water resources, and in&ngemeiit of
property rights cause disproportionate harms to Black residents mJ teudomaets.
2 NRS20.CS® (New. 17,2020),
,httpi/.id«.tri.ga\H80:&0/pls/e:iilj:epoitia7p=9034:14ll51i::NOij40.5IiP34051_PERJt-IIT_Mllil»lBEE::MES.2
0.089 f Tlyfealia Pipeline- Permit") (Attachment A).
106 | P a g e
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Title VI Complaint regarding the Tennessee Department of Environment .aid Conservation
May 16,2021
Page 2 of 21
The Byhalia Connection Pipeline is a proposed 49-iaile high-pressure erode oil pipeline
that would run directly through fie municipal wellfieM that supples drinking water for historic
Black neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee. The developer of tMs proposed pipeline, Byhalia
Pipeline LLC, chose a route through, communities flat are 97% Black, low-income, and already
burdened by dozens of industrial facilities and major pollution sources. Byhalia Pipeline LLC
had other options, as demonstrated in .an addendum to its permit application. However, tie
company did not bother to analyze whether any of those routes might cause fewer
disproportionately adverse impacts,, .and TDEC fid not require that analysis, despite public
comments raising concerns about the environmental justice implications of the proposed pipeline
route. Byhalia Pipeline. LLC also has opticas in addition to those disclosed in. its addeattan to its
permit application including, as discussed Wow, .an existing pipeine which could serve Uk
ssrae proposed purpose as the Byhalia Pipeline.
Relying on Byhalia" s inadequate application, TDEC issued a. permit that will disparately
impact Black c011m1.11i.li.es In southwest Memphis, without any justification or explanation for
those disparate impacts. By doing so, it lias violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1.964,
which provides that "[n]o person in the United Slates shall, on the ground of race, color, or
national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected, to
discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.™1 'TDEC is
further violating Title VI by adopting a policy of not considering disproportionate impacts and
environmental justice in its permitting decisions, as llie agency explains in the Notice of
Determination for the Byhalia Pipeline Permit.*
To remedy these isolations, EPA must require TDEC to revoke the Byhalia Pipeline
Permit in order to fuUy consider the disproportionate adverse impacts that result from the anient
pipeline route, and wbetber those impacts .are justified. With EPA's guidance, TDEC must also
develop a permit approval process that appropriately considers the potential for disproportionate
impacts, as required by Title VI
I. Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction for an EPA Title VI complaint requires four dements; (1) the complaint must
be in writing: (2) it must allege
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Title VI Complaint regarding the Tennessee Depaitoimt of Environment and Conservation
May IS, 2021
Page 3 of 21
was filed within. 180 days of those acts.® The third element is met by noting that TDEC
committed the alleged discriminatory acts, and if is a recipient of EPA funding.
TDEC is an state government agency that must comply with Title VI requirements.7 At
the lime of the Byhalia Pipeline Permit approval TDEC was a recipient of EPA assistance,8
Aceordtag to USA%caidtag.gov, "the official source for spending data, for tie U.S.
Go\«niiienf'§, EPA awarded TDEC $56.38 million in Hinds in fiscal year 2020.16 This figure
includes $23.09 million in capitalization pants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds ami
$19.13 million in capitalization grants for' Drinking Water State Revolving Funds.11 It also
includes $9.6 million in. Performance Partaersliip Grants.12 Hie Performance Partnership Giant
in. effect in. November 2020 was specifically "for tie operation of [TDEC's] continuing
enwoameiital programs in their efforts to improve air, surface, and ground water quality, and
ensure safe public drinking water supplies."13
Unfa Title VI, if any part of a public institutions, such as a. state environmental agency,
receives federal funds, the whole entity is coveted by Title VI14 TDEC is required to comply
with Title VI and EPA's Title VI iniplementiiig regulations in the operation and enforcement erf
its Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit ("ARAP") and Section 401 Certification program, and
this complaint alleges that it failed to do so, resulting in di.sproporliciiate adverse impacts to
4 40 C.FJL §7.120(b)(2). The Byhalia .Pipeline Permit was issued on Nrndber 17,2020, so litis
complaint is timely filed. EPA alio retains authority to waive the time limit for spod cause. M
7 Tarn. Code Ami' 14-21 -904,.
I Under EPA's Title VI rejptations, a "jrjecipient" is "any State or its political. subdivision, ay
instaumeutality of a State or its political sttxMmstoi^ [and] any public or prate agency.... to which
Federal financial assistance is extended directly or timmgh another reeipiest.. ."40 C..F..R. § 7.25. "EPA
assistance" is "any grant or crapooifve ajp-eemeni.. loan, contract..., or any other arrangement by which
EPA provides or otherwise mates tnuUde assistance in the £bb of itads..Id
s USA Spending, About, hiRi>&i.//ii^mg.iiBasoeaiiiig.g&¥,'al)oiit {accessed. May 16,2021).
15 USA Spending, E \" t<\\ i V',/2 \ / 1 \7'. . ' \ h'VATION, MXNESSBE DEPARTMENT OF/Federal
Award Recpient Pmff/e,. fcltpsi ''¦•u'lTO.masiienclmg. go¥/fecipi.ent,'42d3aa 10-7§l 9-e5e2-769a-
19a265670ece-C.'2020faccesiecllfe'lC. 20211 *'*
II M The Clean Water State Revolving Food capitalization, pants provide federal, financial assistance for
due purpose of developing and financm^ various water quality iapenat anil protection projects. USA
Spending, GRANT to EIWMCmMEXTAND CONSER KAIION, TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF.
littps;//^TOm',tisa5f€iidiiig/go¥.''awii''d''ASST^NOM_47fX>3120_6S00 {accessed May 1.6,2021). The Safe
Drinking Water Itei^vmg Fund capitalizatioo. grants provide federal financial assistance for tie impose
of developing and financing 'drinking water improvement projects aid activities to protect human
bealtk" 'USA Spending, GRANT to ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION, 'TENNESSEE
DEPAEIMENTOF, Mo5://\ra^Rti&aspmdmg.go¥.'3iyai'd'ASST ISION 98427220 6S00 (accessed Mav
16.2021).
12 USA Spending. GRANT to ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION, TENNESSEE BEPAF1MBM'
OF, {accessed May 16,2021).
13 Id
14 See EPA, U.S. EEA s Externa! Chll Rights Cknupifmee TooM, Chapter 1 (Jan. IS, 2017), 2,
fciBEiiHinsaHjeEslss®^^
faq-'j .hi i /.ul.18.odf ("Civil lights Compliance Toolkit").
108 | P a g e
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Title VI Complaint regarding the Tennessee Department of Environment ami Conservation
May 16,2021
Page 4 of
group protected under Title VI In the event that TDEC does not take the actions requested in
this complaint to achieve Ml compliance with Title VI. EPA should revoke federal funding used
by TDEC for the ARAP and Section 401 Certification program.
II. Background
A. The Southwest Memphis Comimaitj
A mile oil spill or leak from the Bykata Pipeline along tlie route approved by TDEC
could coufaiiinate tie drinking water source of southwest Memphis, a pedotnmately Black
CQiimmtiity long overburdened by industrial politico, The proposed route cute through the heart
of Boxtown, a fceitmem's community established by formerly enslaved people following the
Emancipation Proclamation. of 1S63.15 Resident in the neighborhood's zip code, 38109, ire
9?% Slack,16 and nearly half of the hoiseliolds have an income below $25,000 a year.17 As
shown on die map Wow, southwest Memphis is already home to numerous industrial facilities,
including an oil refinery, a steel mill, a recently retired coal-fired power plant with leaking,
iinfined coal asti pits, and a new natural gas plant.
15 Aubrey Ford Fhoebe Weinman and Walker Weinman. Boxtawn: The Land of Broken Ptcmiise.%
"Sled StetMCansiBBtateaii,
httEs:,,ydata.ceagi.is.gov^cedsci/table?q=381 Q91'i2teaceifai#=DECEMMtALSfI 201O.PiS (accessed May 16,
2021).
17 United Slates Census Bureau, INCOAfE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2018 INFLATION-
ADJUSTED DOLLARS}, ZCTA5 38109, Tennessee,
lit as .¦ data-census. Brvv"cedsci/taMe?g=8ftOOOOOLJS3 8109&tid=ACS ST5'¥201 S.S 1901 MttdeBrevgw-fati
efeiiitage=2CHEi§:te'eFzct.a5Aci#=E?P03 OOQIE (accessedMay 16,2021).
109 | P a g e
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Title VI Complaint regarding the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
May 16,2021
Page 5 of 21
iSfli FiaH
^Sjh. Nil cor StBfil
MmtipI-s
O
WALKER PlOHeS
B OX TOV N
WESIWOOC
MEADOWS
Byf.alia Connection
™ Pipeline Game
ronlc Release
hveoltxy FaefflUes
Indwstital
Development
TDEC Reniediatkm SStei
, Hpl)
F WV IDWM H!AL
PtflttMHR *
WEST HAVEN
Closed
Wellhead ^reflection
Zone 2'
prrn-nt Ptnple pf Cotor
byCensis ESod<"
I a?1? >hs«
20%to«ft
*0% to 60*;
60% to 0C%
Over 80%
These industrial facilities have burdened the predominantly Black communities of
southwest Memphis with what may be some of the nation's worst air quality, and with increasing
threats to their drinking water and surface waters. For example, the Tennessee Valley
Authority's Allen Coal Plant spewed pollutants into the air in southwest Memphis for decades.
Although that coal plant retired in 2018, it remains a pollution problem due to high levels of
arsenic and other coal ash contaminants leaching into groundwater and surface waters such as the
Horn Lake Cutoff and McKellar Lake.1S The Tennessee Valley Authority now operates a natural
16 John Ccu'inicliael et aL. Preliminary evaluation of the hjdrogeolog)- ami groundwater quality ofthe
Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer and Memphis Aquifer at the Tennessee Valley Authority
110 | P a g e
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Title VI Ccmiplaiiit regarding the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
May 16.2021
Page i of 21
gas plant next door to the coal plant He gas plant contributes to the area's air pollution and also
consumes an enormous amount of southwest MempMs's clean drinking water to operate.19 For
decades the Valero Mmiptes Refiner?- has teen emitting toxic Amies, as well as being the center
of convergence tor several easting hazardous liquids pipelines,® As recently as February 2921,
flie Valero Refiner}1 polluted Nonconnah Greek with oil and fie air with toxic hydrogen sulfide
dining a flare eweat® The site of the Vilero Memphis Refinery is also a long-standing source of
groundwater contamimtioa, including beoaoe, that las been, in remediation for decades.2,2
Driven % trade pollutants like benzene .and formaldehyde, the cumulative cancer risk in
southwest Memphis is four times higher than the national average.23
B, The Proposed B}rhaJM Connection Pipeline
Byhalia Pipeline LLC proposes to raa a 49-mile Mgfa~pces.siire erode oil pipeline through
these already overburdened comarniniti.es in order to connect tlie existing Valero Memphis
Refinery with the Valero CoiSerwlle Terminal is Marshall County, Mississippi.24 Rather than
lead Byhalia to look elsewhere, Use environmental injustice in switfcwest Memphis is precisely
»4?y Byhalia chose this route. Instead of taking the shortest route due east, the proposed route
heads doe south, tttrcmgh conmmiuities of color, before taming east and tossing parts of
Northern Mississippi, and eventually back north. Explaining the circuitous route to landowners, a
Mm PbmrPhm, Memphis. Shelby County. Tennessee. United States Geological Survey Open-File
Report 201.8-1097, https:/-''pobs.er.iisgs.gQv.''poblicatic»D;'o&20181097: MLGV fatfrfefMrtnaaital
MancnnimPiliy 5,2021). 15,20 (Attachment C).
19 Tom C&arKcr, TVA absorbing Mgtier casts to cod new Memphis power plant, Menfhii Commercial
Appeal (July 6. 2011), litlos:."mm^coimiiefctali:pceal.com/5t«T%em^/20i8/07,'06.%'a-iii!g\¥-cooiiBg-
water/7 59124002-.
18 Sarah Macaiaeg, Byhalia pipeline: Toxic refinery pollution. immiiBiliig blind spot in .southwest
M(mpbis,Msmpbm Conimercial Appeal (Mar. 16,2021), littps;//mwx'OpmieiTialajPiMi,.com-'Bi-
deu-tli/n.emrs,'2-Q21 /CO.-' 17/talEawav54oac-reiinBi>-pQilmte-n-soiaiB.m'iesi-men:ii3litii/'tV1 S3jOOOlPHMSA
National Pipeline Mapping System, jVMSftibiic Viartr, https;tfpwipigi.pMisa.4ot.g:ov/l>iibI.ic¥iewef/
(choose Tennessee, (hat Shelby County, to view pipeline map in area) (accessed May Ifi, 2021).
21 Canington J. Tatum, Vabiu cleans up oil after kiempMs reBoery Bare: excess toxic gas reiease,
MLK50 (Feb.. 24,2021). littgs:/7nil3dO.C'om,202l,'02.-24n.'alefo-cleaa5-mf>-oil-iil:ei'-iiiegiohts-fefiiieiTi'-
flare-esce&ei4Qgic-gas-release/.
B EarihCon Consnitaiils, lac., Valero M?Btaag Company-Tennessee, LLC Semi-Annual Site Sates
Monitoring J?ifwrt'(May 21, 2019),
http-s:,•'/static 1 .sqnarespace.oom'fstatio'5b7b3e99d274cb770e84li4M-'¥5e
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Title VI Complaint regarding the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
May 16. 2021
Page 1 of 21
land agent disclosed that B^ialia saw southwest Memphis—poor. Blade, already polluted—as
the "point of least resistance."15
Byhalia Pipeline LLC is a joint venture between Plains All American, L.P. (a Texas-
based, multibillion-dollar fossil fuel transportation congkmaerate) and a subsidiary of Valero
Energy Partners (a Texas-based miiltiMlion-dottar energy conglomerate),24 As tie people of
southwest Meiiiptes know too well, private industries making decisions based on their bottom
line often leads to the toxic concentration of pollutants in. low-income communities and
communities of color. It is the government agencies flat regulate these .industries, like TOEC,
fct must ensure that these communities do -not face further disproportionate impacts and
environmental injustice,
C. The A RA P and Section 401 Certification Process
Because the proposed pipeline would cross wetlands and streams in Tennessee, on Apnl
20, 2020, Byhalia Pipeline IXC applied for .an ASAP and Section 401 Certification for the
project. On April 24, 2.020, the Department notified Bjttalia Pipeline LLC that its application
was deficient, for, among other reasons,, failure to submit a detailed alternatives analysis.37 On
lime 19, 2020, Byhalia Pipeline LLC submitted an alternatives analysis describing five
alternatives, including a no action alternative, and identifying its preferred route—a route that
tans abruptly south to snake through predominantly Black neighborhoods in southwest
Memphis—as the least environmentally damaging alternative.M Byhalia Pipeline LLC's
altematives analysis did not identify environmental justice or dispropontionate impacts as one of
its "route criteria." Hie pipeline company's socM and economic justification, which it also
misleadingly styled as an "environmental justice" analysis, had no demographic analysis and
suggested only that "[t]he project would have significant economic benefits to the local
economies.''3®
TDEC's ARAP and Section 401 Certification regulations require the agency to invite and
consider public comments on the application for m individual permit.J§ From My 21 through
15 Michaels. A. Watts and Laura. Testino, Memphis Question Plains All American About Route for
Proposed Byhalia Connection Pipeline, Commercial Appeal {Feb. 15, 2020),
l>¥!iali«.oimegtiM-pi|ieliiie?,476I.543{>02/.
-s Byhalia Pipeline LLC 4>'i
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Title VI Ccmiplaiiit regarding the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
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September 11, TDEC received numerous public comments. Many comments from the public
expressed concerns that the pipeline would present an unacceptable threat to the Memphis Sand
Aquifer, the city's sole drinking waler source, a few of which, .ate excerpted Mow;
• "This pipeline not only poses a risk to the pristine drinking, water supply ponded by the
Memphis aquifer, but it mill also cress multiple steams, posing a risk to our wetlands
and waterways, wMcli has a literal trickledown effect into our agriculture, industry,
economy, and community. Once coatamnated, the aquifer cannot lie recovered,™35
• "Public data [] shows that about a quarter of the proposed Byliala Connection route
traverses the unconfiaed area of the Memphis/Sparta aquifer in DeSoto and Marshall
Counties. 'The iimconfined area... is highly vuhierable to a pipeline leak or rupture which
could result in a crude oil spill directly contaminating the source of (lie region's drafting
water. Of course, the entire proposed route should he considered sensitive because even
where a confining clay layer isolates the Memphis,'Sparta aquifer, a shallow alluvial
aquifer is present, and gaps or breaches in the confining clay layer can provide: a pathway
for surface water antipollution to reach the deeper Memphis/Sparta aquifer. Even if crude
oil contamination only impacted lie shallow aquifer, it would be harmful to locals who
rely on the shallow aquifer for industrial agricultural and domestic wells."32
• "Byhalia Pipeline's application assumes that tie aquifer is protected by the protective
clay layer all along its route—until it enters the aquifer's recharge area. This application
ignores the fact that the protective clay layer5 has holes and gaps. ... The Applicant lias
failed to examine whether its proposed route transits areas where there is a gap, hole, or
thin point in the clay protective law. This pipeline may be up to industry standards, tat
its contents, its pressure (1500 psi), and the pound over which it travels are: all risk)'. An
oil spill of any sort will contribute to sipiificaat ground, groundwater, upper aquifer, and
if we are not careful, unthinkable Memphis Sand Aquifer pollution. Hydraulic
connectivity, clay layer gaps, and steam-scoured boles all connect the upper to the lower
aquifer. These connections am well-documented in parts of math MempMs // though
they have noi been examined or studied along the proposed mates"13
Many oilier public comments specifically addressed how the pipeline would unjustly
burden the Black community of southwest Memphis through increasing the pollution and health
risks in an already overburdened community, as well as the negative impacts of the pipeline on
Black wealth and Black homeownership. A few examples demonstrate the depth of concern
about these environmental justice issues:
• "1 am writing you today as a concerned Memphis citizen, opposing the Byhalia Pipeline
Project, and its intended construction through the heart of the Boxtown neighborhood.
Bits community already deals with lower than average heal! outcomes due to
sunouiiding chemical plants and factories. The last thing Memphis needs is another
noxious construction project wifli few-to-no environmental impact projections. For
31 Comment from. Emily dives {Sept. 11,2020) (Attachment G).
B Comment fio&Debadi Caauigton (Sept. 11,2020) (Attadraieat H).
m Comment from Protect Oar Aquifer'(Sept. 11, 2020) (Attachment I) {emphasis original).
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heaven's sake! At the very least take tie. time to finalize a legitime environmental impact
study before potentially devastating a unique community where many homeowners still
live in houses built by their ancestors. Hive some respect"34
• "li a city with a history of segregation and treating people of color as second-class
citizens, the residents of Boxtown taw somehow defied the odds aid have a rate of
komeomnersliip well beyond the national avenge tor Black people. Despite rampant
poverty ad meager incomes, residents have done this through generations, many of their
homes being in lie family since they woe fist built in the 19th century. Boxtown
residents already have enough to deal with clue to the industrial complex they .are
surrounded by tat to gut their neighborhood with an explosive substance constantly
running mere feet below them, is, to me, unconscionable. ... I know they claim, that the
pipeline will bring jobs to the area, bit they are likely to 1* specialized and temporary,
and therefore offer almost zero benefit to the residents who are going to be affected.
There is only risk and almost no reward to these residents who have worked so hard to
get where they are. The only people who will benefit from this project are the rich oil
tycoons who will further line their pockets, possibly at the expense of the environment,
the aquifer, and the livelihood of hard-working, disadvantaged residents."35
» "As a resident of Memphis and Shelby County, I feeJ strongly that the proposed pipeline
poses significant environmental risk and causes peat concern for oar local, water source,
property ratu.es, and especially the health of my family friends, and neighbors 'in Shelby
County. Bybalia Pipeline, LLC... lias proposed to ran the erode oil pipeline through a
stable African American community with generations of land ownership, and without any
meamngftd involvement of local community leaders in. the process.."3®
• "As a citizen of Memphis, I implore you to act in opposition to allowing the Bjtialla CM
Pipeline project to proceed. T O Fuller State Park is not only a historical and cultural site
for Black and indigenous Termesseans, tat the communities that surround it are valued
by the generations of families that worked to secure home ownership in a country that has
historically implemented policies that made tlms all tat impossible. ... Mow, with the
proposed pipeline, an area that lias already suffered so nmicli industrial contamination will
be further endangered by the potential threat of a pipeline breach The Boxtown
community just South of the parte has voiced its. op position to this project, ami. I stand in
solidarity with its residents."3'
• "Boxtown is 99% Black, accenting to U.S. Census data, and it has experienced .decades
of environmental seism. In a five-mile radius arrant Smith's church in Boxtown, near
where Fields Road trails to an end at Bestows. .Road, are at least 32 industrial facilities.
To the west sit iron and steel mills; to fie east a pesticide iimirfaetarer. A few miles
north, between McKellar Lake and Nonconnah Creek, a Valero oil refinery panips
195,000 bands of oil per day. According to a 2013 study, the cumulative cancer risk
from toxic air in southwest Memphis, which includes Boxtown, is four times higher than
34 Comment from. Gaidar Hassinger (Sept. 11, 2020) (Attachment J),
» Comment fiomlriiaMaitiiidfi (Sept 11,2020) (Attachment K),
18 Comment from Join Paul Staffer {Sept. 11,202.0 (Attachment Lit
37 Comment froml&le Siebert (Sept. 11.2020) (Attachment M).
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the national average, and driven by industrial and transportation-related pollutants like
benzene and formaldehyde.'"58
• "His project would, be disastrous for tie residents of 38109 as a whole. 1 is known that a.
project of this magnitude would decrease home values, potentially would cause residents
to sale/move and would cause pollution to this predominantly Mack area. Boxtown is
99% black and has over 60% of borne ownership, some of the highest rates in tie -states.
These individuals are also the marpnalized uiifbrtiaately. ... Many homes in Boxtown
have generational fannies living in them This project would destroy black wealth while
lining the pockets of eta?elopers.™19
Notwithstanding the cooccms it heard from the affected communittes and oflieis, TDEC
issued the ARAP and Section 401 Certification cm November I7t 2,020. & the Notice of
Determination for Hie permit TDEC expressly found that "the permittee's preferred alternative,
with conditions, represents the practicable alternative that would achieve fee project objective
and have the least adverse impact on resource values."40 TDEC's primary answer to the many
comments regarding threats to the Memphis Sand Aquifer was that its pennittmg program
"do[es] not regulate discharges to pomtftwater (only surface waters) or lie operation of the
pipeline" and TDEC therefore had no reason, to evaluate or consider those impacts.41
Responding to the numerous comments about disproportionate impacts and
environmental injustice, TDEC's only response was that it has no "specific language within. rale
or statute that requires and/or provides XPEC the explicit authority to consider environmental
justice within its environmental regulatory program actions," and, therefore, TDEC cannot
conduct an inquiry to evaluate claims of environmental injustice or disparate impact.43 Instead,
TDEC asserted that its job was done simply by conducting a public hearing and taking public
comment on the project43 'TDEC also decided it hid .no ability to consider negative effects on
home values or lie questionable economic benefits of the poject, and no need to include the
social and economic justification for the project in the permit.44 His was an, unexplained
departure from TDEC's earlier position, in which it had required Byhalia Pipeline LLC to submit
a social and economic justification. and had included that justification in. the draft permit posted
on November 3,2020.*
III. Legal Violation
The prohibition on discrimination in Title VI is mirrored in EPA's Title VI implementing
regulations, which state that "[n]o person, shall he excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of. or be subjected to discrimination under any program, or activity receiving EPA
" Comment ftomFteieaee Katze {Sept. 11, 2020) (Attachment M).
38 Comment from Jdbanie Robinson (Sept II, 202©) (Attachment Ot.
41M at6,
,"¦/ at9.
J is.
J til. 3t j -8. 10.
45 Soft Byhalia Pipeline Peimit (Nov. 3. 2020}. 2.1 (Tfeaaribtr 3 Draft' Permit") (Attachment P).
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assistance on the basis of race, color, national origin, or on, the basis of sex in any program or
activity receiving EPA assistance trader tie Federal Water Pollution Control Act"*5 As EPA
guidance notes, "EPA and otter federal agencies are authorized to enact regulations to achieve
the law's objectives in prohibiting discrimination,™ including through regulations preventing
federal fondling reopen! actions, that cause racially disparate impacts.4"'
These ixxqpacts are often health and environmental harms, tat can also include non-health
harms, "including.. among otter things, economic (e.g., depressed property values), nuisance
odors, traffic congestion, noise and venam.wW State permittiiig agencies are "responsible for
minimizing the environmental impacts to local comiiiiaities and ensuring that their practices and
policies .are implemented in a nondi&ximinatoiy manner."49 EPA's reguLations make tMs clear
through the specific prohibition at 40 C.F.R. § 7J5(b)-{c):
A recipient shall not use catena or .methods of adnrimsfrring its program or
activity which have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination because
of their race, color, [or] national, origin, ... or lave the effect of defeating or
substantially impairing tecampisfnjienf of tMs subpart.
Even "policies, criteria or methods of administering programs flat are neutral on their
face but have the effect of dlscrimiiiafkg"' can result in a Title VI violation if the recipient cannot
articulate a '"substantial legitimate ju^iflaslion7 for the challenged policy or practice."39 Even
when there is a substantial legitimate justification, employing a neutral policy that leads to
disparate impacts may st.il constitute a violation of Title VI if there; are. less discriminatory
alternatives that would achieve the same pupose.51
In issuing the Byhalia Pipeline Permit without consideration of the potential for
disproportionate adverse impacts based on the route, or lie potential ft* the contamination of
drinking water in already^veibuideoed Hack communities, TDEC used a method of
administering its program that the agency nay characterize as neutral on its fi.ee, tat that lias the
effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination because of their race. To date, TDEC lias not
put forward any substantial, legitimate justification for avoiding that consideration, and has not
explained why the primary puipo.se of its permitting program—the protection of water quality
and water resources—cannot be achieved equally well in a less discriminatory manner. This
constitutes a violation of Title VI
* 40 C.F.B. § 7.30.
47 See Civil lights CmnpiaiM* Toolkit, 8.
41 /,/ at Cbaptw 1 FAQs, 4.
49 EPA Title TO .Public taolventent Guidance fbr EPA Assistance Recipients Administering
EnviroomeiiM Penrntlicig Proa-anas (Btcyat Gndtin), 71 Fed. Reg. 14207,14214 (March. 21,2006).
58 Civil Rights Compliance Too licit. 2. 9.
51 Id at I€L
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A The BybaJia Pipeline Permit issued by TDEC has clear adverse tmpacte, imimikg-
risking the contamination of the drinking water source for southwest Memphis.
In issuing the Bjtsaia Pipdine Permit TDEC approved a project which would have
immediate adverse effects on members of the eeninmtnity im proximity to the pipeline, ii the
construction of the pipeline, Byhalia Pipeline LLC wouid need to clear laud, excavate, stage
construction, install pipe and other structures, re-level and restore vegetation.52 These activities
can be noisy, increase traffic. Emit use of private and public property, cause local air pollution
through dust and heavy equipment emissions, cause water pollution through increased
stormwater runoff, and tana valuable wetlands, which can help protect against Hoods. When the
rights-of-way are revegetated, they often end tip hosting weeds and invasive plant species,
further degrading property values and homeowners7 enjoyment of their property?3
Even after construction is complete, pipelines centime to haw adverse effects.
Constructing a pipeline requires obtaining easements, aid these easements can inhibit future
development due to concerns about hitting the pipeline or maintaining the right-of-way above
it.14 Between these constraints, concerns about die risks of leaks and oil spills, and uncertainty
about whether abandoned pipes will remain in the ground indefinitely, property values often fall
around pipelines?5
A decline in property values would be particularly haniiM for many southwest
Meatpiiians. Southwest Memphis has an unusually liigh homeowiiership rate compared to
deeiograpliicalty similar communities, despite having a relatively low median income, and for
many their home is their sole source of wealth.The damage would also be more than
economic; many failles five on property that has been passed down, over generations, including
soaie with homesteads first created by newly emancipated Blade Americans in the aftennath of
the Civil War, and hope- to pass the land to the nest generation.*7 TDEC received many piMie
comments on this issue during its consideration of the permit, as noted, in the section above, and
so was well aware of the concern community members had about these impacts. These are all.
52 Pipeline' Petmii
B U.S. Fish ami Wildlife Service, Oil ami Gas Pipelines, littos:/%ii»wATs,go\r.i'ecologi.cal-
serages.,"ma"CT-
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Title VI Complaint regarding tie Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
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Page 13 of 11
harms that fall within the scope' of Title VI concern and EPA investigation, when, as here, they
are sufficiently harmful and uujiislifled.58
Crude oil pipelines also commonly leak, and therefore have the potential to contaminate
the suxoondiag soil and groondwater. la a city Eke Memphis, which relies solely on
groundwater for drinking water, this could create the conditions for a disaster. As TDEC knows,
and was reminded of in many public comments, the. Byhalia Pipeline route goes over the
MeaipMs Sand Aquifer, the city's sole drinking water source. .Portions of flue mote go over the
unccmfmed area of the aqiiifer, or the "recharge zone", wtacJi is particularly vulnerable to
contamination, but the entire route poses serious risks because any spills or leaks would still
easily travel to the shallow, alluvial aquifer above the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which locals rely
on. for industrial and agricultural wells?9 Additionally, southwest Memphis is an area, wifli
known and suspected teaches in the protective clay laser between the two aquifers, md so there
are pathways, for pollution to travel from the shallow aquifer to the Memphis Sand Aquifer much
more quickly than it would through the clay layer itself®
When pipelines leak,, they release carcinogenic chemicals such as benzene and other
hazardous pollutants.*1 And. unfortunately, pipeline leaks are common: since 2010, more flan
1,650 leaks have .spiled more than 11.5 million gallons of oil.42 Wonyingly, data from the
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. show that there have been over 4,000
oil and feel pipeline spills since 2010, but only 7% were delected by leak detection systems.®
TDEC erroneously concluded there was "no reason to believe there is any possibility of affecting
the deep regional aquifer,"*4 tat it had more than enough information at tbe time of issuing the
permit to suspect that leaks along the pipeline route could contaminate the drinking water supply.
B. The adverse impacts facilitated by TDEC's grant of the Bj/mlia Pipeline Permit are
disproportionately borne by a group protected bp Title VI.
As noted in the section, above, the Byhalia Pipeline route traverses southwest Memphis,
including the Baxfown community, which is predominantly Black and tow-income. Southwest
Memphis is also already burdened by numerous current polluting industries and legacy polluting
sites; not coincidectally, the cumulative cancer' risk in southwest Memphis is four times higher
than fie national average** Although TDEC requested, and Byhalia Pipeline LLC provided, an
"x lights Caafilmce Toolkit, 21.
55 Comment from Deborah Caningtan (Sept. 1 !.„ 2020) {Attachment H).
* Douglas Cosier, Evaluation of the JSst of Contamination of tbe Memphis Sand Aquifer by fife? Proposed
Byhalia Connection Pipeline (February 1,2021), 16 ("Cosier Report'') (Attachment Q).
61"M at 5.
® Id. at 4.
53 Mike Soragjiaa, Giant M.C. spill shorn gaps to pipeline safllf, E&E News (Feb. 25. 2021).
® Chunroog lia and Jeffiey Farm, Atr Times Concentrations; Source MeotSteattom wd Health Mats;
An Air Foliation Hot Snot in Stmibtmst Memphis, TN, SI Ateiosptenc Eav't 112-116 (Dec. 2013),
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analysis of several attanatives to the southwest Memphis route, neither TDEC nor Byfcalia.
engaged in any kind of demographic comparison between the routes or examined the existing
pollution and polluting Mrastniettire burdens bome by iie respective communities.
C. TDEC has not articulated a ° substantial legitimate jasMlcatloa" For lis decision to issue
the Byhalia Pipeline Permit without any consideration of disproportionate aA'erse
impacts m minority commuBiiies or potential effects on (kinking water.
Many people, including community members in, southwest Memphis, submitted
comments to TDEC during the public comment period fee the Byhalia Pipeline Permit. As noted
above, two related issues predominated: concern about the pipeliae's risk to drinking water, and
concern that those risks, as well as other negative impacts, would be disproportionately
shouldered by low-income, predominately Black communities already suffering under a legacy
of industrial pollution facilitated by systemic racism in Memphis and Tennessee.156
In response to these comments on environmental justice, TDEC emphasized that
"Tennessee does mot have an [executive order] or specific language wittum rale or statute that
requires and/or provides TDEC the explicit authority to consider environmental justice within its
environmental regulatory program actions,.'"®7 But issuance of an executive order or specific
language in state regulations has no tearing on TDECs obligations to comply with the Civil
Rights Act as a recipient of federal funding. Claiming that it "strivfes] for the equal treatment of
al communities," TDEC cited only the public notice and public hearing on the 'draft permit as
sufficient to resolve any environmental justice concents.® Has is not sufficient. As EPA
guidance provides, '"|ii]ncterstaiiJiiig the existing environmental and health impacts as well as the
iemojprapMcs, in, the areas under consideration, far the siting of new facilities, may help
[fernmttiag agencies] ensue they do mot issue permits in a discriminatory manner."* Noii-
health-related lianas, such as hanns to property values or quality of fife, are also factors in
disparate iaipact analysis.70 Justification of these environmental and other harms requires TDEC
to "offer evidence that its policy or decision in question is demonstrably related to a significant,
legitimate goal related, to its .mission," but TDEC has provided no such evidence.n
TDECs non-response to comments raising concerns about tie economic benefits (or lack
thereof) to affected communities, and the negative impacts on Black hotneownership and
property values, is inadequate. In the November 9,2020 Notice of Determination for (he Byhalia
Pipeline Pemiit TDEC noted that many public comments questioned the validity of the supposed
economic and social justification and raised issues about whether tie project would actually
economically and socially harm, rather than benefit the affected communities, but TDEC then
* Antony Ford, Phoebe Weinman and Writer Weinman, Boxtmm: The land of Broken BvnOms,
Stccybosrd Memphis (Sept. 16, 2019), h.ttgs:/?5t&iiil3Q»dmai»3lm.orB,neiElil»itiO'Od4iciafA,'bQgQwii/.
' Notice of IMenntnalioii,, 9
51 Id
° EPA Title VI Foblic iivokeinent Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipi.en.te AdinMstermg
Eavmnmieatsl Pemmttiiig Programs (Recipient Guidance), 71 Fed. Reg. 14207,14215 {March. 21. 2006).
74 Civil Rights Compliance Toolkit Chapter 1 FAQs, 4.
71 Mat 15.
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entirely omitted any consideration of the economic and social effects of Hie projecta TDEC
completely avoided responding to the numerous public comments raising these concerns, and
simply stated that lie environmental degradation from the project was mitigated to such a degree
that no consideration of social or economic effects was necessary, and that TDEC had no
authority to consider things like effects on property values.7 J What TDEC did not say was that it
had previously requested just such an analysis from Bjlialia Pipeline LLC, and had included that
analysis in a draft permit posted on TDEC's permit data viewer website just 6 days earlier, on
November 3, 2020.74 That November 3 draft permit also noted that the environmental
degradation was sufficiently mitigated, and nothing had changed in the interim 6 days; TDEC's
decision, to just drop that analysis in the final permit and Notice of Detenaination is completely
iinaplained.75
When considering the economic impacts of a permitting decision, and whether they
wotrid justify a disparate impact on a particular community, EPA. piidance instincts TDEC to
consider whether any pupated economic benefits would be "delivered directly to the affected
population," keeping in rand 'the views of the affected commBmty" about whether tie benefits
justify 'the disparate impacts.76 The community made its voice very clear, as the comments given
above indicate; it did not think tlie pipeline benefited them, and thought it would actually kami
'them—socially, economically,, and environmentally. As a comment from the President of the
Whitehaven Community Development Corporation put it:
[W]l», other that the oil companies who use these pipelines, will benefit from this
project? Certainty not the already straggling families who will be mostly
affected... Even the hired PR fimi stated that tlie jobs created would not be the
type of jobs the local economy could support or fill So, tow is this proposed
partnership creating and peipetratjog a siistainatle economic and preferred
development for the local economy? "
With no explanation for why it dropped the social and economic analysis specifically
requested from Byhalia Pipeline LLC, TDEC's ultimate refusal to engage in this question
because it may not be necessary under the permitting regulations appears pretextual. TDEC is
fidly able to ensure that its ASAP program fulfils its prismy water quality protection purpose
while also ensuring the program does not have discriminatory effects, .and regularly considers
social and economic impacts in many situations.78 Its decision to forgo such andysis bat, when
comments .and evidence suggest flat the decision to issue the permit will, cause disproportionate
adverse impels to primarily low-income, Black communities, violates Title Ws requirement to
administer programs in a nondiscriminatory manner.
72 Notice ofBefaffiaiation, 7-10.
B Id
71 November 3 Draft Beaut, 21.
75 Mat 23.
7« Civil lights Compliance Toolkit, 15
77 Comment from. Whitehaven Community Dndopnent Cotporaiion (Sept. 11, 2(120) (Attachment R).
71 See, tig.. Tern. Q»f. 1L &Regs. 0400-40-03-.06.
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TDEC's. refusal to consider the potential contamination of drinking water and
groundwater is also unjustified, particularly where, as here, tliif contamination contributes to
disparate adverse impacts to communities protected by Title VI Although TDEC's penuittiiig
decision focused an impacts to surface waters, the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act allows
TDEC to consider groundwater, too, particularly when that groundwater is a drinking water
source. TDEC's own regulations require it to consider "any other factors relevant under tlxe Act"
when evaluating a penmit application.® Hie Tennessee Water Quality Control Act prohibits the
unpermitted "alteration of the physical, chemical, radiological, biological or bacteriological
properties of any waters of the state."85 The waters of the state include groundwater,81 and the
"government of Tennessee, has an obligation to take all prudent steps to secure, protect, and
preserve™ the public's right to clem water.82 Because the Act seeks to protect a:// waters of the
state, a substantial risk of groundwater pollution—especially near drinking water intakes—is
highly relevant to TDEC's decision to issue an ARAP for the development of a high-pressure
crude oil pipeline.
TDEC also has an additional statutory basis for considering drinking wafer 111 its
permitting decisions. Hie people of Tennessee, including Memphians, haw a "right to
unpolluted waters,"83 including groundwater. The Department is charged wifli "preventfingj the
future pollution of the waters ... so that the water resources of Tennessee illicit be used and
enjoyed to the Mlesst extent consistent with the maintenance of unpolluted waters."84 Given its
duty to protect drinking water, TDEC's attempt to avoid analyzing the potential impacts to
drinking water resulting from issuing the Byhalia Pipeline Permit because of some perceived
lack of statutory authority falls flat
Finally, though Tennessee may not have a statute expressly requiring TDEC to consider
environmental justice, such analysis is, essential here for TDEC to mane that its policies mi
practices do not disparatety impact Black residents, as required for compliance with Title VI.
TDEC has not shown its policy to forgo environmental Justice analysis, particularly when, as
here, public comments clearly frame it as an issue, is somehow "necessary to meeting a goal flat
[ijs legitimate, important, and integral to the [recipient's] institutional mission."85 TDEC's oily
justification, for not considering environmental justice is that the agency could not identify any
explicit provisions in a Tennessee statute that "required and/or provided" it authority to perforin
such analysis.. A purported, lack of explicit authority to consider disparate impacts under state
law cannot alone be .sufficient reason to uphold a policy that creates disparate impacts on groups
protected by Title VI a federal civil rights law with which TDEC is required to comply. And
absence of a state statute explicitly requiring that analysis is no excuse for failure to comply with
the Civil Rights Act.
Tem. Coaip. E_ & Resr,. 0400-40-0".04{6)i.c i.
Tem. Cods Ace. 5 69-3-lCS(b>i 11.
*¦ /.i". 6?-3-101(453.
,''.V j 69-5-lU2fa).
L- Tei-ji, Code Arx 5 69-3-102(3;
'* C nil Rigtotc. C omplumce Icalkit. 9.
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IV. Undisclosed Information
Since TDEC issued the Byialia Pipeline Pennit on November 17, 2020, additional
investigation has revealed information which make tie disproportionate adverse impacts of the
Bjlialia Pipeline even more clear: the proposed pipeline would not only ran over the Memphis
Sand Aquifer in an area where the aquifer is known to toe vulnerable to contamination1^—it
would also plow right between two wells in a municipal welfieM that provides drinking water to
Black eommiaiiies in southwest Memphis.*7 Any pipeline spill or leak could therefore
contaminate not just the drinking water aquifer., tat actual drinking water supplies, even more
quickly than previously suspected. This information should have hem. available to TDEC in its
permitting process tat Byhalia Pipeline LLC did not disclose it. Accordingly, it has only come
to fight since TDEC issued the permit.
The following map shows where the pipeline route crosses the municipal welfieM, and
the sensitive area around the wells designated by Memphis Light, Gas and Wafer ("MLGW) as
Wellhead Protection Zone 2, near areas of known or suspected breaches in the clay layer
separating the shallow alluvial aquifer from the Memphis Sand. Aquifer.®8
85 MCAP et a.1. Demand to Revoke ARAF aod 401 for ByfaaHa Hpefiiie (Apr 29. 2021). ^ ;"MC AP
Demani Letter") (Attachment S)
17 Id
81 Although the attached sap is teed on MLGW's 2003 Wellhead Protection Han maps, advocates with,
the local groundwater protecticm organization Protect Oar Aspifer recently inspected the aumat version
of MLGW's Wellhead Protection Han and confinned that Zone 2 is tie Mae or very similar in scope.
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Proposed Byhalia Pipeline & Davis Wellfield
I '
H If
E
Se
Potent! of Breach
Area Identifier for
Further Stuffy*'
i * *
li»rv-TSP,
' " 0
•
t» • ¦ * HSomzjfhi
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Because Byhalia Pipeline LLC did not disclose this feet during the permitting process,
MCAP. the Southern Environmental Law Center, and other local groups retained an independent
expert who prepared a report evaluating risks to the wellfield and drinking water after they were
able to piece together the relationship of the pipeline route to the wellfield. Dr. Douglas I
Cosier. Ph.D._ P.E.. Principal Chemical Hvdrogeologist with Adaptive Groundwater Solutions
LLC in Matthews. North Carolina, found that a leak from the crude oil pipeline could pollute the
Memphis Sand Aquifer in the vicinity of the Davis Wellfield.E? The 24-inch diameter, high-
pressure crude oil pipeline would go through MLGW's Davis Wellfield, which provides area
residents with drinking water, as well as through MLGWs Wellhead Management Zone.
Further, the area around the Davis Wellfield is known to be vulnerable to contamination due to
known and suspected breaches in the clay layer above the aquifer.9!> Dr. Cosier's report
concludes that any spill could spread crude oil contaminants into the Memphis Sand Aquifer near
drinking water intakes.91
Dr. Cosier's report confirms what many Memphians already know: a pipeline leak could
be catastrophic. Because of groundwater flows and the proposed pipeline's route, oil
ss Cosier Report. 3.
K Id.
91 Id at 3-12.
123 | P a g e
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Title VI Complaint regarding the Tennessee Department (tfUonoat and Conservation
May 16,2021
Page 19 of 21
contamination could reach, the Memphis Sand Aquifer and MLGW's drinking wafer intakes
relatively quickly—years rafter than the decades often associated with groundwater travel
times.92 Operating at 1500 pi—move tttan twice ttte presaire of fire hoses fiat spray water 30
stories into the air—the pipeline offers no margin of error, as "tandieds of gallons of erode oil
can spew out of a snail opening" in a pipeline operating at soch high pressure.®* Grade ol
contains known and probable carcinogens, including benzene.94 Cleaning up exude oil once it
reaches the groundwater is an expensive and difficult task.*4 Alter consideration of these and
oilier fitters, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland recently announced fbat after consultation with
environmental scientists, lie considers toe Bylialia Connection Pipeline an "tinacceptable risk" to
the city's drinking water.94 In addition, earlier this month geologists from the University of
Memphis Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research presented additional
compelling evidence of a breach in the clay layer in the immediate vicinity of the proposed
pipeline's route through tlie Daws Welfield.97
Byhalia Pipeline LLC did not disclose the fact that its proposed pipeline would run
through the municipal drinteng water weifield that sens Black communities ill southwest
Memphis during the permitting process. Nor did TDEC request Byhalia perform the groundwater
analysis that would have brought that information forward.
Similarly. Bylialia Pipeline LLC fiiiled to disclose the fact that a pipeline connecting the
Diamond and Cipfine crude oil pipelines akeady eststsm Use of the existing Collierville
Connection Pipeline could avoid all of the construction- and many of the operational-related
impacts of the proposed Byhalia Pipeline on southwest Memphis. Yet the pipeline company did
not disclose the existence of tie Coffieraite Pipeline, and TDEC did not consider use of that
existing pipeline in its alternatives analysis..99
Because Byhalia failed to disclose fully all relevant infomiation during the permitting
process, the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of MCAP and other groups seat a
letter to TDEC on April 29, 2021 (femanifing that TDEC immediately revoke or suspend the
«Id at 7-12.
95 Id at 4,
* Id. at 6.
"frlat 4-7,
84 Sarah Macazaeg, 'An unacceptabiz riskMemphis Mayor Jim Strickland opposes Byhalia pipeline,
Memphis Commercial Appeal (April 20,2021),
littps://miw.coniii«mal»peal..coiii-'stmr/iiem^/202i/04/20/iBmipMs-a;i.wof-ii3ii-stncldiiid.-oppose5-
m-lalia-pt.pelme4emes:4ee-flii5sissiopi.''~3Q146!>002,1'.
n Mieliaeta Wats and Samel Hunirom, M*»»* psmibte threat to Memphis" drinking water discovered
along Bjiialia ppeiitm mum, Memphis Commerctal Appeal (May 12, 2021),
Mtp5i//mmT.¥.conmi?iciilapogalxQm%t«%'-heiyi-;aimpimieiitf202l.,'0S^l3/aqitifa-1areich-bylia..tii-Qll-
pi;pgtme-fceateii-nieni3Ms-di:iiiMag-%Yat€a'.,'5022458:Q01,'.
n MCAP Demand Letter, 3.
* Alternatives Analysis, BjUbi Connection Pipeline, TDEC ARAPNl.S20.0lf (Jane 19,2020)
(Attachment f); Notice of Detemmnation.
124 | P a g e
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Title \"I Complaint regarding the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
May 16.2021
Page 20 of 21
Byhalia Pipeline Permit,, ant! demanding that any future re-evaluation of the permit application
evaluate drinking water and environmental justice impels.106 To date, TDEC has not responded.
¥, Relief Requested
A TDEC must revoke the current Byfialla Pipeline Permit at.id consider environmental
Justice Impacts In determining whether to re-Issue that permit.
la order to comply with. Title V3, and prevent imjustified disparate impacts, TDEC must
revok the current Byhalia Pipeline Pennit. If Byhalia Pipeline LLC' applies for another AXAP
and Section 401 wafer quality certification, TDEC most consider ml factors in its permitting
decision relevant to whether tlie pennit would haw discriminatory effects, which includes
disparate levels of risk to drinfcing water resources.
Attempted compliance wiii environmental Ia.ws does aot ensure compliance with Title
VI. To comply with the latter, TDEC must take affimiafee steps to consider and prevent
disparate impacts. Beyond rejecting the permit outright, TDEC may tie able to ensue
cMplian.ee with Title VI by modifying permit conditions or requiring a different route; 'fliese
would potentially be less discriminatory alternatives fliat satisfy TDEC's oilier obligations.101
B, TDEC must create and enforce a permit review poBey thai considers aid evaluates tie
potential for disproportionate adverse impacts on groups protected by Title VI.
In acMitioii to rectifying TDEC's violation of Title VI in issuing the Byhalia Pipeline
Penult, TDEC most also change its anient policy of refusing to engage in analysis to determine
whether its decisions taw discriminatory effects. This is a policy or practice that leads to
disparate adverse impacts, md EPA should counsel TDEC oil how to develop a pennit decision-
making policy that is fair, equitable, and Title IT-compliant going forward, as well as on how to
administer that policy m a non-discriminatory maimer.
VI. Conclusion
He Byhalia Pipeline's proposed route, approved by TDEC. will endanger tie drinking
water, depress the property rallies, threaten. surface waters, and inhibit llitiire development in. tie
poor, majority Black communities in. southwest Memphis. By refusing to consider the concerns
of (be affected communities on these issues and issuing the permit without any consideration of
the potential for disparate impacts, TDEC his violated Title "VI EPA should ensure that TDEC
revokes the iiscriniiiiatoiy Byhalia Pipeline Pennit, and develops a Title Vl-compliant policy ft*
evaluating future permits. Should TDEC U to come into compliance with. Title VI voluntarily,
™ MGAP Demand Letter. TDEC lias cause to modify, suspend, or revoke a pennit lies t» pennit
applicant attained, "a permit by assrcpresenlstiaa or failure to disclose fully all relevant facte." Tenit
Camp. JL & Regs. 040040-OT7-.04(6Xb).
M1 Civil lights Cfsojplaiice Toolkit, 15.
125 | P a g e
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Title 'VI Complaint regarding the Tennessee Department of En.viroiMH.ent ami Conservation
May 16.2021
Page 21 of 21
we request that EPA Initiate proceedings to suspend or terminate EPA fonfing to TDEC' .in
accordance with Title VI and 40 C.FJL §§ 7.115, 7.130.
Sincerely.
Chelsea Bowling
Amanda Garcia
Chandra Taylor
Attorneys for MenipMs Community Against
Pollution, he.
Attachments available via SbareFile at:
Cc (via email):
Greg Young, Deputy Commissioner for the Environment, TDEC
Teeny Howard, General Counsel, TDEC
Patrick Paiter, Attorney, Office of General Counsel, TDEC
Jennifer DodtL. Director, Division of Water Resources, TDEC
Rente Abkowitz, Director for lie Office of Policy and Sustainable Practices, TDEC
126 | P a g e
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May 25,2021
White House EiiHronnieotal Justice Advisory Council
Public comment form and nrtgjac@epa.gov
Subject: WHEJAC May 2021 Meeting Pubic Comments
He uadersipifsd organizations m writing to notify the White Home Environmental Justice Adriny
Council about the proposed Formosa Plastics petrochemical plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana.
As you may know, plastic causes serious environmental psUem at every step of its. li&cycle, and poses
a pouring enmonmental justice problem. Plastic production ftiels tie climate crisis, fanning local
communities with toxic air and water jmlliiticBi. Residents of Cancer Alley. the corridor between Baton
Range and New Orleans, face regular exposure and health concerns from the overburden of industrial
pollution, particularly in working class. Black conaanmities.
The proposed Formosa Plastics pefrocheaacal complex would be built in a predominantly Black district
of St. lames Palish, already beiag overrun toy petrocheniicai development. If constructed, file Formosa
complex would double task air emissions in the St. James community mi desecrate the gaves. of people
wlio 'were enslaved on the plantations dart used to operate there. As well. iMs petrochemical camplex
would destroy staim protecting wetlands, harm local fish populations and our seafood economy, aad emit
13.6 million tons of greenhouse gases per year to accelerate be climate crisis, of which we ire already at
the forefront.
We are members of the Stop Formosa Plastics coalition. including Sharon Lavigue, founder and director
of local grassroots organization RISE Si Janes. We are requesting a virtual meeting with the members of
fte newly formed Enwcjoineaital Justice Interagency and Advisory Coandls to discuss tie proposed
Formosa Mastics project Robust legal opposition and grassroots power prompted the US Arniy Cap of
Engineers to suspend its federal peinmt decision for the Formosa Plastics plant complex, pausing lie
plant's construction. How, reevahjation of lie federal permit is radenmy.
The members of our growing coalition appreciate the opportunity to meet wit!i members of the
White Howe Environmental Jastke Advisory Ctaacfl about fins proposed project, (he threats it
poses, uid tie need to revoke its federal permit. Please advise bow to schedule a meeting.
Looking forward to hearing back: from you. If you bne any questions, you can reach, me at
skaiondavipie4#:js,iiaiiconi.
Sincerely,
Sharon Lavigne
President of RISE St. James
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Louisiana Bucket Brigade
Healthy Gulf
A Community Voice
Coalition Against Beafli .Alley
Cooecaed Citizens of St. Iota
Greater New (Means iBteriMft Climate Coalition
Justice & Beyond
Louisiana League of Conscious Voters
Climate Reality ftoject, Hew Orleans Chapter
350 N™ Orleans
Siena Onto New Orleans Office
Soorise Movement New Orleans Hob
No Waste Louisiana
Sunrise Movement Tulaine
Soothwiags
Center for Biological Diversity
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1L id
SAIKAWA LAB
AT EWORY UMVEFSIPr
AIL
May 26, 2021
Via Web Form1 and Email
White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
wheiacffiepa.Edv
ccol 4c
Re: WHEJAC May 2021 Meeting Public Comments, Filed Pursuant to 86 Fed. Reg, 20,493
(Apr. 20, 2021)
Dear White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on WHEJAC's May 13, 2021 virtual public
meeting. We - Dr. Erl Saikawa, Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences at Emory University;2
Rosario Hernandez, Director of Historic Westside Gardens;3 and Dr. Yomi Noibi, Executive Director of
Environmental Community Action Inc. ECO-Action4 - advocate for environmental justice in Georgia
communities including Metro Atlanta. We write to you to raise concerns regarding the disproportionate
exposure of communities of color and low income-earning communities ("environmental justice
communities" or "EJ communities") to lead (Pb) through multiple pathways, including soil, air, paint,
drinking water, and food. We urge you to advise the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and
the agencies comprising the Interagency Council on Environmental Justice that (1) all federal agencies
responsible for regulating lead exposure in soil, air, paint, drinking water, food, and other media should
seek to remedy the disproportionate and cumulative impact of lead exposure on EJ communities, (2)
agencies should strengthen standards accordingly, and (3) agencies should equitably enforce
environmental laws regarding lead.
1 https://www.epa.goy/enyironmentaliustice/fonrs/white-hoise-environmenta:-iustiee-advisory-counci -.vheiac-
pufa ic-comment
: Professor Saikawa conducts interdisciplinary research on the environment, including research on the health
impacts of air pollution, soil chemistry and climate change, and environmental policy. The Saikawa Lab and Historic
Westside Gardens discovered lead pollution in Atlanta's Westside leading to a Superfund site cleanup. See
htt£-J[i/envs;emorj^jd£/liome£geo£|e/bios£sailtawa^ryitnv and frttgs^/atsoilsafet^xon^.
3 Historic Westside Gardens promotes environmental and economically successful practices for communities and
operates five greenspaces around Westside AtSanta. See https://www.histpricwestsi
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1. There is no safe level aflead exposure.
Lead is extremely toxic, particularly to children, and there is no safe level of lead in children's
blood.3 According to the Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program, there
is evidence that even small amounts of blood lead i n children {less than 5 microgra ms per deciliter [pg/cJ L])
causes attention-related behavioral problems, greater incidence of problem behaviors, and decreased
academic achievement and ICt Blood lead lewefe in children less than 10 m/dLare associated with delayed
puberty, decreased hearing, and reduced post-natal growth. In adults, blood lead levels less than 10 pg/dL
can cause increased blood pressure, decreased learning, memory, and attention, damage to reproductive
organs, and miscarriage. Exposure to higher amounts can cause damage to the brain and kidneys and can
be fatal.6 Once exposed to lead, these health effects cannot be corrected7
2, CDC Mood lead standards support strengthening regulations.
The Centers, for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collects nationwide data and sets standards
for what constitutes an elevated blood lead level. In 2001, CDC set a blood lead "level of concern" at 10
jig/dl. In 2012, CDC halved1 this levef to 5 pg/dl and adopted a new term, the "Mood lead reference value,"
to indicate that 5 pg/dL represented the level of blood lead in the highest 2.5% of children and to reflect
that there is no safe level of lead in children's blood.8 Based on data collected as part of the National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted from 2011-201.4, CDC is now considering lowering
the blood lead reference value from 5 pg/dL to 3.5 pg/dL.9
3. EMistim lead regulations bv government agencies are not adequately protective.
While the dangers of lead exposure are well known, regulation of lead exposure by federal
agencies is inconsistent, lags he-hind the times,, and allows for significant harm, especially to members of
environments I j ustice communities. The outdated soil-lead stands rds set by the Envi roninental Protection
Agency (E3A) provide an illustrative example.
Lead in soli is dangerous to children both because it can be ingested when playing outside and
because it can be tracked inside, where it mixes with household dust. Lead in soil end household dust is
transferred to children's hands when crawling or playing, and then can be ingested or transferred to food,
toys, or clothing.
s CDC. Blood Lead Levels In Children Hast R«vw«*td April 5, 20.21},.
https://www.cdc.eo-v/nceh/tead/prevention/btPQnt- lead-levels.htm.
s National Toxicology Program Monograph, Health Effects of Low-Level Lead, mx (June 2012},
https://ntP-niehs-nih.gov/ntp/0'hat/[ead/1roat/tncnK)graphhealtheffectslowleveltead rtewissn 50B.pdf: Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ToxFAQ.5 for Lead, (August 07, 2020},
ft'ttps:/./www rt.cdc.gov /TSP/ToxFACl.s/Toxf AQsDetails.a.spx?faqid=9 3- &f ox id=22.
7 CDC,. Blood Lead Levels in Children. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/doc5/lead-levef5-in-childrer1-fact-sheet-
5-ftg.-p.tif.
1 See CDC. Blood Lead Reference Value {Last Reviewed April 21, 20-21],
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/data/blood-lead-reference-value.htm. and CDC, Blood Lead Level; In Children
(Last Reviewed April 5,. 2021?,
9 President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, Federal Action Plan to Reduce
Childhood lead Exposures and Associated Health impacts, 5-6 (December 2018},.
https://wwi-w.ep3.Eov'/5ites/pfcid-uction../files/201S-12/
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EPA's standards for lead contamination in soil were derived from the Toxic Substances Control
Act and set in 2001, These standards allow for lead contamination in sol of up to 400 parts per million
(ppm) in play areas of a residential 'yard, and up to 1,200 parts per million in non-plaf areas.13
In 2013, after the CDC lowered the blood lead reference value from 10 pg/dL to 5 pg/'cil, the
Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee recommended that EPA establish new goals for
childhood lead poisoning and exposure prevention and incorporate the now CDC reference value.
In 2019 and 2021, EPA lowered its standards for dust lead on floors from 40 pg/ft1 to 10
and from 250 pg/ft1 to 100 pg/ft2 for window sills, but made no changes to the standards for lead in soil
or pairt, leading to a lawsuit against EPA in the Ninth Circuit, which alleged that EPA breached its
responsibilities under the Toxic Substances Control Act by not updating the soil and paint lead standards
and by setting too lenient a standard for dust lead. In a decision on May 14,2021, the Ninth Circuit agreed,
stating that "[t]he current dust-lead hazard standards, lead-based paint definition, and soil-lead hazard
standards do not identify all levels of lead that lead to adverse human health effects and therefore violate
the (Toxic Substances Control Actf"..11 The court ordered EPA to reconsider and strengthen the dust lead
rules and update EPA's "antiquated" standards for paint and soil lead to account for the recognition that
there is no safe level of lead exposure."
EPA's multiple, independently set standards for lead exposure from soil, dust, and paint highlight
that even within a single federal agency there is not a unf ied approach to lead regulation that takes into-
account cumulative impacts from various exposure pathways. When EPA reconsiders its lead rules
pursuant to the Ninth Circuit's recent order, it has the opportunity to take such a unified and
comprehensive approach.
4, Lead is regulated fry multiple agencies in inconsistent wmws.
The problem is bigger than EPA's soil, dust, and paint standards, though. Regulation of lead among
different agencies varies widely. Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Food and
Drug Administration {FDA) have adopted the 5 pg/dl blood lead reference level from CDC The
Department of Housing and Urban Development also adopted CDCs 5 pg/dl standard, but not until 2017,
and until that point had used an 'action level' of 20 pg/dL13
The FDA also sets the level of permissible lead intake from food, currently set at 1 pi per day for
children and 12.5 pg per day for adults. FDA set strict standards for lead in candy (0 1 ppm) and Juice {50
parts per billion (ppbJL In recognition of the likelihood that those foods will be consumed by children.14
FDA also regulates lead in bottled water (at 5 ppb), and EPA regulates lead in public drinking water (at 15
ppb) and in ambient air fat 0.15 pg/m1}.13
14 40 C.F.R. § 745.85|c), A "play area" is defined as "an area of frequent soil contact by children of less than 6 years
of age as indicated by, but not limited to, such factors including the following: the presence of play equipment
(e.g., sandboxes, swing sets, and sliding boards), toys, or other children's possessions, observations of play
patterns, or information provided % parents, residents, care giwers, or property owners.* 40= C.F.i. § 745.63.
11 A Cotmrnrnfar Voice, et al. v. U.S. E.P.A. et al... Mo. 13-71930,2021 m 1340690, at 7 f§a' Or. 2021).
11 Mat 24.
13Br»n Sulli'wan, HUP Issues Final Rule to Heto Children Exposed to lead Paint Hazards - Stricter definition of
"elevated blood lead level* in young children, matches CDC approach. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (Jan. 13, 2017}, https://archives.hud.eov/news/2Q17/prl7-006,cfm.
"FDA, Lead in Food. Food wares, and Dietary Supptem ents. | updated Feb. 27, 2020},.
https://www.fda.goy/fpod/met3l5-artd-your-faod/tead-food-f6odware5-and-dietary-supplemeTrts.
"M.. EF At WMiQS Table, https://www.epa .gtrtf/criteria-air-pojtutajnts/r>aags-table.
131 | P a g e
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (G5HA) regulates lead exposure in the
workplace. OSHft standards set a permissible lead in air exposure Jim# of 50 ng/m3, mandates Mood tests
for any employee exposed to 30 pn/nr3, and req uires that an employee who tests, at 60 pg/dL or averages
50 pg/dl in three or more Hood tests be removed until that employee's Hood lead level falls below 40
pg/dL16 Exposure to lead in the workplace results in "'tale-home exposure" to children when these
employees bring home lead on their clothing, bodies, or vehicles.17
What happens if an individual is exposed to lead in soil, dust, air, paint, drinking water, and food?
Agency standards vary due to the mission of the agency, but this patchwork of different agencies,
exposure pathways, and standards creates difficulty in assessing, preventing, and responding to the
cumulative impacts of lead exposure in a community. Agencies must work together to ensure multiple
exposure pathways are accounted for and communities are fully protected.
5. Lead poisoning disomBortiormtetv burdens environmental justice communities.
Lead contamination disproportionately burdens environmental Justice communities.18 Although
improvement has been made since the initial recognition of widespread lead: contamination in the 1990s,
lead remains "a source of ecological Inequity bf race and a pathway through which racial inequality
literally gets- into the body."13 Other public health and environ mental justice issues such as nutritional
deficiencies and the presence of other health conditions affect how children's bodies respond to lead
exposure,20 and the negative cognitive, behavioral, and health effects of lead exposure may exacerbate
Issues associated with structural racism.
One such environmental Justice community is the Westside of Atlanta, where a Superfund site
contaminated with lead slagfrom industrial smelting is located in a low-income earning and majority Black
community. Historic Westside Gardens and the Saikawa Lab discovered this slag in residential yards,
leading EPA to begin conducting sampling and cleanup activities in an area of over 2,000 properties.21.
However, EPA's outdated standards prevented the cleanup of many contaminated yards EPA has taken
the position that lead contamination of #00 ppm is unsafe but that 394 ppm is acceptable, which has
caused dissatisfaction within the community.11 Emory scientists and pubic health experts are concerned
that present approaches to lead contamination do not adequately screen poMity vulnerable
communities or proactively test for lead exposure.13
"19 C.F.R. 5 1910.1025.
J- President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, federal Action Kan to Reduce
Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated' Health Impacts. 11 (December 2018),
https://wmftv.ep3.Eoy/5ltg5/prQciyaipiij/Files/2018-12/clocamenfs/feiilact:ieiiplan JgadJfljLgdf.
'* Vanessa Sacks and Susan Balding, Th« United States can and should eliminate childhood if*! exposure. Child
Trends {Feb. 02,. 2018) https://wwwxhildtrefttfs.OTg/pubfications/unfced-states-rin<-witl"i-cont3Pnin3tion/.
See Samantba Bistler and Eri Saikawa, A new screening index to better target tow-ievel lead exposure in Atlanta.
Georgia. Scientific Reports 10:1 SOS? {2020}.
132 I P a g e
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6 Condusitm and Recommendation.
Atlanta's Westside is, unfortunately, not unique in being an environmental justice community
disproportionately burdened with lead exposure- Achieving the "fair treatment" goal of environmental
Justice requires strengthening protections for communities from the disparate and cumulative pathways
of lead exposure.2* This may require a number of adjustments to regulations and standards promulgated
by different agencies. It may #lso require the collection of more public health data and a rigorous
evaluation of which communities are at high risk. A thorough and nationwide study should consider
housing information, income, proximity to polluting facilities, industrial history, and demographics, and
provide free blood lead testing in high-risk communities. This data should be collected as part of WHEJAC's
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. This whoie-of-govemmerit approach is perfectly suited to
WHEJAC's charter goals of reducing toxic pollution in overburdened communities and increasing the
Federal Government's efforts to address current and historic environmental injustice.
Therefore, we urge WHEJAC to advise the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the
agencies comprising the interagency Council on Environmental Justice that (1) all federal agencies
responsible for regulating lead exposure in soil, air, paint, drinking water, and other media should seel to
remedy the disproportionate and cumulative impact of lead exposure on El communities, {2) agencies
should strengthen lead standards accordingly, and (3) agencies should equitably enforce environmental
laws regarding lead.
Sincerely,
Rosario Hernandez, Director of Historic Westside Gardens
Dr. Vomi Noibi, Executive Director of Environmental Community Action
inc. (ECO-Aciionj
Dr. Eri Saikawa, Associate Professor, Emory University
M EPA, Learn About Environmental Justice, https://« wiiy.spa.eotf/envhronmeotallustlce/tearn-about-
ertwrorimentat-justice ("EnviratHTiental justice (EJ| is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of ill people
regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and
enforcement of (environmental laws, regulations and policies .. . Fair treatment means no jroup of people should
bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting: from industrial,
governmental and commercial operations or policies")
133 | P a g e
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EST 1919
,iu
May 27.2021
Dear Members of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council:
On behalf of National Parks Conservation Association and Western Environmental Law
Center, we write to share our co mments and recommendations regarding add ressing
environmental justice through federal government action. Since 1919, National Parks
Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in protecting and enhancing our
National Park System for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Western
Environmental Law Center (WELQ uses the power of the lawto safeguard the public lands,
wildlife, and communities of the American West in the face of a changing climate.
We appreciate the work and listening in which the White House Environmental Justice
Advisory Council ("WHEJAC" or "Council') has engaged to-date and the opportunities available to
share comments and recommendations. Based on the April 28,2021 and May 13,2021 public
meetings and the Interim Final Recommendations issued thereafter,1 and the invaluable expertise
and perspectives that WHEJAC members bring to the Council, it is evident that WHEJAC
members and the many people and groups offering public comment, especially those in frontline
groups, bring a great deal of knowledge, expertise, and firsthand experience to this work. We
agree with much of what has been said during the meetings and in the Interim Final
Recommendations with respect to the:
• Need to move beyond "fairness" in defining, conceptualizing and "achieving"
environmental justice;
• Need for true justice and accountability;
• I mportance of climate justice;
• Need for equitable, collaborative, frontline-community-driven work that actually
influences agency decision-making, ratherthan box-checking exercises and
inaccessible processes for providing after-the-fact "input" on decisions already
made;
• I importance not just of government-to-government consultation with Indigenous
Peoples but of free prior and informed consent and self-determination;
• Importance of cumulative impacts analyses that take into account not only
multiple pollutant exposures and health risks and impacts, but also social and
structural factors rooted in unjust, racist, settler-colonial systems;
• Need for legislative change; and more.
1 White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Interim Final Recommendations, Justice40
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool and Executive Order 12898 Revisions (May 13, 2021).
AvatfaWe at https://www.epa. qov/sitesforod uctjonffites/20 21 -
OSi'documents/wlieiac interim final recommendations O.pdf [Hereinafter "Interim, Recommendations"].
134 | Page
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The fol lowing comments start by emphasizing the general framework from which we hope
the Council on Environmental Quality {CEQ), the White House Environmental Justice Interagency
Council (EJ1AC), and otter federal agencies will operate with respect to environmental Justice,
echoing and supporting much of what has been included in the WHEJAC Interim Firial
Recommendations and discussed in recent WHEJAC public meetings. We then offer some specific
perspectives art recommendations related to the' Regional Haze program—a part of the Clean
Air Act statutory and regulatory scheme- that has often been treated as "separate" from
envi ronmental justice. We believe that the Regional Haze Rule, and its Implementation by the US.
EPA, states, ana Tribes, deeply implicates environmental Justice—and is inexorably linked to
climate justice. We tope the WHEJAC finds the discussion and recommendations regarding the
health and environmental justice implications of, and opportunities within, the Regional Haze
program helpful as it moves forward with its work and takes necessary steps towards justice.
Federal Definition of Environmental J ustice
In 1991, delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit
gathered to,"... build a national and international movement of all peoples of color to fight the
destruction and taking of our 1 ands and communities," and to, * re-establish our spiritual
interdependence to the sacredness of our Mother Earth; to respect and celebrate each of our
cultures, languages and beliefs about the natural world and our roles in healing ourselves; to
ensure environmental Justice; to promote economic alternatives which would contribute to the
development of environmentally safe livelihoods; and, to secure our political, economic and
cultural liberation that has been denied for over 500 years of colonization and oppression,
result! rtg in the poisoning of our communities and land and the genocide of our peoples.,.;*2
Fourteen years later, in 2005., the EPA d rafted a strategic plan on envi ronmental j ustice
which defines environmental Justice as, "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all
people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to development,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, arid! policies.*3 This
definition is widely used by the EPA and other federal agencies today.
The existing definition is flawed for many reasons, but its insistence on "fair treatment" is
glaring. Nothing about environmental racism is or ever was fair, Colonial ism, genocide, and
resell rce extraction weren't and aren't fair, Redli ring wasn't fair. Nor is it fai r that your likelihood
of living next to polluting industries or having a dearth of greenspaceand tree cover in your
community is highly dependent on your skin color, gender, and/or income level. If we acknowledge
the inherent unfairness of environmental racism, then we have to admit that "fair treatment" is
not how we achieve environmental Justice, it will takeecpitabie and Just treatment, treatment
that offers the strongest protections to the most vulnerable in our society, to achieve the Justice
LfLAQ cool/
WC 3CTXTl\*
U Ftimately, we' are aware that we need far more than j ust and inclusive definitions to
achieve environmental justice. However, it is of common understanding that the first, and perhaps
most important step to solving a problem, is properly framing the problem at hand,
2 Principles of Environmental Justice, Energy Jualce Network, Mto:] hmm.einel.org/ei/principles.pdf
3 EPA Office of Environmenlal Justice. https://www.epa.aQv/envrQnmeritaHiisi3ce.
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Uacaniffradafioos
Existing definitions of environmental justice have largely failed to take into consideration
the intersecttonality4 of social, structural and economic factors, and environmental harms and the
people and communities that suffer from them. Perhaps most importantly, these definitions fail to
incorporate action towards repairing past and ongoing harms, a central aim of environmental
justice.
The CEQ and EJ1 AC should expand the federal government's definition of environmental
justice to go beyond "fair" treatment, and to expressly encompass intersectionailty, truly
meaningful involvement, and proactive elimination of past and present harms and prevention of
future ones. To that end, we support the WHEJAC's proposed change from "Tai r treatment® to
"just treatment* in the definition of "environmental justice," in its Interim Final Recommendations
for updating Executive Order 12898—and the proposed definition of "just treatment* that
includes the elimination of systemic racism and other structural: barriers, and that expressly
includes outcomes affecting cultural practices and the cultural bases of human health," Likewise,
we appreciate the proposed definition of'"meaningful participation" that includes consultation,
actual influence on agency decision-making {not just after-the-fact input on a pre-made policy or
plan), and access issues.6
Importantly, the CEQ and other federal agencies should apply this concept of
environmental Justice to all of their thinking, decision-making, and actions, not as an ancillary
consideration or benefit but as part of the very fabric of agency and whole-of-gover nrnent
structure, programs, policies, and processes. We thus appreciate the proposed addition to EO
12898 i n the Interim Recommendations which states,, "This Order now adds that affirmatively
advancing equity, civil rights, racial Justice, equal opportunity, and environmental justice is the
responsibility of the whole of our Government.*7 We also recognize that an Executive Order
alone, while important, does not create legal rights of action and generally lacks binding
mechanisms with which to' implement this approach, evaluate progress, and hold agencies and
other adore accountable when they don't abide by its mandates.
Cumulative Impacts
As those on the WHEJAC are aware, a growing body of research explicitly links
environmentai justice with cumulative i mparts and social aid structural facias that influence
health and welbeing, often called'social determinants of health.*8 Indeed, many WHEJAC
members have been deeply involved in developing aril applying this research. We hope to see
CEQ, EJ IAC and other federal agencies apply this research to take a more critical and
4 We use the term "feiteraedioMity* here as "[t]he interconnected nature of serial categorizations such as
race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of disertmination
or disadvantage,* In addressing environmental injuries, this term requires the CEQ and other agencies to
take dynamic looks both at underlying structures of power and oppression and to recognize 'the already
existing evidence of adverse impacts on health, well-being, anil culture rather than relying upon rigid
definitions to iclenflfy 'environmental justice communities,"
5 Interim Recommendations at 79.
6 Interim Recommendations at 80,
11nterim Recommendations at 78
8 Although there is rightly some movement away from the wort 'determnants,' as # can suggest
conditions that are more "natural* or "immutable* than they really are
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interactional look at how cumulative,, intersecting risks and harms, from pollution exposure to
water access to racism, can lead to or exacerbate health Inequities and environmental injustices.
As WHEJAC members and many who have commented' during the April and May meeti ngs know,
these Inequities and injustices are not incidental, nor are they biologically determined-they are
structural, systemic, and part of unj List historical and ongoing patterns and practices of
environmental racism, settler colonialism, and extractive capitalism.9
Rdevcrnt Research and Recommendations
We'd like to note some relevant research for WHEJAC to take into consideration. Or.
Anne Epstein has completed wide-ranging research which analyzes the health impacts of living in
close prod mity to oil and gas operations.10 We would refer the Council to the work of Dr. Epstei n
and many others, to ful ly take into account' the cu mutative impacts of the oil art industry, and the
ways that some regulations stemming from the Clean Air Act (and amendments} can be effective
tools to achieve environmental justice goals.
In particular, Dr. Epstein and others found that oil and gas development can pose high risks
from toxic: air emissions, groundwater contamination, and impact physical and emotional! health.
Their research concluded that benzene levels at oil and gas completion sites reach concentrations
that potentially pose health risks for workers. In addition, the research found that compared to
people living more than 2 km from the nearest gas well, people living less than 1 km away had a
greater incidence of upper respiratory symptoms (39% vs. 1890, skin symptoms (13% vs, 3%}, and
average number of reported symptoms {3.3 vs 1,6). Countless impacts on human health have also
been studied and documented in addition, to those i n the study cited atowe.
A rigorous study by Johns Hopkins University, which examined 35,000 medical records of
people with asthma in Pennsylvania, found that people who live near a higher number of, or larger,
active gas wells were 1.5 to 4 tiroes more likely to suffer from asthma attacks than those living
farther away, with the closest groups having the highest risk.11 Relateclly, a 2018 study of
pediatric asthma-related hospitalizations found that children and adolescents exposed to newly
spudded unconventional natural gas development wei Is within their zip code had 1,25 times the
odds of experiencing an asthma-related hospitalization compared to children who did not live in
these communities. Furthermore, children and adolescents living in a zi p code with any current or
previous drilling' activity had 119 times the odds of experiencing an asthma-related
hospitalization compared to child ren who did not live in these communities. Amongst: children and
adolescents {ages 2-18), children between 2 and 6 years of age had the greatest odds of
hospitalization in both scenarios,1?
9 See e.g. Gilto-Whitafer D. As Long as Grass ©rows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice,
from Colonization to Standing Rod- Beacon Press; 2013; Taylor D. Toxic Communities: Environmental
Racism, Industrial Pollution, ml Residential Mobility. NYU Press; 2014; Whyte K. Climate Change: An
Unprecedented^ Old Catastrophe. The Society far lie Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. 2018; Grafting
(15:8-9; Cole and Foster, From the Ground Up, supra Note 5.
¦in "Health Risks of Oil and Gas- Development," Nov 03,2014. Presentation given in Mansfield, TX toy
Anne C. Epstein MD, FACP Lubbock TX Board of Health.
11 Rasmussert, Sara G, et ai, Association Between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in «ie
Marcelus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations, 176 JAMA Internal Medicine 1334 (2016).
a Wills, (toy D. et al, Unconventional natural gas development god pediatric asthma hospitalizations in
Pennsylvania, 166 Environmental Research 402 (20-18) (attached as Exhibit 374).
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Implementation of the Regional Haze Rule, and other air quality rules, which takes
envi ronmental justice into consideration ensures that these adverse i mparts which arise from
industrialized fossil fyei development and other activities which degrade air quality
disproportionately across communities, are fully and cumulatively assessed. A consideration of
the benefits these rules have for communities with regard to publ ic health wi! i ensure that the
rules achieve what they set out to do, in the most effective arid equitable way.
Meaningful Public Engagement
Existing US, federal law and policy sets some minimum standards for what constitutes
meaningful engagement of federal agencies with those in front!)re communities, sovereign Tribal
nations, and broader publics.1:3 CEQ and all federal agencies must adhere to those standards in all
of the"r relevant actions and decision-making and should not treat them as mere boxes to check.
These minimum standards alone do not guarantee—and indeed, often fail to lead to—truly just
processes or outcomes, Additional environmental justice-related principles, frameworks, and
mandates that shorn Id guide CEQ and other federal agency approaches to participation and
consultation i ncl ude the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, and the duty of States to
obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from Indigenous peoples, in the U.N, Declaration
on the Rights of Ind&enous Peoples (UN DRIP), The incorporation! of these bottom-up principles in
federal decision-making processes is an important and needed step as we address the history of
public lands in the United States.
Recommendations
Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
In December of 1996, the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice
hosted a meeting in Jemez, New Mexico with the goal of "hammeringout common understandings
between participants from different cultures, politics, and organizations," and participants
adopted the "Jemez Principles" for Democratic Organizing. "These six principles are, broadly;
1, "Be Inclusive."
2, * Emphasis, on Bottom-Up Organizi rtg."
3, * Let People Speak for Themselves,"
4, "Work Together in Solidarity and Mutual ity"
5, "Build Just Relationships Among Ou rselves"
6, "Commitment to Self-Transformation;*
Whi le the Jemez Principles often pride and he! p lay ground nu Ites foe relationships and
processes among {and within) those in community-based groups, otter NGOs, and coalitions, they
could similarly contribute to more just, equitable processes, policies, and programs at CEQ art
other federal agencies. Bit, because they were originally drafted by and for frontline organizers,
by their very nature they should not be applied in a "top-down" way by federal agencies. However,
certain aspects of the Jemez Princi pies can help federal agencies engage more meaningfully,
" e:.. 40 C.F.R. § 1506 6 ("public involvement* provisions of the CEQ implementing regulations for
the National Environmental Policy Act); 36 C.F.R. §§ 800.1-800.16 (regulations governing consultation
and other components of Section 106 of tie National Historic Preservation Act ("NHPA").
14 Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing. Published online 1986. htln8:lliiiww.elnei.orofeifieiiiez.pctf
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equitably, and intersectionally with —and be accountable to— those facing environmental
injustices and working towards environmental justice.
Free. Prior and Informed Consent and the U N Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Essential to the work of the federal government is the recognition that: American Indian
and Alaska Native Tribal Nations are sovereign governments in their own right and LIS, federal
government entities must interact wfththem on a nation-nation basis.15 But legal If-required
consultation under statutes like the National Historic Preservation Act, f NHPA*> is insufficient,; it
fails to provide for ful I nation-nation engagement, is not widely applicable to all agency action, and
does not include all Indigenous Peoples, be they members of Iribal Nations who are not heads of
government:, or those Indigenous P'eople who are not members of federally-recognized Tribes.
Because of the failure of current federal law to ensure meaningful involvement of
Indigenous People in agency action, CEQand all federal agencies should also honor and act in
accordance with the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of indigenous People (UMPRIPJ, which
recognizes that states haw a duty not only to consult with Indigenous peoples, but also to obtain
their free, prior, and informal consent {FP1Q, which "entitles Indigenous people to effectively
determine the outcome of decision-making that affects them, riot merely a right to be involved*16
Free, prior and informed consent Is rooted in the right of Indigenous people to setf-determination,
as articulated in Articles 3 and 4 of UNDRIP.17 The duty of States to obtain free prior and informed
consent from indigenous peoples is recognized specifically in UN DRIP Articles 10,11,19,28,29,
and 32™ Of particular relevance to CEQ and other federal agency policies, programs, and
practices, is Article 32, which states as follows:
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop
priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands
or territories and other resources.
2. States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the
Indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative
institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent
prior to the approval of any project: affecting their lands or
territories and other resources, particularly in connection with
the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or
other resources.
3. States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair
redress for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be
,b See, e g. Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Mafon-lo-Nafon Relationships, 86
Fed. Reg. 7491 (Jan. 28,2021),
16 UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Final report of the study on indigenous
peoples and the right to participate in decision-making (August 17, 2011), see especially para. 21
17 UMDRIP, A rides 3 and 4 Importantly, Article 3 also states that by virtue of tie right to self-
determination indigenous peoples have the right to "freely pursue tfteir economic, social and cultural
develop merit."
18 See UN General Assembly, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: resolution
I adopted by the General Assembly, 2 October 2007, AIRE5I61Q95, available at:
https:li\vww.un.orBMevsiopmentfde5Blindi{ienQus}>eopfe8lwpconteniAiplioa
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taken to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social,
cultural or spiritual impact
The right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent is also recognized in the International
Labour Organization Convention fllO*} 169," While the U.S, has not ratified ILO169, and
UNDRIP Is not binding on U.S, federal agencies or courts, this non-binding status "does not divest
it of legal authority entirely,"20 Furthermore, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haalanci recently
expressed support for UNDRIP in her Address to the 20" Session of the U.N. Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues on April 19,2021, stating 1 strongly affirm the United States* support for the
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and our commitment to advancing
Indigenous Peoples" rights at home and abroad. The- Declaration guides us - where appropriate -
to improve our laws and policies within the stricture of the US. Constitution arid international
obligations. We need enhanced participation and meaningful engagement of Indigenous Peoples
throughout our UN bodies,"71 Nothing prohibits or prevents federal agencies from going beyond
the minimum requirements of existing U.S. law and policy and abid irtg by the Declaration—indeed,
an intersectional approach to environmental justice demands it.
Regional Haie Rule
Background
Haze pollution is comprised primarily of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides {MOx} and
sulfur dioxide (S02), all hazardous air pollutants that can travel hundreds of miles away from their
sources. Much of the country's air pollution stems from the extraction, development, and burning
of fossil fuels, whether that is by cars and trucks, oil and gas infrastructure and operations, or coal-
fired power plants. Air pollution is also produced by large-scale agriculture, the pulp, paper, and
pellet industry, petrochemical and plastics manufacturing, and other industrial sources.
Energy development and the taming of fossil fuels impacts people of color and
sodoeconomicaliy disadvantaged communities first and worst Air pollution worsens community
health, drives up healthcare costs and makes it harder for kids to learn and play and adults to
work.
The Clean Air Act's Regional Haze Rule (RHRJ is a tool to achieve sustained emissions
reductions from pollution sources that harm air quality in 156 specially protected national parks
and wilderness areas, also called Class 1 areas. The RHR is a time-tested, effective program that
requires federal and state agencies, as well as Interested naif-governmental stakeholders, to'work
together to reduce haze and restore clear skies to pub)ic lands th rough the creation of 10-year
State Implementation Plans {SlPsJ. Utilizing the Regional Haze Rule to dean up pollutants Ike
NOx and 5G2 benefits people and places almost everywhere in the country - particularly those in
closest: proximity to and most affected by the- sources of air pollution.
19 International Labour Organization (ILO), Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, C169,27 June
1989, €189, available at: httpsrfAwww.FelwMld.0rg?docidS3d
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Bui the creation and implementation of the Regional Haze Program Itself - and many such
environmental protection regulations and laws - is characterized by deep environmental
injustices. Pollution sources to be analyzed and controlled for haze-causing (and public health
damaging) pollutants are selected based on proximity to Class I airsheds. Therefore', if there are no
Class I airsheds in certain areas, major haze-causing sources are less likely to be selected for
pollution controls and are more likely to have adverse impacts on communities. The 1977 Clean
Air Act Amendments too narrowly constrained what areas are mandatory federal Class I airsheds
subject to the highest level of protection. However, even within the current parameters of the
Clean Air Act and the Regional Haze Program,, there are ample opportunities to address
environmental justice that have teen underutilized.
Discretion of States, Tribes, and EPA to Consider Environmental Justice
All national wilderness areas greater than 5,000 acres and national parts greater than
6,000acres that "were in existence when the Clean Air Act was amended in 1977, are mandatory
federal Class 1 areas.23 These areas cannot be redesignated to a less protective classification. Most
of the rest of the country is classified as Class 11 areas which don't carry the same protections as
Class 1 areas.
Though the Regional Haze Rule only requires emissions reductions that will help return
natural visibility to Class I areas, states are not limited to just assessing benefits to Class I areas in
applying the Regional Haze Ku le and develop! rig their SI Ps. States, Tribes, and the EPA have the
discretion to address historically overlooked and underserved areas without going through the
potentially time and resource intensive fare! not guaranteed to be successful! process of trying to
re-designate Class II areas as Class I.
For example, in Oregon, the state recently used its discretion to apply the Regional Haze
Rule to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, a Class i I area. The Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ), in developing a strategy to address the visibility concerns in the
Gorge related to air pollution, used requirements of the federal iegiona I Haze Program as the
vehicle and framework for improving visibility in the Gorge, the practice of which will also have
ancillary benefits for local communities. Oregon's Gorge Strategy Document23 interweaves
implementation of the Haze Rule, smoke reduction rules, air toxics mitigation, and other
strategies, all of which work together to achieve" significant reduction in ai r pollution and improve
public health throughout Oregon, including the Gorge.*** Other states can use their discretion in
this way too.
Recommendations
We are motivated 'to not only maximize the Clean .Air Act and Regional Haze Program's
effectiveness and environmental justice benefits, but also to reconcile inequities with how the
rules themselves have been developed and implemented. This must involve consultation and
2211] U.S. Envtl. Prat Agency, Class I Retitesigmation, supra note 1; see also U.S. Wall Park Service, Air:
Class I Areas (Dec. 11,2018), https^/www.nps.govteublectslairlclaas1.htm
23 Columbia River Gorge Air Study and Strategy, September 2011, Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality,. Southwest Clean Air Agency.
2:4 lei. Page 26..
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consent, aid thorough, representative, accessible, and equitable collaboration with frontline
communities in the development, enhancement, and implementation of the Haze Program.
Section 164 of the Clean Air Act allows states and tribes to re-designate their Class II
airsheds as non-federal Class I airsheds, subject to the procedural requirements in the Act and
Prevention of Significant Deterioration t PSD**} regulations, 40C.F.R. 152,21 (#, and the approval
of the EPA Administrator, We encourage the EPA to review and consider updating these PSD
regulations, to ensure the most Just and equitable processes and outcomes with respect to re-
designation,
Impternenters of the Regional Haze Rule have the opportunity to take into account the
benef it that controls on haze-causing pollutants have for disproportionately imparted
communities and ensure that those benefits are considered and prioritized in developing state and
federal implementation plans. The strongest potential pollution controls are needed to ensure
that industry is held accountable, and to mitigate or eli minate ongoing risks and harms to people,
communities, and place—especially to those facing disproportionate, cumulative environmental,
health, cultural, and economic risks and impacts from historical and ongoing resource extraction,
compounded by structural and systemic racism and settler colonialism.
We recommend that, implementation of the Regional Haze Rule incorporates
envi ronmental Justice as a key consideration when shaping state i mpl ementation plans. Indeed,
the Biden administration can direct states and EPA in implementing the haze program, to consider
envi ronmental justice. We assert that t here is not only ample room, but that it is also imperative
for states and implementing entities to incorporate climate impacts and environmental justice
impacts into haze planning aid implementation. The Regional Haze Rule can be mutually
reinforcing with other ongoing statutes, regulations, and programs that address air poll ution,
climate, health and environmental justice - such as federal and state-level methane regulations.
However, the presence of these other programs is not an excuse to exclude these considerations
from the Haze Program and related State, Tribal, and Federal Implementation Plans. Entities
implementing the Haze Rule must independently consider and integrate public health,
envi ronmental justice, and climate i mparts.
In addition, many near-term harm reduction measures used to meet requirements under
the regional haze rule, like strong pollution controls, electrification, and making fossil fuel
extraction "cleaner1*, are occurring against a backdrop we must recognize, and actively work
towards:, a transition away from fossil fuels entirely. Strategies like "net zero* arid carton capture
and sequestration must not tie used to prolong fossil fuel development, or as a Justification for
companies or agencies to punt on. air quality controls - because when they are, the environmental
harms arefelt disproportionately by communities which have long been bearing the hunt of air
quality and environmental degradation,
We agree with the interim Final Recommendations that ultimately, projects involving or
prolortgingfossfl fuel procurement and development or pipeline creation or expansion, are
examples of the types of projects that will not benefit a community - and in fact wi 11 perpetuate
harm.25 Afthtwih imperfect, most recently the International Energy Agency's May2021 report
states that there is in fact no further need for i nvestment in new fossil fuel supply to sustain
energy needs aid reach Paris Agreement climate goal s, signaling from the world's most influentia I
25 Interim Recommendations at 57-59.
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energy modelling agency that we are more than ready to invest our time and resources in a fust
transition, rather than false energy and marketing alternatives.36
Furthermore, it is cruci a! to ensure that states or fad titles do not use what they define as
negligible improvements to visibility as an excuse to purit on the strongest pollution controls that
vrould achieve reasonable progress overalI. Under the Clean Ai r Act's Regional Haze Program,
there are four factors to use in considering what kind of pollution reduction measures should be
required at a specific source to curb emissions (the cost of control, time necessary to install
controls, energy and non-air quality impacts, and remaining useful life of the source), and visibility
isn't included among them, While the Regional: Haze Rule is an effective tool designed to restore
clear visits I ity in landscapes across the country, in the context' of making * reasonable progress*
{what each state haze plan must ultimately achieve) to restore clear skies, visibility should n't be
used as an excuse for a state or industrial source to get out of installing new controls and reducing
poll utfcm. It is not a justifiable excuse for a state or industry' to say that the visits! Ity benefits are
too smal 1 to justify limit! ng pol I utiorv 1 n haze plannti ng processes, as regulators work to assess
sources and emission-reducing measures, they should be considering whether a particular source
is also harming a community and whether reducing emissions would benefit the community. If yes
to either or both, the state should weight that in its decision on whether and how much pollution
reduction to require. The haze rule is thus a key opportunity to require pollution reductions that
'benefit communities, particularly those experiencing disproportionate historical and ongoing
harm.
Below, we outline the process undertaken by the state of Oregon to consider
environmental justice and the benefit to communities that wwuld arise from Regional Haze
Program implementation,
Oregon Regional Haze Process Includes Environmental Justice Considerations
in NPCA's engagement with state level environmental agencies over the past 16 months,
Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality {DEQ} has consistently been an example, albeit
imperfect, of how to incorporate environment a- justice and community health criteria into
Regional Haze Program analyses,
The Regional Haze Rule requires states to consider what effects controls for visibility
improvement are likely to have on '"energy and other non-air environmental factors," After NPCA
and other environmental advocacy stakeholders recommended environmental justice benefits of
Regional Haze Program emissions reductions be considered in letters to EPA and state
environmental agencies in mid-20'20, DEQ made the move to interpret'energy and other non-air
envi ronmental factors" in a way that included considerations for environmental justice and publk
health. As a result, DEQ undertook an environmental justice analysis of communities surrounding
the facilities that DEQ's Regional Haze decisions will affect
Vulnerable Popufations Score
In developing its environmental justice anaipis, DEQ worked to create a "Vulnerable
Populations Score,® DEQ: first identified the demographic profiles of the communities immediately
surrounding the facilities for which DEQ was considering controls. They then used data provided
x International Energy Agency. https^/ww»iea,orglrepartilnei-zero-ljy-2iiS0'.
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in the 2019 version of EJSCREEN to calculate the following measures of potentially vulnerable
communities for each census block group in the state.
• Percent minority (percent population identifying as + percent of the population
identified as Hispanic/Latino white}
• Percent low income {percent of population living in households maki rig less than
200% of 'the federal income poverty level)
• Educational attainment (percent of the population over the age of 25 without a
high school diploma)
« Linguistic Isolation (percent of the population self-identified as speaking English
"less than well "J
• Percent of popu laf ion under 5
• Percent of population over 64
For each facility, DEQ tallied a "l" if the value of that indicator was above the statewide
average, or a "0" If the value was below the statewide average. The analysis showed that most
communities surround! rig the affected Title V facilities are above the state average vulnerabi Uty
score.
Towards an Environmental Justice "Score" Methodology
A review of the py Wished literature shows that as of January2021, California, Washington
State, and Maryland have published their own state-specific versions of EPA EJSCREEN, in
addition, Minnesota, North Carolina, and some local Jurisdictions have done some- work to make
EPA EJSCREEN applicable to a specific geography,
A key commonality of the California, Washi ngton, and Maryland 'methods was the process
used to develop both the I ist of indicators to be shown in the tool and used in score calculations,
weighting, and review of other methodological considerations, AH of them i involved multi-year
efforts fa minimum of two years) to conduct meaningF u! community outreach and input into
developing the tool, as well as some customization of indicators avai table based on health
outcomes as well as environmental indicators.
Other Recommendations
Thus far, despite decades of attempts, the US. Congress has not passed comprehensive
leg!station expressly dedicated to understand*' ng and addressing environmental justice. However,
state-level environmental justice bills, such as Washington's Healthy Environment for AH (HEAL)
Act and New Jersey's recently enacted environmental justice law, are important resources that
can help guide federal agencies' approaches.
For example, the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL} Act, signed into law by Washington
State Governor Inslee on May 17,2021, acknowledges Black, indigenous, low-income, and
communities of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental harms in their
communities and suffer a higher risk of adverse health outcomes: a risk that is armpl if ied by social
and economic barriers and environmental risks, which lead to cumulative environmental health
impact. Second, it seeks to prevent and mitigate these injustices; includ ing exposure to
environmental hazards within Indian country, due to off-reservation activities within the state,
and to improve state practices to reduce contamination of traditional foods wherever they occur.
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The HEAL Act also provides a definition for environmental justice, reading: "the fair
treatment and meaningful Irwolvemeritof all people regardless of racci color, national origin, or
income willi respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental
laws, rules, and policies. This includes addressing disproportionate environmental and health
impacts in all taws, rules, arid policies with environmental impacts by prioritizing vulnerable
populations and overburdened communities, the equitable distribution of resources and benefits,
and eliminating harm."27 While this definftfon modifies the current EPAdefiration of
environmental justice to include consideration for the redistribution of "benefits," it is still worded
in a way that will most likely lead to the treatment of the symptoms of environmental injustice and
racism instead of its root causes. But all together, this bill is a strong step in the rijj^it direction.
Additionally, we hope CEQ and other federal agencies will also consider ideas and
frameworks from recently i ntroduced Congressional legislation, such as the Environmental
Justice for All Act, S. 872, and the Environmental Justice Mapping and Data Collection Act, S, 101;
H.R. 516.
The underlying principles and provisions in these state and federal bills provide examples
of the nuanced aid intersectional way agencies should think about and work toward
environmental Justice, including climate justice, arid new ideas for environmental justice-related
mapping and data. For example;, the "Findings" expressed in the EJ for All .Act recognize the
structural and systemic nature of inequities and injustices and the inexorable relationship
between climate Justice and! "environmental Justice;* indeed, one cannot be advanced without the
other and they should not be thought of or treated separately. Key *Firidings* from the Act that
should inform the CEQ and other federal agencies' approach to envi ronmental justice include (but
are certainly not limited to):
• (4) Environmental justice communities have been made more vulnerable to the effects of
cl imate change dye to a combination of factors, particularly the legacy of segregation and
historically racist zoning codes, and often have' the least resources to respond, making it a
necessity for environmental Justice communities to be meaningfully engaged as partners
and stakeholders In government decision-making as the United States builds its climate
resilience.28
• {5) Potential environmental and climate threats to environmental j ustice communities
merit a higher level of engagement, review, and consent to ensure that communities are
not forced to bear disproportionate environmental and health impacts2* (emphasis added};
and
• (8) Government action to correct environmental injustices is a moral iimperative,30
Federal agencies shoyid heed this "moral imperative" for federal government actors and
agencies to take action not only to identify but also to "correct environmental injustices,* including
action to eliminate harm and act on climate (which necessarily includes climate justice).
27 67* Legislature, 2021 Regular Session, Washington Stale, Pages 3-4.
http i/Zlawflte 5^xt.l€0.W3-QQv/bt6nniufn/2Q21 -2,Z/Pdf/IBill8»/S€S5'ion%120L aws/Senate/5141-
S2.SLpdf?q=20210524151541.
a Environmental Justice for AH Act, S. 872,117th Cong. § 2 {2Q21).
28 kl.
30 Id.
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Thank you for considering our comments, Please don't hesitate to contact' us with any questions,
Sincerely,
Ernie Atencio
Regional Director, Southwest Region
National Parks Conservation Association
Taos, New Mexico
Aflyson Beasley
Staff Attorney
Western Environmental Law Center
Taos, New Mexico
Natalie Levirue
Climate arid Conservation Program Manager
National Parks Conservation Association
Oakland, California
pciLorfi
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Goldstein
ft/Si r-u. I L\r\nrir\Mi j'
Environmental
Law Firm
Goldstein
BROWNFIELDS
FOUNDATION
Goldstein
Brownfields
Group
Comments of Michael R. Goldstein to
The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
at the Public Meeting Held on May 13. 2021
Good afternoon. I would again like to start by thanking the White House Environmental Justice
Advisory Council ("WHEJAC") for this opportunity to present comments. My name is Michael
Goldstein, and I bring several roles and perspectives to these comments along with twenty-five
years of work in support of Environmental Justice ("EF') communities, specifically as the
Managing Partner of The Goldstein Environmental Law Finn representing affordable housing
developers building in EJ communities; as the President of The Goldstein Brownfields Foundation
funding EJ programming in Florida and the Southeast United States; and as the Chair of the
National Brownfields Coalition's Public Policy. Redevelopment Incentives, and Regulatory
Partnerships Committee advocating for more/better 'smarter tools for environmental reuse.
My comments today expand upon the comments previously delivered to this committee on April
28^ and upon and my first recommendation that day. which was general in nature and a broad
suggestion that WHEJAC should explore options for dramatically increasing the funding available
for affordable housing. Today, I speak with more specificity as to how WHEJAC can and should
encourage the Executive Branch and U.S. Congress to further invest in addressing the crisis in
affordable housing in this country in EJ communities. This unique opportunity has acute and
overriding policy, legislative, educational, and social intersections with environmental cleanup,
public health, equitable redevelopment, and economic empowerment and self-determination. In
the interest of time, I offer the following four recommendations:
1. WHEJAC should closely study and thereafter recommend that Congress increase the 4%
and 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit ("LIHTC") under § 42 of the IRS Code to 6%
and 12% for affordable housing built on brownfield sites requiring actual remediation.
2. WHEJAC should closely study and thereafter recommend that Congress increase the
Stepped Up Basis under § 42 of the ERS Code from 130% to 150% for affordable housing
built on brownfield sites in Difficult Development Area (""DDA"") and Geographic Areas
of Opportunity ("GAO") and provide for 130% Stepped Up Basis for affordable housing
built on brownfield sites outside of DDA and GAO zones requiring actual remediation
3. WHEJAC should closely study and thereafter recommend that Congress enact a new. one-
time LIHTC in the amount of 80% of cost of the land acquisition to develop affordable
housing built on a brownfield site requiring actual remediation.
Recommendations
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4. WHBJAC should closely study and therealter recommend that Congress pass an enhanced
tax. incentive (e.g., a faiths stepped-up basis either to anient cap with shorter hold time
or iip to 20% 01 25% with same hold time) for redevelopment of brownieM sites for
affordable housing in OpportiiiMty Zones located in EJ communities.
Thank you and bless you all for your important, transfoimative work on these mates.
Michael R. Goldstein, Esq.
Cell: (305) 962-7669
Comments deliverer:! remotefy from Miami, Florida, on May 13,2021, at apptmtmmly 4:20 pm
148 | P a g e
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Goldstein
Brown fields
Croup
Comments of Michael R. Goldstein to
The W hite House Environmental Justice Advisoiy Council
at the Public Meeting Hehl on April 28, 2021
Good afternoon. I would like to start by thanking tlie White House Environmental Justice
Advisory Council ("WHEJAC") for this opportunity to present comments. My name is Michael
Goldstein, and I bring several roles and perspectives to these comments along with twenty-five
years of work in support of Environmental Justice ('EJ") communities, specifically as the
Managing Partner of The Goldstein Environmental Law Firm representing affordable housing
developers building in EJ communities; as the President of Hie Goldstein Brownfields Foundation
funding EJ programming in Florida and the Southeast United States; and as the Chair of the
National Brownfields Coalition's Public Policy, Redevelopment Incentives, and Regulatory
Partnerships Committee advocating for more/better' smarter tools for environmental reuse.
My comments, consisting of eight recommendations, are directed to the following items in the
WHEJAC Charter: 4.a (climate change mitigation). 4.b (pollution reduction in overburdened
communities), 4.e (clean energy transition). 4 f (sustainable infrastructure, including
transportation) and 4h (increasing the Federal Government's efforts to address EJ).
These recommendations, which are policy, programmatic, and partnering in nature, are. again,
based on my experience in the private sector, the public sector, and with not-for-profits and non-
government organizations.
Recommendation?
1. WHEJAC should explore options for dramatically increasing the funding available in The
American Jobs Plan for affordable housing on brownfield sites in EJ communities. .And if not in
The American Jobs Plan, then in future legislation.
2. WHEJAC should develop an enhanced tax incentive (e.g., a further stepped-up basis) for
redevelopment of brownfield sites requiring actual remediation in Opportunity Zones located in
EJ communities.
3. WHEJAC should encourage U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") to
develop a new brownfields agenda with a focus on EJ communities, including resurrection and
enhancement of the historic Brownfields Economic Development Initiative Program for EJ
communities specifically.
4. WHEJAC should evaluate the potential to develop a task force among the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency ("EPA"), the U.S. Department of Transportation. U.S. HUD. and the U.S.
Economic Development Administration to create a massive grant program for Transit Oriented
Development projects on brownfield sites in EJ communities.
GSldstein
Environmental
Law Firm
Goldstein
BROWNFIELDS
FOUNDATION
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5. WHEJAC should direct the U. S. Department of Treasuiy to explore a new federal loan guarantee
program for private leaden who are willing to finance environmentally risky bromufleM raise
prefects in EJ coniminiities. This loan program could be modeled in many respects cm the New
Markets Tax Credits Program.
6. WHEJAC should convene and. moderate a meeting of the Federal Browiifirfds Partnership so
that each agency partner can update and report on its agenda for prompting equitable
redevelopment of impaired sites inEJronununities.
7. WHEJAC should conduct specific outreach to faith-based organizations to encourage partnering
willi agencies, local govenmimts, and private sector actors imrotved m tamiiifields reuse in El
communities.
8. WHEJAC should recognize the extraoidinaiy journalism that is new being perfomied on the
issie of raising impaired sites in El communities .and analyze such repeating for lessons that can
be iocoiporated into agency directives, regulatory mlaiiaMug, and federal legislation to inwove
environmental, public health, social, and economic outcomes. A list of eight key articles published
in the last year that WHECAC should closely review consists of the following:
• "FttlhitisB is Killing Black Americans. TMs Connsmiiy foogfct Back. AMcaa-Amerieaiis wt 75 pmum mm likely
(tun MhHs IB fee best facilities ftat pnxioct aazaraoBS waste. Cam a psss-roots »virouia«aii^jaaic» amoMt make
i difference?''Linda Vilirosa. My 21. 2020, The New Ym* Ham
o JiJM»3iiaia£tiai6^^
jsMtaaiyBfflaaaastma^
• *SuRdmB Waam, Iboouads of V.S.. Public Boosing RtndwBt Ura m A* Connny"s Mast MbM Maces," Angela
Capiio. abnoa Lener. Ike Intercept jmoanr 13,2021
• "Ita island where it rained. oil. In. the Virgin Minds. a refiasy tests Bidars mtonMiljHlki commitment," Inlet
Eilpsiia, Dariyl Bears., ami isiwaa Georges, He Waa-liBiflDa floret. Mnk 25, 2021
o https;..7WTiig.wa5fea.gtoiipofl,eomt.]:iaatMaM.roggea.t'i.Btfricfi¥f./262'r'bid.eB-ei,YiroiiiseBt3.l-?Hsnce-
[fears
"BlocS. by Mock, fee aims to fight ii|oslics aai mm At planet," Saisl Kapha, Tie WisMagtua lost, Stack 2.6,2021
o httBs:..\%Trw:w3sMagteBPQ5t.CQ.m.t.liaia,tt>-s.ohiiion5.intg»cttVfc'202i..'deMd%3rt.y,wa5lia.mat»sl.com.xImte-€BTiro3«mt'2ti21:'g2.'2S-':sJiiagtfr-ni0iii!i.S!ta-daIlas-reiBBTal-'
• "'TMs. IS- wnriTnnmoT^tal racism,' Haw a protest in. a North. C «cCa» fan-my tarn sjsaikai a Balioai! moveneu.' Dairy I
Ohbs and Brady Drab, Be WsjJjmgimPost, April 6,2§21
o jmB^aasyBsnsmififfiuaiaaai^^
race; ?iti?fi=sp tlaxr?ifteiiG
« "Deadly «ir pothflant 'disproportionately aid systematically' kn» Amwicm* of coler, stud"? finfe," Juliet Milperia and
Dmjl Fears, TtaWa-jh.— : April 2S, 2021
<=¦ tesaa .. .... askagaliia^^ .... it
Finally, I would like to recognize and thank (he U.S. EPA Office of Brownfidds and Land
Revitalization and U.S.. EPA's Supofund Redevelopment Program, for the thought, time, and care
they've invested in. effective, innovative, and equitable, cleanup, redevelopment, and reuse of
150 | P a g e
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impaired sites in El communities. EPA's institutional and cultural commitment to Hie cause is the
major driver incentivizing the public sector to partner with local governments and II stakeholders
to promote and fund beaeficial reuse in dispaiately impacted neigtiboriioods. Thank you.
Michael R Goldstein. Esq.
Office: (305) 777-1682
Cell: (365) 962-7669
Comments dtlivtmi remmeiyji Florida, on April 2S, 2021, atapp-i.
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201S Summary Report - Health fir environmental concerns
SOUTH END, STAMFORD C T
Objective: "Do what is the best and right for the pubuc's health, safety ft
WELFARE. DO IT OPENLY ft MONttSTLY, INSPECT THE 'EXPECTATIONS "
Has the community's PUnUC'S HEALTH AND WFLrARE been wel l served or has IT BEEN
COMPROMISED DURING A 20-YEAR TIME PERIOD (2000 - ?0 1 9) AT THE 1 77 ACRE SITE OF
Stamford CT's South End pfninsui a by a state-df:signatfd '¦brownfield1
REMEDIATION PLAN OF A NEW, DENSELY POPULATED, RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT REPLACING
A HtAVY INDUSTRIAL- MANUFACTURING SITE. BRINGING 1 0,000-15,000 NFW PEOPLE TO THE
CUHRFN! 1 5-?P STORY HIGH RISF APARTMENTS & OKFWf lOWFHS JN A PLACE 1 I5TED ON THE
U.5. Park Service's ldept of Interior) National register of i Iistoric PLAcest
PART ONF — SITUATION ANALYSIS
History: Stamford's South Knd development program, maybe one of the largest in
Northeast (and U.S.), is a huge site extensively known for fts intensive 150-ye ah
HISTORY OF HEAVY INDUSTRIAL AMD' MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY AND KlST'OflfC SINGLE - MULTI
FAMH Y HOMES. IT IS THE SITE OF MANY INDUSTRIES, INCLUDING CO A L-G AS IF IC AT IO N PLANT'S;
HEAVY BOAT MANUFACTURING OF PT BOATS AND WWII TRANSPORTS FOR U.S. NAVY
(l udfr's Marine) at 14 acre boat yard; transformer production & discard site or
Northeast utilities 8c CI Lsght & Power; machine tool, dye, postal equipment
MANtlFACTIJRIHS (PITNEY BOWES, EXCELSIOR HARDWARE). WOOD LAMINATMG ft
construction businesses, Yale lock systems, oh., production, storage tanks, tk
transport companies; gas, fuel and chemical production, and dump transfer
DEPOT (B as — CITY CARTING) — ALL THESE ACTIVITIES PHttOUClM© TOXIC CHEMICAL MIXES
OF POTENTIAL SERIOUS SOIL, WATER, AIR. AND DIRT CONTAMINATION PRODUCING FOUL ODORS
AND AIR QUALITY LEVELS CARRYING RESIDUES OF FLY ASH, COAL IAK, HYDROCARBON PETRO
CHEMICAL R, ZfNC, RADIUM, PCRS, E'PHS, ARSFN1C, MERCURY, CADMIUM,
situation:
There are serious concerns of the communty health, safety and welfare due to
THE POOH COMMUNICATIONS TO THE EXPOSURE OVERTIME (IS -20 YEARS) Of UNCOVERED,
UNTESTED TO CURRENT CONDITIONS, AND UNDETECTED POSSIBLE CARCINOGENIC
SUBSTANCES AFFECTING THE PUBUC'S HEALTH AND... WHERE QUESTIONS OPEN QUESTIONS.
NOVs (Notices op violatiows! webi issue© in bummer of 2019 due to strong foul
ODORS (REMAINING TO DATE OF THIS OOCUMKN) A5 MUtl D-OUI 8c CAPPING CON! INUKS),
UNCOVERED STORAGE AND UNCOVERED TRANSPORT OF CONTAMINATED 'FUGITIVE" DIRT FROM
KNOWN HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES IN T HE SOUTH END OF STAMr OKD, CT. THESE NOV
VIOLATIONS WERE ISSUED IN JULY 20 1 9. COMING 6-MONTHS AFTER COAL. T AR/OiL TANK
REMOVAL SPILLS HAD BEEN NOTED JN EIRS (EMERGENCY INCIDENT RF.FORTS) AT SELECTED
SITES THAT HAD BEEN ISSUED 6-MONTHS EARLJEFf IN JANUARY 2, 201 9.
ACTION BY DEEP FOR ON SETF. INSPECTION MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TAKEN HAD IT NOT BFEN TO
CALLS BY A COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP IN 1 ATE JUNE ?0 1 9 TAKING THE INITIATIVE
TO THE FOUL SMELLS, ODORS. AND UNCOVERED FUGITIVE DIRT BEING TRANSPORTED AND
STOCKPILED, UNCOVERED, WITHIN 5 BLOCKS OF A LARGE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY,
1.
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THERE APPEARS that A "CONFIDENCE" GAP - A "CRE3JTABSLITY GAP' - OF WHAT HAS BEEN
SAID, WHAT HAS BEEN INSPECTED, AND WHAT HAS SEEN DONE BY DEVELOPER &
CONTRACTORS WITH STATE'S OVERRIDING AUTHORITY AS. TO WHAT HAS BfrKN OONfc IjV THE
PAST 15-20 TEARS OF INTENSE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THESE CONTAMINATED
INDUSTRIAL SITES AND TO THIS SUMMER'S "DISCOVERED* vjolations.
And them, 'what is to Beomiem immediate future mown© forward to protect the
COMMUNITY'S HEALTH, fSAFlTTY, AN!.J WFl.l firiNG. I HTRt CONTINUES TO OF A LACK OF
CURRENT 'ON-SITE ' IM. L.P TESTING OF SOIL AND WATF.R AS TO THE AIR QUALITY a HFALTH
STANDARDS OF rUGfTIVE DIRT FILES & SITES UNDER DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING A 1 4 ACRE
BOATYARD ON THE TIP OF THE PENINSULA.
THFRE ARE TOO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. SHOUIJD THFRE BE a DEEP COMMISSIONER:
AUDIT OF THE REMEDIATION ACTION PLAN CCGSCHAPTER 445 SEC 22A-134A I3> |AJ TO THE
ENVIRONMENTA1. AND PUBUC HEALTH CONDITIOMS FOR AN ASSESSMENT OEF1MED IN 44S
OR TO PUBUC HEALTH CHAPTER 368L — *CarCM06ENIC SUBSTANCES* WITH REFERENCES
TO Sec, I 9a-329 and sr c 1 9a-3311
Question # 11 superfund designation • should some of these areas have been
DESIGNATION *SUFERPUND SITES' IN SELECT LOCATIONS WHERE THERE HAS BEEN INTENSE
INDUSTRIAL USE ACTIVITIES AND REQUIREMENT FOR MORE SERIOUS TESTING PROTOCOLS?
This question comes after calls by a Stamford, ct south end community
FNVIRONMKNYAL ACTION GROUP IN JUNF OF POlO THAT WERF REQUIRED REQUESTING ST AT F
DELP INSPECTION OFFICIALS AT THE SITE - UPON INSPECTION IN JUNE P.O 1 9, THERE WERE
ISSUANCES OF SEVERAL WOLATIOM NOTICES (NGVs! TO AIR QUALITY AMOTQ THE UNCOVERED
FUGITIVE DIRT STORAGE AND TRANSPORT OF CONTAMINATED, CARCINOGENIC SOU. FROM
HA7ARO WASTE SITES IN THE DEVELOPMENT. THERE WAS UNCOVERED SOiL STORAGE AT SITES
WITHOUT THE APPROPRIATE IMPERVIOUS GROUND COVER TO PREVENT FURTHER GROUND
CONTAMINATION AT THESE STORAGE SITES. 7 HERE WERE UUESTIONS RAISED ON
ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS OF BULKHEAD PERMITS INTO STAMFORD HARBOR "S WEST
CHANNEL OF PERMITS ISSUED OS/' 15/17 BY U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS.
Note: Over how many yf.ars has i mf.re been poor behavior conducted by
EXPERIENCED DEVELOPERS TO THE STATE'S 'ENGINEERED SOLUTiONS* WITH APPARENT LITTLE
PUBUC ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF'THE HARMFUL. IMPACT OF POSSIBLE CAftONOSEMie
EXPOSURE TO HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE ISSUES OF AN AREA TRANSITIONING FROM
HEAVY INIMISTRIAbMANUFACrimiNG TO DENSE ft ESIBBItTlAL WHBME 10,000 HEW
APARTMENT AND HOME RESIDENTS RESIDE AND ARE COMING OVER THE NEXT 3-4 YEARS?
ARt THE (iO'i'S BEING CONNFCTtrP ON REGULATION STANDARDS ACROSS OKPARrMt-Nl LINES
ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT? HAVE RSftS CReMBBIATIOM STANDARD
Regulations) of CT state agencies (KCSA) been followed - i.e. CGS Sections 22a-
,1.3.3k t- 1 THROUGH 133Ka3): SHOULD THERE BE 'P1IBUC HEAHIMGS* ON. HEALTH RISKS
0-E.MA-133K-H3)?; HAVF THFRF BEEN DEEP COMMISSIONER PERIODIC REVIEWS?; SHOULD A
DEEP COMMISSIONER AUDIT {CHAPTER S886G - SECTIOMS 32-776.7/71 HAVE BEEN DONE
REGULARLY OR TO BE COKE OH RECENT BISCOV1HIE5 IN 2©19 OF COAL TAR/OIL TASK SPILLS
IN JANUARY 2.0 1 9 FOLLOWED BY ENSUING NOVs IN JULY ?,0 f 9 WIIFRF ACKNOWI.FDGFD
TOXIC SUBSTANCES CPC8S AND TPH CHEMICAL MIXES) MAY HAVE BEEN: FOUND THAT WERE
SUBSTANTIATED IN A DEEP POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (liEPT 2019); OR; IMPORTANTLY
HAVE ELURS CENVDIONMENTAL LAND USE RESTRICTIONS) BEEN SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED IN
2.
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RECENT TIMES (PA5T 3-5 YEARS), ALONG WITH COS CT CHAPTER #445 (HAZARD WASTE SITE
HANDLING) in specific areas where contaminated materials and odors are now
'DISCOVERED. STILL IN THE AIR FALL 2.Q t 9, AND CAN THEY BE EXPECTED MOVING FORWARD?
Question # 2: How does one know that this behavior has Not b»:n the undhi-CTED
ROUT INK OF POOR MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOR BECAUSE OP A BREAKDOWN OF COMMUNICATION
at OTBEH SITES OYER PAST 20 YEARS WITH SIMILAR 'REACTIONARY' Si RETROACTIVE STEPS
HFING TAKEN At-If-'ff EVENTS HAD OCruKHEl), BEEN REPORTED. BUT WITH APPARENTLY
1 JTTLE. IF ANY. COMMUNICATION TO COMMUNITY OR OTHER STATE AGENCIES OF HEALTH
HAZARDS?
And snu., aft ek repeated request's by Community Environmental Group during
SUMMER OF 2019, THERE WERE NO SOIL OR WATER TESTS CONDUCTED OF CARCINOGENIC
CONCENTRATIONS OF FUGITIVE DIRT. FOLLOWING MR QUALITY INSPECTIONS, AT ANY SHE.
NOTF: APPARENTLY, THERE HAD 0FEN A SI ATE E!R HEPORT DONE 6-MONTHS PRIOR IN JAN,
2019 0F COAl TAR/Oil 'TANK' SPI1 I S, UNREPORTED TO COMMUNITY FOR ITS HEALTH IMPACT.
This is demonstrated by the January 2. £019 CI R, and what appears to hi: appakkni
FAII. [JRE TO INSPECT EFF'ECTflVF TESTING, REMOVALS, TRANSPORT fit STORAGE BY AC! ION OF
DEEP ISSUING NOVS IN July 2Q 1 9 AND WITH LITTLE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION op Ht-'Al TH
HAZARD WARNINGS OVER 6 MONTHS'?
QUESTION ~ 3: WHY were THERE NOT RETROACTIVE FINANCIAL PENALTIES & INSPECTIONS
DONE OVER THE 6 MONTHS, A LOSS OF PERMIT RtGMTSTO THE INFRACTIONS POUND, AND
MORF SERIOUS DISCIPl INARY ACTION?
ONLY NOVS WERE WRITTEN FOR EXHIBITED POOR BEHAVIOR AND AIR QUAUTY VIOLATION.
NOTE THERE WAS UTTUE APPARENT CONNECTION OF THE DOTS FOR 'HEALTKi SAFETY,
AND WELFARE' ISSUES - I.E. RO FRRALS AMONGST STATE AND FEDFRAi AGENCIES FOR
PROTECTION OF 'PUBLIC'S HF SIDENTIAL HEALTH AND FOR AN ON-SITE SOIL & WATER TESTING
REQUEST, REVIEW, SOIL INSPECTIONS. ALERTS REQUEST ED SEVERAL TIMES BY COMMUNITY TO
DFEP AND REFERRALS TO OTHER STATE AGENCIES: STATE MEAITH & FNVIRONMF NTAl
AGENCIES, OSHA, FEDERAI FPA ft, FOR INSTANCE. AT t 4-ACHB BOATYARD, CONTACT TO U.S.
army corps of Engineers for viola i ions.
Situation: Vioi ation Notsces (NOVs) werf issued nvstate dfi.p in summer OF2019.
THESE NOVS ISSUED ONLY AFTER COMMUNITY CALLS FOR ACTION. WHERE VIOLATIONS WERE
'DISCOVERED'. THIS ACTION WAS 'TAKEN AfTER, APPARENTLY A PREVIOUS EJR ISSUED BACK
ON JANUARY 2, ?0 1 9). SITES Wfi-KE INSPECTED IN A RETROACTIVE, REACTIONARY FASHION
whfh proper LJMI'S WERE CONDUCT ED BY MIQSUMMfc R 201 9, BUT WHERE FOUL OIL/COAL
TAR OMRS PERSIST TO BATE OF THIS WRITING INTO- FALL AND WHERE QUESTION'S U&T
UNANSWERED TO THE COMMUNITY'S HEALTH, AND TO POOR MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT
MIGHT HAVE FOLLOWED REMEDIATION PLAN AND THAT MIGHT FOLLOW-
CONCERNS
* communhv Communication — appears to de communication problems— there
HAS BEEN A BREAK-DOWN OF THE COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE TO
THE' COMMUNITY'S HEALTH CONCERNS WHEN SPILLS OR 'DISCOVERIES' ARE MADE THAT
IMPACT NEIGHBORHOOD'S HEALTH AT A 1 77 ACRE SITE LISTED ON NATIONAL
register or historic where 10,000 people (children aw families) uve, work,
AMD ARRIVE fiAGM OAT,
3,
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J-f
• Health information - the exchange of information over 20 years has been
limited and be rwttN A small handful of individuals dealing with
'CONTROLLED ENGINEERING' SOLUTIONS, NOT ON HEALTH RISKS. AMI) WHAT APPEARS
1 IMITKt> ON-SJT6" IKS1INO OF SOU , WArEH ft AIR <*JALfTY — PARTICULARLY FOR
OVERSIGHT or THF. HEALTH AND POTENTIAL F,NVIRO!«EWr*L IMPACT ON COMMUNITY.
• Management oversight -¦ Has there been proper & consistent On-site
INSPECTIONS AND OVERSIGHT AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF TOP MANAGEMENT OVER P.O
YEARS, CONNECTING DOTS TO THE HLALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL SPILL CONDITIONS TO
THE WORK BEING DONE, THE AIR CHJALfTY. SOIL TESTING & TRANSPORT, PROPER BMPS
POLWlSfEO BEFORE & DURING, NOT AFTER EWSCOVERIEB ABE MADE;
• APPARENTLY, CONTINUES TO BE A LACK OF CORffeWT AND ON-GOING S0&* WATEW ft
AIR If-.SlING »AI A - QUtSTIONAOS *. CONDUCT OF SOIL 71 Sill NG, DIFFICULT 1 4 J ACCESS
UP-TO-DATE SOIL, WATER, AND AIM QUALI1 Y T fc. STING RESULTS AT HAZARD WASTE SITES
• PERMITS AND PENALTIES — WHY PERMITS WERE NOT ISSUED FOR iMPROPER HANDLING
DURING EXCAVATION, TRANSPORT AND STORAGE OF CARCINOGENIC SOIL BY BMP
PROTOCOLS, QUt-S'HONS TO HfcRMfl S ISSUKD; COMMUNICA1 ION f-AU.URt-.S. & VIOLATIONS
WITHOUT EITTECTrVE FINANCIAL OR REVOCATION PENALTIES WHEN EIRS ARE MOT
COMPLIED AND FOR POOH MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOR WITNESSED IN SUMMER OF 20 1 9
(i.e. uncovered transport storage and re-fiu. of contaminated soul/dirt)
FROM HAZARD WASTE SITES WITHIN 4-5 BLOCK OF MAJOR' RESIDENTIAL. COMMUNITY -
SUBSTANCESt KNOWN FOR CUHREMT * UNTESTED' CARCINOGENIC CONCENTRATIONS OF
pcus andtphs
• Legislation — is there a need for setter regulations of remediation soil,
AiK, AND WAT EN TESTING, INSPECTIONS, AND PENALTIES AT SIMILAR LARGE SITES?
The COMMUNITY APPRECIATES THE EFFORTS MADE ON TFS BEHALF AND WOLJI R ASK EON A
RKFl Y AS !T IS PREPARED TO PURSUE: 1 . RESPONSIBLE ACTION FOR BETTER REGULATIONS TO
SOIL, AIR, ft WATER TESTING AT THESE SITES: 2, CONNECTING DOTS TO OTHER AGENCIES FOR
THE PUBLIC'S HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONCERNS, ANn; 3. INSURE IIFT1 ER Olf
SI1 L INSPECTION & TESTING PROTOCOLS OF THE EXPECTATIONS BEING OUTLINED BY THESE
CONSIDERATIONS,
So End ehwronmf.ntal citizen's group
November ,, 2019
4.
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•*i» r *
mm TWQI SUGGESTIONS « CONSIDERATIONS;
t . SUPKRRJNO DESIGNATION IN SELECTED AHEAS: ON FUT UKK SITES TO BE t XCAVAT EIJ
(202.0) WITH SUCH INTENSE HISTORY, SITES OUGHT TO BE CONSIDERED DESIGNATED AS
'SUPERFUND' SITES - TO INCLUDE tPA STANDARDS - TO INSURE THE CONTEMPORARY
f fSTING Oh SOIL flf 5UKROUNUING WAII-R (it- ANY) AND IO Oft Tfc HTM INfe CONONI KAIION^ OF
CARCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES FOR THC REFILL OPTIONS OF CI FAN SO!l AND! TO CI OSFIY
INSPECT THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAMINATED SOIL TO BE COVfRFD ON AND MG'W IDENTIFIED
HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES, INSURING NO NOVS OR MORE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES,
f AKE CARCINOGENIC DIRT OFF SITE - RE FILL WITH CLEAN SOIL.
NOTt: ITS NOT 'MEMBRANE' QUESTIONS AS AN ENGINEERED SOLUTION. BUT THE DEPTH OF
SOIL RE FILL AfTER MEMBRANE IS LAID DOWN. IT'S THE SOIL ABOVE CAPPING THE SERIOUSLY
CONTAMINATED STUFF - AND TO WHAT LEVEL - CAPPING BETWEEN MEMBRANE AND LOWEST
LEVEL OF CARCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES,
2. SOll, water, & air Testing - state standards; More stringent soil and water
TESTING CO PHAHf til LI-VtL.S HUT, IF NFCt- SSARY WITH MISCOVt.RIFS OR HtSTOH* OF INTENSE
INDUSTRIAL, USE, SOU, AND WATER TFSTING TO PHASF IV IF CARCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES ARE
FOUND AT ABOVE MINIMUM LEVELS AND BEYOND 4 FEET TO 1 2-1 b FEET OR TO THE MOST SAFE
1.FVFL IF CONCENTRATIONS OH THOSF SUBSTANCES MUST REMAIN IN SOIL. TO OF CAPPED.
SHOULD SUCH CONCENTRATIONS OF CONTAMINATION HAVE BEEN TRANSPORTED OFF SITE
AND NOT USED FOR. RE-FiLL BACK IN THE SAME ABE* THAT HAD BEEN EXCAVATED.
2. Legislation: review with eye to modify more stringent state legislation FOR THE
PUBLIC THAT IS IMPACTED BY REQUIRED REMEDIATION PROGRAMS, TT6HTE WNfr U*P BETTER1
SOIL, AIR & WATER TESTING PROTOCOLS, REPORTING, INSPECTION, GRADING TO PFPTH
LEVELS BEYOND 4 FEET TO LOWEST REASONABLE LEVELS US - 2.0 FEET) WHERE SERIOUS
CARCINOGENIC CONCS-.N rRAl IONS AKE 'UIHCOVbRtU' - ANU TO LEVELS THAT, CLEAKLY,
PROTECT PUBLIC'S HEALTH, PARTICULARLY WHERE THFRJC IS OR HAS BFFN INTENSE
RFS1DENT1AL AREA BUILD OUT OF ARFAS OF HEAVY MANIJFACT URING INDUSTRIAL USE.
3. tkamspoht of dirt OFT SITE — "MAT HIGHLY CARCINOGENIC SOIL FOUND AT
QUESTIONABLE PHASF Sil-lV l.KVFLS IS RKMOVED FROM THE SOUTH END, TRANSPORTED TO
SAFE STORAGE AREAS OFF SITE. NOT AS WAS DONE IN SUMMER 2Q 1 9 IN THIS HEAVY
'RESIDENTIAL & WORK ENVIRONMENT WHERE ADULTS, CHILDREN. STUDENTS, AND WORKERS,
INCLUDING CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES, UVE AND WORK.
4. Capping & membrane placements ¦ That clean rffh l is used in AUL PLACES AND TO
LOWEST HIGHLY CONTAMINATED SOIL LEVELS EXCAVATED FROM THESE HAZARDOUS WASTE
SITES BtKORE CAPPING. CAPPING DONE TO THE LOWEST LEVEL FOR PUHUC'S HEALTH AND
THOSE RESIDENTS THAT WILL LIVE IN 22-STORY HUGH RISES AT A SPOT IN A FLOOD ZONE — TO
PROTECT FUTURE POSSIBILITIES OF CAP MALFUNCTIONS IN STORM EVENTS.
1.
156 | P a g e
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5. DISCIPLINARY ACTIOM — HAS APPROPRIATE DtSCtPUNAKY ACTION BEEN TAKEN TO
VIOLATIONS OF PFRMIT ABUSES AND Ot H AVIORtfl). SUSPENSION OH REVOCATION OF PERMITS
FOR A TIME PERIOD A TO CORRECTIVE ACTION; (2) FINANCIAL. PENALTIES, INCLUDING FEES
AND FINES; C3) CEASE ft DESIST RESTRAINT ORDERS - AS POSTED IN STATE REGULATIONS.
6. 'PUBLIC HEARING" ON THE HEALTH AND ENVIRON MENIAL IMPACT TO THE COMMUNITY*!*
COMMISSIONER um- Is A PUBLIC HfiAKlWO WELCOMED DIRECTLY TO COMMISSIONER FOR
THE ASSURED ATTENTION TO TOP MANAfiKMFNT FINANCIAL AUDITS OP THE $OUT( 1 END KE-
DEVELOPMENT ARFA IF TAXPAYER FUNDS HAVE BEEN USED
FOR REMEDIAT10NI7
7. Investigation rfquest (and fossitu>. audit) by DFCD and state's AG to insure
¥«IjAYER FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE BY" COMMISSIONER OF DEPARTMFNT OF ECONOMIC A
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (UKCD) ON JANUARY 4, 201 , IF USHD FOR REMEDIATION AT
South End sitf is available to public and was used properi y ejy TI 6 Holdings
LLC/"C/O HARBOR POINT HOLDING COMPANY, LLC*
South End Environmental citizen s group
REFERENCES:
Added* Aug 3,20 l9Hrrps://www.8i,TOPFiCE.cOM/2019/01 /teamiks-up-for-gihowtm-
AT- ST AMFORDS-HARBORPOINT/
2. Added: HTTFS://wV^.PREPGlNGTODAY.COM/20f<>/0f/Q4/HARBOR-POIinVUM3ATE*
BLT-ACMlEVES-ENVIRONMEWT*L-MnLJEeTDNEyF
3»HTTg//WWV.CWPAWT,COM/;aiatim£HeSl!OylMlgAT»Q.M'gLEAHIIP-IIMIT.P»
ILLiraiNATMagH»ERDROtJfcg01g0tK>5-aTORV.HTML
1LLUMINATING-iBERPRQLA-2oT hOtiOb STORY-HTMl.
5. HIT PSI//WWW.HLrOfnCE.COM/20 t 9/0 1 /TEAM INOUF-FOR-GROWTH-AT-ST AMFORDS-
HARBUH-POINT/ (HELCO ¦ UTILITIES. $
6. Luofrs: hrrps://www.stamfordadvocate.cdm/>
SHirYARD-HtSTOH!IAN-Bl T<.OT-» HE-9 1 88923,PHP
2.
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South End
Neighborhood
Revitalization
Zone Initiative
May 11,2004
CITY OF STAMFORD
Office of Operations
Tim Curtin - Director
888 Washington Boulevard
P.O. Box 10152
Stamford, CT 06904-2152
Re: Stamford Health Department Review of the Phase II-
Environmental Site Assessment for Kosciuszko Park
Dear Mr. Curtin:
The opening of the Kosciuszko Park is an ofigbliTg cUTitenrof the,residenti witiun the South
'Wdr-Genununity^therefore it was mentioned at the April 13^ meeting to forward-a letter of
support on behalf of Johnnie Lee' s metSotl oFfeiheSttattoiF " - ~ ' — -
On April 13, 2004 Johnnie A. Lee the Director of Health and Social Services gave a brief
update on the conditions surrounding Kosciuszko Park to the members of the South End NRZ.
Upon hearing his method of remediation, which calls for the placement of more than eight
inches of geofabric over the affected areas for protection, the members felt that it was a
reasonable solution that should be acted upon immediately. The sense of urgency is based
upon people fishing and using the park not knowing which area consist of safety hazards.
Sincerely,
Sheila Barney /
NRZ
Barney
Chair of South End
i r- . p, e j it rijCnm
161 | P a g e
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•*1§*
f rrvoh vr wnvjRH
rvffARTMfM Of UK M 1 (I & S<*. Ul SCR VICES
M *^iwwih«<'•«. t ni rrvrrn
»**WAS)|INMmn f|J>l t rv A*I3
I'.O htis.
¦»T *Mi"o«n, i f 3 k,j
March 24,2004
Mr, Glenn MacWilliams, Public Services Bureau Chief
City of Stamford Department of Operations
SSI Washington Boulevard, P.O. Bo* 10152
Stamford, CT 06904-21S2
Subject: Stamford Health Department Review of the Phase II -
Environmental Site Assessment for Kosciuszko Pidc
Dear Mr, Mac Williams; '
- ' TK&'S&ritltad Health Depanmsnr-has co«plettd-ils«m.ew «MmepoitirtEliifedf,*Pfiase--' -
II Environmental Site Assessment Report* Kosciitsdce Park, Stamford Connecticut", prepared by
Dviifca and Baitiluoci, Consulting lijgiseers for the City of Stamford, This department's review
involved m inrdepfh look at the field test findings, comparison of the findings to an overview 01
Connecticut Department of Environmental Pfotectiou (CTDEP) remediation standard
regulations, and comparison of the report's health and human exposure assessment with an
overview of the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CTDPH), Division of Environmental
Health Epidemiology and Occupational, Health, "Assessment Guidelines for Evaluation of
Associate Health. Risks™ (1996),
It is the Stanford Health Department's understanding that the landfill was never
designated as. a superflind site. Therefore, field and laboratory evaluations to characterize,
quantify, locate, or remove particular organic and inorganic contaminants were never required.
Instead, the Phase 11 Environmental Site Assessment Report was conducted in responses to a
CTDEP Kotice of Violation for disruption and use of a closed mmmieipal landfill without the
Commissioner's written approval. As such, the objectives, and focus and nature of field and
laboratory findings reported in the Environmental Assessment Report, were designed to assess
the integrity of this closed landfill according the CTDEP reqiiireni.cB.ts, and evaluate potential
impacts to human health and the environment that could result fawn exposure to historic waste
disposal ietiviti.es at the site. In addition, the objectives of the report were to evaluate the
thictaiess and adequacy of the cover material eutmttly over the former solid waste disposal area.
(Continued on page 2)
III fJft.lW? lfpj
I * v i^iin'7
I iv*j, , )
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Page 2
Stamford l>e"p»rti"n
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My name is Emily Piontek, and l work in Cental Appalachia on a variety of
energy-sector issues. Particularly pertinent to this body, one aspect of my wont involves
addressing' tie problem of high energy burdens faced by low-income households in Virginia, t
seek solutions to the issue of urtaffbrdable energy bills through reforms to utility regillation, by
promoting utility programs that make energy efficiency upgrades more affordable and accessible
for all people, and by advocating for state and federal funding to address both the cost of energy
and access to energy assistance and efficiency programs.
Access to affordable energy service is an environmental justice issue that is faced by
people throughout the United States. However, in Central Appalachia the problem of energy
burdens is particularly acute, as high rural and urban poverty levels are accompanied by
low-quality and aging housing stock that predominates in our region. A 2018 study by the
Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech found that nearly 250,000 households
across Cental Appalachia were utility cost-burdened alone.1 The authors of the study also
found that roughly 50% of existing housing stock; in the region would need "major repairs" in tie
next two decades. Pre-1980s homes or apartments, including mobile or manufactured housing
unite, often do not meet modem standards for energy efficiency, and contribute to poor health
and financial' outcomes for many owners and renters Yet, home repairs and efficiency upgrades
are cost-prohibitive for many
The federal government could help address unafordable energy burdens and help build
wealth throughout Central Appalachia by investing in programs that male owner-occupied and
rental homes more energy efficient. Investing in the Weatberizatiori Assistance Program, the
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Section 504 (Department of Agriculture Single
Family Repairs), and other programs such as those supported by the Federation of Appalachian
Housing Enterprises2 would not only reduce energy burdens and improve overall quality of life
for recipients of these assistance programs, but would also generate local wealth, through the
creation of construction and emengy efficiency Jobs related to home energy measures and
efficiency upgrades. The American Council for an Eneigy Efficient Economy estimates that
roughly 20 jobs are created by each If M invested into such initiatives 3
In addition to long-term solutions to energy affordabiify, this Council should also be
aware of an impending crisis regarding electric bill debt: hundreds of thousands of households
in Virginia have accrued hundreds of millions of dollars in utility debt over the past 14 months,
since a partial moratorium on electric utility disconnections was imposed by Gov. Northam in
March 2020. For example, in December the Virginia Department of Housing and Community
Development revealed that more than 500,000 customers of the state's sixteen municipal
'Jones, M. & Spencer, S. (2018). Housing needs and bends in Central Appalachia and Appalachian
Alabama. Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech.
id-Trends
z£anliatA|
*H0W doe* energy efficiency create jobs? American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy {2020).
164 | Page
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utilities had accrued more than $B8M in debts; only a fraction {fewer fan 43,000 accounts) had
been placed on a repayment plan4 These numbers only begin to scratch the surface of the
problem, as they don't reflect arrearages of other affected customers of the three
investor-owned utilities or the thirteen electric cooperatives in the state.
The utility disconnection moratorium is likely to expire at the end of June 2021, when
Gov. Nariham has said he will II the state of emergency. During the pandemic as during normal
circumstances, black and brown households in the US were more likely to be disconnected from
uSity services for nonpayment of electric bills than white households were.5 Related to this
crisis, federal funding should be used to forgive utility debts for Covid-relatecl arrearages, and
should be directed to the most cash-strapped not-for-profit utiles, Ike municipal utilities or
electric cooperatives, first Going further, in exchange for covering tost utility revenues with
federal aid, the Biden Administration should require those utilities to implement additional
disconnection protections, such as: waived late fees, waived reconnection fees, and seasonal or
temperature-based disconnector! protections over the long term, and not merely during the
Covid-19 crisis.
Access to affordable energy is an environmental justice issue, particularly as we
transition to a clean energy economy Ratepayers will bear the burden of this cost, and it is
critical that solutions to unafordable energy bills accompany solutions to 'tie climate crisis itself
4 Dept. of Housing arid Community Development (December 2020). Report on status of municipal utility
customer accounts. March 16, 2D2D - December 15, 2D20.
https://www.dh cd.yirainia.qovisite^defautt/files/Doc)c/otherAitilfty-cu5tomer-data-repQrt-202Q.pdf
5 Memmott, T., Carfey, 5,, Graff, M., & Konisky, D. M. (2021). Sociodemographic disparities in energy
Insecurity among low-income households before and during the GOV ID-IS pandemic. Mature Energy,
6(2), 186-193.
165 | P a ge
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11
WHEJAC PUBLIC MEETING STATEMENT - THURSDAY, MAY 13,2021
My max is Elizabeth Jones. My husband Anderson and I are farm-owners, retired civil savants
and community activists in Chate, Virginia, I am tie Chair of the Pittsylvania County NAACP
Environmental Justice Committee-1 made a statement at the Department of Environmental
Quality virtual public healing on February Sth of this year. The PCNAACP adopted a resolution
to oppose the MVP site.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC is seeking .as air qualify permit approved % the Department
of Environmental Quality for the Lambert Compressor Station to be operated in the Banister
District of Pittsylvania County. He existing Transco/Williams Pipeline compressor staticm site
will now have a third gas compressor staticm wliicli will be located next to our family fanix.
The greed for more profits by these fossil fuel corporations is all that matters to them.
Bat why us? Why in my backyard? Why in Banister District? We're al in the .struggle foe
environmental justice because it is a cml rights issue that's not going away without active
participation torn everyone, Systemic racism is on enemy.
African Americans live near' coal-fired and biomass power plants more than any ofter
demographic group in the United States.
Nearly 6E% of Athcan-Americans live or have Mved within 30 miles of a coal-fired or biomass
power plant.
As a result African-Americans are more likely to lave health problems from the emissions these
compressor stations and. pipelines can cause.
Afhcan-Americans want clean air, land and water. We don't like pointers Were seeking clean
energy and climate-friendly choices.
He MVP Lambert gas compressor station will give us emissions of carton monoxide, nitrogen
oxides, volatile organic compounds and potentially hazardous air pollutants such as
formaldehyde.
166 | P a g e
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I 2
Health concerns about the compressor stations are real Omxnk levels of air pollution. increase the
rates of respiratory tract infections, such as jnemnoois. Asthma, and cancer fee African Americans
may be due to the proximity of power plants. I'm frightened about these poisons because
Anderson lias asthma and Ms mother died from asthma.
Hie NAACP is involved because our struggle for environmental justice needs tie attention, of our
elected and appointed officials. We must keep our community infoimed about becoming a
pollution hot spot. We nmist all be on the same page.
My husband Anderson was born and raised on the Jones farm. His indigenous heritage is
important to its. He lias found native-American artifacts in. the soil lie has plowed..
We want quiet enjoyment for our property. Our daughter and our prandeteldreii will be living on
the fami someday. Our family firm and heritage may mean nothing to many, but it means
everything to us. 'The MVP Lambert Compressor Station his to stop stealing flat legacy and
heritage from us!
Hie VA DEQ and the Mountain Valley Pipeline''s Lambert Compressor Station must practice
outreach to our community in Pittsylvania County VA.
We want ttie Virginia DEQ to monitor air and water qualify at the compressor stations, in
Pittsylvania Comity and provide details to the residents. We want oiitreacli and public
participation practiced.
The MVP Lambert Compressor Station should not receive air or water pemiifs because the
hazards outweigh (he benefits. Bad decisions haw destroyed our envoomnent, health and
legacies.
167 | P a g e
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The preamble of our Constitution starts: "We the people". It doesn't start with we the businesses, or we
the land owners, or we the wealthy. It speaks of the people of the United States,. And yet our
government does not fully represent "the people". It represents instead business, finance', and greed.
The lobbyists and campaign donators hold more sway over government decisions than the voice of the
people. When and how can wee turn the tide in favor of the peopJe? When and how can decisions be
made solely for the common good?
A landowner has no rights to his own property as a pipeline claims eminent domain over his property,
even though the gas will not be used in this country. Rather, it will be liquified and shipped overseas.
How does the profit from that fracked gas supersede his property rights? When and how can we regain
our property rights?
Four small schools and two day cares in a poor rural area will be subjected to the environmental
damages of a factory built in dose proximity. This insulation factory will be a source of nine different
categories of air pollution. The children will suffer the brunt of this pollution. When and how can we
protect our most valuable resource?
In the battle over internet neutrality, during the public comment period, broadband companies funded a
campaign that generated millions of fake comments. This created a false impression of grassroots
opposition to net neutrality. The same companies hired fay broadband to generate public comments
have also been involved in more than 100 other advocacy campaigns. Millions more of fake public
comments have probably been placed on public record When and how will the true voices of the
people be heard?
According to a 1908 Supreme Court ruling, many indigenous tribes have a reserved right to water
sufficient to fulfill the purposes of their reservations. This means that many tribes have water rights
senior to those of non-indigenous users. Yet when Indigenous People demonstrate to protect their
water (and the right to clean water for all people) they are arrested, attacked by dogs, and tear gassed.,
and sprayed with water in freezing weather When and how will their right to demonstrate be upheld?
these are the stories I haw heard from the people who experienced them. II I, as a single retiree, can
hear and see, when and how will our representatives see and hear us, the people.
Please ask President Bideri to investigate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's abuse of eminent
domain, to keep the treaties with our indigenous peoples, to listen to the whole population, and to
uphold the common good.
Deri Elliott
Greenbrier River Watershed Association
SAYMA Earth Justice Committee
¥W Environmental Council
168 | P a g e
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Intact, biodiverse forests are critical to solving the climate crisis, protecting communities from
the worst impacts of climate change such as flooding and supporting healthy communities and
thriving rural economies. The forests of the Southern US are our nation's most diverse, but least
protected.
The South is the world's largest wood producing region with a rate of forest destruction from
logging estimated to be four times that of South American rainforests. In addition to 'widespread
forest destruction, wood processing nils are major sources of pollution. These impacts are
concentrated in the Coastal Plain region of the South, with disproportionate impacts to tow
income and communities of color, including specifically across the rural Black Bel.
In the last several years, these rural communities have come under increased assault by the
rapid growth of the wood pellet industry. Europe is subsidizing the conversion of coal plants to
bum wood pellets. They claim ft is green and renewable, ignoring scientific evidence that
burning wood pellets for electricity is dirtier than coal and gas and will make climate change
worse not better. Without' enough wood in the EU to supply its own needs, the forests of the
Southern US have become' the global target for this industry The South is currently exporting
more wood pellets, to Europe than any other country in the world. 22 wood pellet mils have
already been built and a dozen more are planned, .adding to tie forest destruction and pollution
in communities already overburdened with both Scientific and community concerns about, the
climate, health AND economic impacts are being ignored at every level of government.
We understand that big greens, national organizations and Southern forest landowners are
actively being engaged by this Administration on these issues. The voices of communities
impacted in the South are absent We want to help the Administration close that gap and live up
to its commitment of making sure that impacts to environmental justice communities are
addressed. Below are a list or topics we want to discuss:
1 - Permitting and Health impacts: The permitting process for wood pellet mills is ineffective in
protecting community health or addressing cumulative, disproportionate impacts on EJ
communities. Wood pellet mils are permitted under the minor source category though there is a
well documented pattern of mills violating air pemit limits. Government agencies at 'lie stale
level are failing to address the cumulative impacts of air pollution in Environmental Justice
Communities. Pubic opposition is being ignored. What oversight role does EPA have and why
is USDA promoting biomass without any acknowledgement of these dispropcxtionate impacts?
2- Climate Change Impacts: Biomass is not a climate solution. Burning wood pellets to
generate electricity releases more C02 than coal. Governments around the world erroneously
count biomass as "carbon neutral" despite scientific ewfence to the contrary. Biomass will
make climate change worse, not better. Carton emissions from industrial scale logging are not
being transparently reported. This perpetuates 'the false notion that logging and wood products
are climate solutions. Where is EPA on this issue and why is USDA promoting biomass as a
climate solution? How can the EPA ensure that these emissions are adequately and
169 | Page
-------
transparently reported? What can the Administration do to address these issues at a global
level?
3- Forestry Impacts: Widespread and unregulated clearcutting forests, including wetland forests,
is tearing apart our communities' natural flood control system at a time when flooding linked to
climate change is getting worse. Flooding is not only displacing people, but causes the
contamination of drinking water and mold. Subsidized tree planting perpetuates the
establishment of monocultures vs restoring native ecosystems. What can be done at an
administrative level to restrict the exemption of forestry from the Clean Water Act and protect
wetland forests in the Coastal Plain? What can be done to ensure that subsidies for replanting
are being used to restore ecosystems vs establish plantations far commercial production?
4- Economic Development and Just Transition: Agencies at trie state are! local levels are
wrongly characterizing the wood pelletfwood products industry as providing green
fobs/renewable energy jobs This industry is restricting) other types of economic development,
such as outdoor recreation, that could be creating more jobs and more tax revenue for rural
communities without the ecological destruction and air pollution. How can resources available
for "build bad, better' and the Administration's America he Beautiful plan be used to ensure
healthy jobs vs jobs fiat perpetuate poll ution and ecological destruction and how can rural
communities access these funds? Why does the President's America, the Beautiful Plan stale
that private landowners are helping protect forests and create thriving healthy rural economies,
when that is not our experience?
5- Land Inequity; Land Ownership patterns across the South perpetuate and reinforce inequity.
There is not an equitable distribution of public lands in the Southern Coastal Plan/Black Belt and
a long-history of discriminatory practices and policies have significantly restricted Native
American and Blads ownership of private land throughout the region. This has operated to
restrict these communities1 access to nature and associated health and economic opportunities.
Major investments in strategic land acquisition will be necessary to address these' inequities and
advance a just transition in the forest economy. How will the Administration's .America the
Beautiful Plan address this issue and how can we engage in its development and
implementation?
170 | Page
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Intact, bio-diverse forests are critical to solving the climate crisis, protecting communities from
the worst impacts of climate change such as flooding and supporting healthy communities and
thriving rural economies. The forests of the Southern US are our nation's most diverse, but, least
protected.
The Soulti is the world's largest wood producing region with a rate of forest destruction from
logging estimated to be four times that of South American rainforests. In addition to widespread
forest destruction, wood processing mills are major sources of pollution. These impacts are
concentrated in fie Coastal Plain region of the South, with disproportiornate impacts to tow
income and communities of color, including specifically across, tie rural Black Bet.
In the last several years these rural communities have come under increased assault by the
rapid growth of the wood pellet industry. Europe is subsidizing the conversion of coal plants to
bum wood pellets. They claim it its green and renewable, ignoring scientific evidence that
burning wood pellets for electricity is dirtier than coal and gas and will make climate change
worse not better. Without enough wood in the EU to supply its own needs, the forests of the
Southern US have become the global target for this industry. The South is currently exporting
more wood pellets to Europe than any other county in the world. 22 wood pellet mils have
already been fauill and a dozen more are planned, adding to the forest desfruef on and pollution
in communities already overburdened with both. Scientific and community concerns about the
climate, health AND economic impacts are being ignored at every level of government.
¥fe understand fiat big greens, national organizations and Southern forest landowners are
actively being engaged by this Administration on these issues. The voices of cominunles
impacted in the South are absent We want to help the Administration close that gap and live up
to is commitment of making sure that impacts to environmental justice communities are
addressed. Below are a list of topics we want to discuss:
1- Permitting and Health Impacts: The pemiting process for wood pellet mills is ineffective in
protecting community health or addressing cumulative, disproportionate impacts on EJ
communities. Wood pellet mills are permitted under the minor source category though there is a
well documented pattern of mills violating air permit limits. Government agencies at the state
level are failing to address the cumulative impacts of airpoHuKon in Environmental Justice
Communities. Public opposition is being ignored. What oversight role does EPA have and why
is USDA promoting biomass without any acknowledgement of these disproportionate impacts?
2- Climate Change Impacts: Biomass is not a climate solution. Burning wood pellets to
generate electricity releases more C02 than coal. Governments around the world erroneously
count biomass as "carbon neutral* despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Biomass will
make climate change worse, not better. Carbon emissions from industrial scale logging are not
being transparently reported. Tnis perpetuates the false notion that logging and wood products
are climate solutions. Where is EPA on Ms issue and why is USDA promoting biomass as a
climate 501111011"? How can the EPA ensure that these emissions are adequately and
171 | P a ge
-------
transparently reported? What can the Administration do to address these issues at a global
level?
3- Forestry Impacts: Widespread and unregulated! clearciJting forests, including wetland forests.,
is tearing apart our communities' natural flood control system at a f me when Hooding linked to
climate change is getting worse. Flooding is not only displacing people, but causes the
contamination of drinking water and mold. Subsidized tree planting perpetuates the
establishment of monocultures vs restoring native ecosystems. What can be done at an
administrative level to restrict the exemption of forestry from the Glean Water Act and protect
wetland forests in the Coastal Plain? What can be done to ensure that subsidies for replanting
are being used to restore ecosystems vs establish plantations for commercial production?
4- Economic Development and Just Transition: Agencies at the state arid local levels are
wrongly characterizing the wood pellet/wood products industry as providing green
jobs/renewable energy jobs. This industry is restricting other types of economic development,
such as outdoor recreation, that could be creating more jobs and more tax revenue for rural
ccrornunifes without Hie ecological destruction and air pollution. How can resources available
for "build back better" arid the Administration's America the Beautiful plan be used to ensure
healthy jobs vs Jobs that perpetuate pollution and ecological destruction and how can rural
communities access these funds? Why does the President's America the Beautiful Plan state
that private landowners are helping protect forests and create thriving healthy rural economies,
when that is not our experience?
5- Land Inequity: Land Ownership patems across the South perpetuate and reinforce inequity.
There is not an equitable distribution of pubic lands in the Southern Coastal Plan/Black Belt and
a long-history of discriminatory practices and policies have significantly restricted Native
American and Black ownership of private land throughout the region. This has operated to
restrict these communities' access to nature and associated health and economic opportunities.
Major investments in strategic land acquisition will be necessary to address these inequities and
advance a just transition in Hie forest economy. How will the Administration's America the
Beautiful Plan address this issue and how can we engage in its development and
implementation?
172 | P a ge
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COALITION FOR AMERICAN
ElectronicsRecycling
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Paul Vetter
May 13, 2021 (814)406-4968
STATEMENT
E-Waste Recycling Leaders Call on Biden Administration
to Ratify Basel Convention
Treaty ratification key to comprehensive strategy for circular economy, responsible recycling
The Coalition for American Electronics Recycling (CAERV the voice of the emerging e-waste recycling industry,
today called on the Bidert Administration to ratify the Basel Convention to ensure electronic scrap and other wastes
are responsibly reused or recycled.
CAER members are committed to processing e-waste to high standards for protecting the environment and workers.
Yet despite our efforts, e-waste exports from American homes and businesses continue to be exported to developing
countries where these toxic materials are processed in primitive conditions that lack safeguards to support
sustainability and safety. Because the U.S. has not ratified, exports of hazardous e-waste, plastics and other waste
become criminal trafficking once they are on their way to developing countries that have signed onto the Convention.
The U.S. is the only developed nation that has not ratified the Convention. Only eight United Nations countries have
not ratified: East Timor, Granada, Haiti, San Marino, South Sudan, Fiji, Solomon Islands and the U.S.
By ratifying the Basel Convention, the U.S. will:
* Enact a key part of a comprehensive set of policies needed to drive the circular economy to achieve net-zero
emissions, a key goal for the Biden Administration. By supporting responsible domestic reuse and recycling,
the Basel Convention will reduce the need for resource-intensive virgin materials and thus reduce emissions.
* Promote environmental justice in developing countries.
« Ensure U.S. e-waste is responsibly recycled in the U.S. with safeguards for the environment and workers
while creating up to 42,000 jobs.
* Have a seat at the table where the global movement of post-consumer resources are discussed and
governing regulations and standards are agreed upon
* Promote growth of U.S. recycling operations because it will allow the import of e-waste into the U.S. for
responsible recycling, which will also ensure the scrap materials are processed at higher environmental and
worker safety standards than are used in developing countries.
Together with passage of the Secure E-waste Export and Recycling Act (SEEKA'i. ratification of the Basel
Convention will ensure the U.S. has the policy foundation needed to ensure we join with other developed countries to
ensure hazardous wastes are responsibly managed. SEEFtA and Basel ratification will also increase the amount of
domestically produced waste that will be responsibly recycled in the U.S., promoting economic growth and job
creation.
About CAER
CAER members believe electronics recycling should be performed securely and sustainably to protect the
environment and national security while strengthening the American economy. CAER includes more than 130
jm ii U
173 | P a g e
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Coalition For American Electronics Recycling Page 2 of 2
companies and supporting members opening more' than 300- facilities in 37 states as well as Puerto Rico and the
District of Columbia.
174 |
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American Thoracic Society
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May 24, 2021
Cecilia R- Martinez, PhD
Senior Director for Environmental Justice
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
730 Jackson PI, NW
Washington, D.C. 20506
RE: Executive Order 14008 - Justice40 Initiative
Dear Dr. Martinez:
On behalf of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on
the Biden Administration's Justice4G Initiative. The ATS is a 16,000-member scientific multi-disciplinary
organization focused on the prevention, treatment, and cure of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep-related
diseases through research, education, and patient advocacy. We applaud the Administration's
commitment to ensuring that 40% of climate and environment-related investment is distributed to
disadvantaged communities through the Justice40 Initiative. Our lungs are especially susceptible to the
toxic effects of multiple climate-associated pollutants in the air we breathe. Disadvantaged communities
(i.e. environmental justice (El) communities) are more likely to be exposed to higher levels of air
pollutants, more likely to suffer the adverse health impacts of climate change, and less likely to recover
from such damages11. Targeted interventions aimed at reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas
emissions while engaging and empowering EJ communities can efficiently reduce emissions, improve
equity, and mitigate the harmful health impacts of climate change.
Given the ATS's expertise in environmental, occupational, and population health, we have provided
concrete recommendations on how to maximize societal benefits and emissions reductions with this
initiative. We have identified three primary focus areas to improve environmental justice in climate
mitigation, which are detailed in the subsequent sections below:
1. Targeted Reduction of Environmental Health Disparities and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
2. Community Self-Determination.
3. Environmental Justice Measurement Tools.
Focus Area 1 - Targeted Reduction of Environmental Health Disparities and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The ATS recommends that the Justice40 Initiative is implemented in a manner that provides EJ
communities with the ability to choose where to spend community-directed investments made as part of
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the Justice40 Initiative. Investments in GHG mitigation efforts that result in reductions in other
environmental exposures like air pollution should be prioritized for implementation in EJ communities.
Similarly, investments in climate-resiliency measures should be prioritized for these communities.
Interventions should be designed in a manner that follows implementation science methods, which
prioritize continuous quality improvements, community engagement, and trans-disciplinary cooperation.
The approach we recommend is detailed below:
A. Perform formal needs assessments in EJ communities. Models like PRECEDE-PROCEED3 provide a
structured approach for needs identification and implementation of evidence-based health-
promoting interventions. A needs assessment team should include trained methodolegists, state
environmental protection agency representatives, technical experts for infra structural assessments,
and community stakeholders. To strive towards equal partnership, participatory action research
models should be employed, which requires dedicated support to empower community stakeholders
with basic research tools and leadership skills. By equipping stakeholders with these skills, we move
towards leveling the government-community power dynamic and have a more equitable partnership
when moving forward to define and prioritize community needs. This team will engage with
community residents with questions regarding where they see their community's greatest needs and
how best to implement interventions while ensuring community self-determination. Support for
organizations like WE ACT can help to achieve this goal of community stakeholder representation in
environmental needs assessments4.
B. invest in transportation infrastructure to reduce transportation-associated emissions and air
pollution. Mitigation of mobile pollution sources is critical to reducing harmful exposures to air
pollution and GHG emissions'. Investments in green public transportation, such as those outlined in
the Clean Transit for America Plane, will help minimize exposure to harmful traffic-related pollutants.
Existing federal transportation spending should prioritize funding and deployment of clean
transportation vehicles to EJ communities. This should include mass transportation and other
municipal vehicle fleets, such as municipal waste disposal vehicles. Additional investment in transit
and non-motor transportation alternatives through building of biking and walking lanes and trails in
EJ communities is also encouraged.
C. Invest in community infrastructure to increase climate resiliency and improve air quality. The ATS
supports grey to green infrastructure initiatives based on evidence supporting respiratory health
benefits associated with increased community greenness7'2. Investments in green infrastructure are
critical to establishing climate-resilient communities as green infrastructure can reduce flooding risk
and pollution burdens9. Investments can be made in green waterways, parks, planting of non-
allergenic trees, and community renewable energy projects with built-in electricity bill reduction
mechanisms.
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D. Invest in residential and school infrastructure to increase climate resiliency and energy efficiency.
Investment in programs like the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative1" will reduce indoor exposures to
toxic: pollutants, increase residential climate resiliency, and increase energy efficiency through home
retrofits. For example, replacement of residential fuel oii heating with electric heating would reduce
indoor pollution exposure an-d GHG emissions. Similar retrofitting needs to occur in schools where
indoor air quality improvements would benefit numerous children.
E. Invest in environmental hazard monitoring systems to improve monitoring in underepresented
areas. Increase the density of air quality monitors in EJ communities, modelling this program after
California's Community Air Protection Program11 that actively engages EJ communities to determine
placement of such monitors. Investments in additional air quality monitoring applications in rural and
min-oritized areas with linkage to community-engaged environmental health researchers are also
critical.
F. Agencies should provide formal breakdowns of where investments are made to ensure adequate
allocation to EJ communities, Breakdowns of investments can be used to ensure that funding is
appropriately and efficiently allocated to communities with the highest need. Tools such as a
redesigned EJSCREEN (described in more detail in Focus Area 3) can be used to perform quality
improvement (Ql) analyses to assess the effectiveness of interventions in EJ communities. The QJ
process should involve community stakeholders to provide qualitative input regarding implemented
interventions, and these participants should be compensated for their time and contributions.
Focus Area 2 - Community Self-Determination
The ATS believes that EJ community stakeholder engagement is essential for the successful planning and
implementation of environmental health and climate mitigation interventions. Particular attention is
required for low-income communities, communities of color, immigrant communities., and Tribal
communities, where disproportionate environmental health burdens reside. Our recommendations a ign
with those outlined in the Center for American Progress and Tishman Environment and Design Center
Justice40 Recommendations12. The strategy for achieving this vision of community self-determination of
climate and environmental health interventions is outlined below:
A. Partner with existing community development corporations and other organizations to facilitate
stakeholder-directed investments in EJ communities. We recommend that the Justice4Q Initiative
community engagement strategies are rnodeied after successfully implemented programs that
enhance community self-determination by generating menus of evidence-based interventions,
activities, and outcomes that serve as the backbone for further action. Examples can be found in the
California Air Resources Board Community Air Protection Program11, the New York Delivery System
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Reform Incentive Payment (OSRIP] Program13, and the National Alliance of Community Economic
Development Association {NA.CEDA). Investments facilitating citizen science initiatives can also
benefit EJ communities by increasing awareness of environmental health hazards and providing
residents with specific heath-promoting actions. Examples include Smell Pittsburgh and Public
Lab**
B. Allow communities to prioritize evidence-based interventions that both reduce GHG emissions and
decrease environmental disparities based on local needs and priorities. Community representatives
and community-based organizations should be involved in and compensated for their participation in
deciding which interventions to implement in their communities. Information about interventions
should include approaches, necessary inputs, community engagement requirements, and follow-up,
enabling communities to se.ect strategies addressing areas of greatest need. Types of interventions
are provided in Focus Area 1.
C. Invest in local training of environmental assessors and environmental health professionals with
mechanisms for communities to request environmental health assessments and support.
Community environmental heath networks, staffed by sanitarians, environmental scientists, health
professionals, building assessors, and other experts; shoulid be established in EJ communities in order
to perform comprehensive environmental health assessments. A tiered approach to environmental
health assessments should be undertaken such that individuals with complex, multiple, or severe
environmental exposure-related disease have access to skilled clinicians with expertise in
environmental and occupational health. Implementation of these networks should involve allocation
of funding to train local community members to work in these roles. EJ communities should have the
ability to request environmental heafth assessments using similar mechanisms to The National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health {NIQSH) Health Hazards Evaluation (HHE)34. Funding
could be directed through Area Health Education Centers (AHEC)17, public hearth sanitation
departments, and local university healithcare-related departments in thefbrm of apprenticeships and
scholarships to train environmental health workers. Community environmental health evaluations
and interventions could be modeled after previous successfully implemented programs tike the New
York State Healthy Neighborhoods Program, which was associated with substantia! reductions in
asthma-related hospitalizations and cost-savings16. By providing investment, professional expertise,
and local training opportunities to EJ communities for these programs, we anticipate that there will
be substantial cost-savings due to reduced healthcare utilization, improved workplace productivity,
and increased economic opportunities for EJ community residents. G rant fundi ng shousd be allocated
to perform implementation research studies and outcomes assessments of the efficacy of community
interventions.
D. Develop open communication avenues between EJ communities and policymakers. EJ community
representation at local, state, and federal government levels is essential to ensuring equitable policy
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implementation across the country. This will enable future reductions in environmental hearth
disparities and climate change-related damages in EJ communities. These communication avenues
can be developed in conjunction with the Office of Public Participation (OPP) at the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC), which will allow communities impacted by energy-re!ated
infrastructure to participate and potentially intervene in FERC proceedings111. Our vision would
broaden the scope of the proposed OPP to extend beyond FERC-regulated infrastructure projects,
enabling the fair representation of EJ communities against private industrial interests. Examples of
this type of program can be found with the Canadian Energy Regulator Participant Funding Program
jPFP)2" and the Pennsylvania State Office of Consumer Advocate21.
Focus Area 3 - Environmental Justice Measurement Tools
The ATS recognizes that the successfu' implementation of the Justice40 Initiative depends on the accurate
identification of EJ communities and appropriate metrics to evaluate progress. This will require the
deve'opment of a comprehensive tool that incorporates demographic, socioeconomic, environmental,
health, and other indicators. Such a tool should be developed with a thorough understanding of the
strengths and weaknesses of previously developed EJ screening tools. The approach to deve oping this
comprehensive tool is outlined below:
A. Establish a committee of experts and community representatives to critique the strengths and
drawbacks of current tools. This committee would be tasked with critiquing existing EJ and
neighborhood disadvantage tools and developing a new version of the EJSCREEN tool. Tools to
evaluate include the current version of the EJSCR.EEN'", the CalEnviroScree VE AT5=
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C. Conduct real-world scientific evaluations of the predictive performance of this tool. The tool should
be evaluated for its ability to identify communities that experience the greatest burden of
environmental disparities. Such a tool needs to be able to capture the diversity of exposures and
experiences that exist across the country. It is imperative that this tool be assessed in a range of
different communities, including tow-income, minoritized, high-immigrant populations, and Tribal
communities.
Table 1: Current indicators in EJSCREEN and recommendations for indicators to include in future
iterations.
Current Indicators
Recommended Indicators to Consider
Demographic &
Environmental
Demographic Si Socioeconomic
Environmental
Socioeconomic
• % people of
» National Scale Air
• Sensitive population indicators
* Other airborne pollutants
color
Toxics Assessment Air
based on community
(nitrates, carbon monoxide, sulfur
•% less than
Toxics Cancer Risk;
prevalence of global and
dioxide, ultrafine particulate
high school
Respiratory Hazard
national environment- and
matter)
education
Index; and Diese! PM
climate-attributed diseases'"
* Proximity to large industrial
• Linguistic
(DPM)
• % immigrants
polluters
isolation
• PMj.s and ozone
• % home ownership vs rentals
* % green space (Normalized
•94 <5 years old
levels
vs owned units with leased
difference vegetation index/
•% >65 years old
¦ Lead paint indicator
land {mobile homes}
NDVI)
• % low income
•Traffic proximity and
• % employment
• Regional pesticide use
• % with less
volume
• % with low assets or savings
• % home fuel oil heating sources
than high
• Proximity to risk
• % with income worry
* % with exposure to radiation or
school
management plan
• % experiencing residential
heavy metals in public water
education
sites
crowding
supply
• Proximity to waste
• % dependents (<16 or >65
• Exposure to allergy-inducing
treatment storage
years of age)
infestations (cockroaches, mites,
and disposal facilities
• Metrics to evaluate the impact
rodents, etc)
• Proximity to national
of structural racism on
* Proximity to legacy waste disposal
priorities list sites
communities Dissimilarity
sites
* Wastewater
Index1", GINI Index14, Redlining
* Considered as "fence-Sine1'
discharge indicator
Maps'®
communities and others affected
by local area sources of pollution
Conclusions:
Environmental health disparities contribute to inequitably increased health burdens in EJ
communities while also leading to 'arge, pooiiy recognized contributions to GHG emissions and climate
change. Targeted, community-directed interventions aimed at reducing environmental health hazards
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climate change.
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ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee
ATS Health Equality and Diversity Committee
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APPENDIX C- POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
The White House Environmental Justice
Advisory Council (WHEJAC) Public Meeting,
May 13, 2021
• • Meeting attendees are in
*listen/ view mode only
The chat feature will not be
available in this webinar
Attendees who pre-registered lor public
comment will be given occess to speak
There is no opportunity tor attendees to speak
outside of ihe public comment period, if you
would like to submit a comment in writing for
the record please visit: wheiocffiepa-QOv
Meeting Agenda: https //www.epa.^v/emnronmentaliustice/y^te-house-environmemal- ustice-aifoisccv'-cauficil
1
Meeting Agendo
1:0C p.m. - 1:30 p.m. WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS. & OPENING REMARKS
1:30 p.m. -2:20 p.m. WHEJAC JUSTICE40 WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
2:20 p.m. - 3:10 p.m. WHEJAC E.O. 12898 REVISION WORKGROUP UPDATE &
DISCUSSION
3:10 p.m.-3:25 p.m. BREAK
3:25 p.m.-3:35 p.m. GREETINGS & REMARKS
3:35 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. WHEJAC CLIMATE & ECONOMIC JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL
WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
4:15 p.m.-5:15 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
5:15 p.m.-5:55 p.m. WHEJAC BUSINESS MEETING REFLECTION & CONVERSATION
5:55 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. CLOSING REMARKES & ADJOURN
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WELCOME, INTRODUCTONS & OPENING REMARKS
o Karen L Martin, Designated Federal Officer - U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
c Cecilia Martinez, PhD, Senior Director for Environmental
Justice - Council on Environmental Qualify
3
WELCOME (NTRODUCTONS & OPENING REMARKS
Richard Moore, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - Los JarcfJnes
Institute
: Peggy Shepard, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair - WE ACT for
Env/ronmentaJ Justice
- Catherine Cofeman Flowers., White House Environrnentaf Justice Counci/ Vice
Chair - Center for Rural EnteTDffse and Environmental Justice
: CafJetta Trlousi, Whife House Environmental Justice Council Vfce Charr - Havasupai
Tribal Council'
4
2
183 | Page
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WELCOME, JNTRODUCTONS & OPENfNG REMARKS
West:
: Ange/o Logan - Moving Forward Network
: RacheJ MoreJJo-Frosch. PhD - Department of Environmenta/ Science,
Po/icy and Management University of California, Berkeley
: Viola Waghiyi - Alaska Community Action on Toxics
o Miya Yoshitani - Asian Pacific Environmental Network
5
WELCOME,. INTRODUCTONS & OPENING REMARKS
Midwest:
~ Kim Have/ (He/Him). LEED AP, AtCP - City of Minneapolis, Divison of
Sustainabflify
o Kyle Whyfe. PhD - Environment and SusfainabiJify, University of
Michigan
a Hli Xyooj - Advancement of Hmong Americans
6
3
184 | Page
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WELCOME, JNTRODUCTONS & OPENING REMARKS
Southeast:
o LaTricea Adorns - EJack MiJJenniidls for Ftint
o 7em Corme/15 - Appalachian Voices
o HaroJd Mitchell - ReGenes/s
o Beverly Wr/ghf, PhD - Deep Soufh Center for Environmental Justice
7
WELCOME,. JNTRODUCTONS & OPENING REMARKS
Soufftwesf:
o Susan a A/mania - People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her
Resources
o Jade Begay - NDN CoJJecfrve
o Robert BuJJard, PhD - Department of Urban Planning & Environmental
Policy Texas Southern Un/versify
o Juan Parr as - Texas EnWronmentaJ J us free Advocacy Services
3
185 | P a g e
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Norfheasf."
WELCOME; i-iVSGDUCTONS & OPf.V.VG REMARKS
~ Mario BeJen Power - Green Roots
c Andrea DeJgacfo - Un/fed Farm Workers Foundation
a Jerome Foster JI - One Million of Us
o Mar/a Lopez-Nunez - Organizing and Advocacy, Iron bound Community
Corporation
a Michele Roberts - Environmental Justice and Health Alliance for Chemical Policy
Reform
c Nicky Sheafs, PhD - John S_ Watson Jnsf,'fufe for Urban Policy and Research, Kea.n
Un,rvers/f>'
Puerto Rjco;
a ffufh Sanf/ago - Comite Dialogo A/niwenta/andE/ Puenfe, Lot/no Climate Action
Network
WHEJAC JUSTICE4Q WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
Speakers:
Peggy Shepard, Workgroup Chair
Dr. Beverly Wright
Ruth Santiago
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WHEJAC JU5TiCE40 WORKGROUP UPDATE & D/SCUSS/ONr Quest/on 2
Workgroup Members: Kirn Havey. Maria Lopej-Nufie;,, Mario Be e n Power and M rya 'fcs hitan
Key components that requirefurther developmentfor effective implementation of Justice40 and
require WHEJAC input are:
2) What are the key elements that are important in developing definiti on sof "investment benefits''?
a. Are there ex am pies of definitions from federal or state legislation that would be helpful to
review?
11
|W£JAC JiHUCE«> tHOSKGRCU? UPOATCi MSCUSSCtt: OiXHtan 1
Recommendations for the Definition of Investment Benefits
Reeamrne nd Jtion: DirecL Investments in Geography: Investments in defines) frontiine geographies Iby census LrjKl or other
designations based on D criteria such a Minneapolis Green Zones |.
Recommendation: Direct Investmen ts in People: Investments that benefitsto> Black, Indigenous, Latitm, Asian. Pacific Islander,
GLBTQ, People of Color, and Immigrants to improve healLh and economic opportunities.
Recommendation: indirect and direct Investment in CommiBiity: Investment which support oca! communities, community-based
organ uaLions,community ownership, cooperatives, small-business, community job training and local ownership Lracte, etc.
Recommendation : Internal Direct Inves tmen t benefits: Inva tnrails that are outside £1 commun Hks but provide msoitid
service; to D such as water and sanitation.
Recommendation: All Investments: Must do no harm to ~ Communities
Recommendation: 100% of investments must do no harm to Divrronmefital J ustice ccwninijnhies. We want 100% Justice; it would
be unreasonable to have any climate inves ttnrai I working 4gain31 historically harmed commu n tLies, lb that end we acknowledge:
the Justice4Q to be the floor not the oafing, 4Q%shouVd not be seen as a cap but as a starting point.
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(WfJAC JUS1?C£« MOKKGJK3UP imWWE & ai5CiHi«M. Oocsaiyi 2
Guiding Principles: Program criteria to maximize federal in vestment benefits and avoid harm in
EJ communities
Recomnvemtation: 100% of investments must do no harm to Environments i Justice communities. We want i.Q0%
Justice; it would be unreasonable to have any climate 'nvestment working against historica y harmed communities.
1t> th it end we ack now eage the Justioe4D to be the floor rot the cei 'rg, 40% should not be seer as a ca p bit as a
starting point.
Recommendation: Just recovery to sippol community-driver, recovery andinid-tD long-tent rebuilding and
implementation p-ojects with improvements that further equitaWe mechanisms fee adaptation, recovery ami
rebuilding.
Recommendation: For investments to be considered truly berefca , pwess ami implementation are key. All
investments should incorporate a community' driven, cornmiiivty-contrD ied a pp'oach so that communities most
directiy impacted bereft as intended.
13
WHEJAC JUS7fCE40 WORKGROUP UPDATE & D/SCUSS/ON; Question I
Workgroup Me mbe rs: LaTrjcea Ad jtq . D r. Robert B-u lard , Torn Gormoiis> And roa Ddjgado, Jerome Faster II.
Dr.Beverly Wright. Pi^gy Shejurd, Ruth SanLi^ga. Harold Milchrfl
EQ 1400S Sec. 222. Justice40 initio tive. I'ojt Within 120 days of £fr da Ifi of this order, the Choir of the Council an £n vironmen lai Quolit n
the Director of the Office ofMonogpmen I and &4idgetr and the Ma tiara) Oima te Ad moah £unsijJtatja7i wftEfi the Ad visory Coundlr shall
jointly publish recommenda Ixyij, a/1 haw certain fed era) inves tments migh t be made toward a qcmi tha I 40 percen t of the averaM benefits
flow la disad vantaged communities. The recamrren dot jam, shall focus an inves tments in [ire areas of dean energy and energy efficiency;,
clean transits affordable and sustainable homing; f/a.vv/iq and workforce development;, the remedia tion and reduction of legacy
paHu tion; and the devehpmen t af Critical clean wo ter infras trueture. The recommendi tia/Kt shall reflect existingauthorities the agencies
may possess for achieving the 40-percen I qaaJ as well as recommendations an any legisla Lkm needed ti achieve Lhe 40-percen t qcxii
Key components that retire further development fo- effective "mpementation of Justice40 and
require WHEJAC Input are:
i| Identify ing the programs and policies fede-a [investments)in that can be "included kilustxM).
a I' Existing programs that EJ communities have found ctica a mil irnpotarct to serving their needs.
L What components of these programs are most effective?
I. what components present cha enges to El communities?
b] Ideas for potential new programs that would meet a gap In E* needs
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irtftJM: jvuxjai irotxiUKXjf CtfbWl j. cxxmicxt omiahi r
26 - U.S. Government Institutions Mentioned in the Recommendations
The While House
Cabinet Secretaries
Broader Executive branch.
Appalachian Reg on a Commisson ana1 Economic
U.S. Departrnert of Energy
Development Adm"ristraf
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::LEmM TRANSIT S, TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT
• nvest 'n trans't hubs to cata y:e eccncm c and sma bus nessdeve cpment n
commerc;a' corrdors.
• E ectr V eats c* Schcc Buses and San tat'cn "rucks and Other Pub eve he es
• VVe shou d nvest ntransportat cn huI:s because the conmun't esthat are mest
npacted by the ack c* access tc transpcrtat cn are the cw- nccme, peep e c"
cc cr, and e der y connun t es.
• Schcc buses and san'tat on trucks are seme c* the d rt'estveh c esthattrave
throughout EJ ccnmun t es spew ngd ese exhaust and f ne part cu ates wh ch
ccntr bute to peer a >¦ qua ty.
SAFE. AFFORDABLE £ SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
• HUD shcu d estab sh a '„
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TRAINING L WQMtHMCE OjyELOgMLN I
• lncreasefnn(i"ng for the MENS Environmental Career worker Training program.
• Access to base sanitation supplies and handwashing facTrt'es for a ! agriaiturai workers.
¦ Increase funding forthe Palne^sh'ps forOpportunity andWoricfcce and Economic R.evta ration [POWERj and
Assistance to coal Cammvirties |A€€| p'og^ms.
» Expand funding for existing training programs aswe asun'on apprenticeship and p'E-app'entcesKp programs.
¦ P.ecLce or erm"nate matching leqinments for broadband constuct'on projects m envramental justice coa -'mpacted
communities.
• Sippot workers in OoaHmpacted Communt'es. Workers affected by coa! closures need tageted workforce
deveiopment and training pxgrams, in addition to investment in bTade' economic devetopnvent strategies that spur
qua fity job creation.
¦ Expand func'ng for and give p^o'ty to training programs that pay the trainees.
• Deveop a front 'res c'mate cotjs to stppol youth leadership development and tra nirg of underemployed workers.
« Establish heat i ness safeguards for a outdoor workers that don't have the uxury to work in climate-controlled spaces.
¦ P.eqLre full and nationwide reporting of pest'e'de usage on schoo sites and child day caiefaaRies.
¦ Identify climate justice edtcaton as an essentia I component of K-12 cuncuium in tte district. Schoos for climate
Acton's website offers frse -eso ut'on temp ates for teachers, students and a es to draft a schoo bcard resol ution
ca ^ng for a climate justice curriculum.
19
P E M E CI ^Tl Q M S P E C U CTI0 N Q F LEGAL ¥ F Q LLUTIC M
1 Establish a program requiring the reduction of permitted emissions of hazardous air pollution to prevent
the exceedartceof EPA's cancer and non-cancer risk guidelines.
• Conduct civil rightscompliance reviewsunderTitle VI of the Civil RightsAct of states with delegated
environmental authorities.
» Establish a policyfor disaster recovery dollarstofund healthy land restoration in environmental justice
communities.
» Invest in educatingthe public about environmental justice and the impacts of environmental racism.
• Fund the implementation of programsand policies in the bill by Sen. Booker and Rep. Haaland —The
Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution Clean-upAct.
• Mandate new air quality monitoring in frontline and fence linecommunities
¦ Support HUD to expand the Lead Education and Lead Abatement Program
» Ensure contin ue d fundi ng for black: I ung benefits.
» Decontamination ofViequesand Culebra.
• Expand Medicare/Medicaidfor lifetime accessfor individuals from frontline communities directly
impacted by environmental racism and injustice [i.e. the Fl i ntWater Crisis}
• Deve I op a n airmen item ng n etwork th at i n d u d es th e d etecticn of PM 2.5 in a reas wh e re a DOT-fu n d e d
transportation project, a fossil-fired power plant.or PM 2.5 major emitting facility is located within three
miles of a residential area.
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DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL CLEAN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
• Lead Water P pe infrastructure Rep acement
• Create a federal ow-'nccme water and sewer b::: assistance program, ~h:s program w' H
assist low-'ncome customers w th pay'ngthe^r water and sewer bi?!"s.
• Ensure that env'ronmenta ¦ Just'ce communities are tested for :ead water pipe
infrastructure and reptacethose p'pes where necessary to protect the most vuInerab e
(ch dren and pregnant women) from ead exposure.
• Permanentiy institutiona ':ze water and wastewater affordab^ty programs, n add:t:on
to investment in water and wastewater rnfrastructure, t -s a so essent a .to ensure that
househo ds can afford to access these services.
• Lead service 1 ine rep acement should be an integrai part of a : ong-term so ut'on.
I nc aiding per"odic benchmarks for al water systems to ach'eve regard ess of water
testing resu'ts.
• Deve op a robust and (pub Jc) transparent nations' database andGiS mapfsitc
centra „;ze and 1 ocate ;,ead testing data for school's, clt'es/mun'oipa it"es, and states.
CLIMATE MITIGATION B. RESILIENCY
• invest Justice 40 funds to designate the South Coast Aquifer in Puerto R'co as a so e
source pub:Tc water resource and decontaminate the aquifer.
• Modern'ze temporary labor camp standards/farm abcr camp standardsto m't'gate
the r sksthatc mate change, extreme weather events and pandemics pose on
rrf grant and seasonal farmworkers and their families.
• Support funding for front:lne/D communities to organ'ze, convene and deve op
c mateact'cn p ansthataddress climate residence, communication and pr-orVze
potent" a. cfimate mpacts.
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INTERSECTIONAL RECOMM EN POTIONS COMMUNITY AN D U NIVERSITY PARTN ERSHI PS
* Develop guidance and directivesfor Historically Black Col leges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving
lnstitutions(HSIs)j Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and .Asian American and Pacific IslanderServing
I nstitutions (AAPISIs) to support communities addressing legacy pollution problemsand challenges.
« Invest in Community & Migrant Health Centers which serve migrantand seasonal farmworkersacrossthe
U.S.
* The Administration should leverage itsdiscreticm and resourcesto ensurethatundocumented individuals
and families are not left out or ineligible to benefit from EJ40 investments.
* Improve health equity by mandating that NIH support community-academic partnerships in all relevant
research centers and in grant programs
* Ca rry out then ation-to-n ati on cortsu Itative d uties of th e U .S. to fe d e ral ly-re c ogn ize d Tri bes i n th e
identification, planning, and i m pi em entati en of infrastructure investments and projects, consistent with the
January 21, 2021, Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships
and Best Practices on Consu
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HHE1AC J'JtSTfCf« HOKX.GSKXP UPSATS £ fflSClHJfflN.' Queiflfem J
Recommendation: Underserved communities include:
¦ Majority minortty communities
¦ H"gh »ate of health d"=parities
¦ Nofvoitainment of oea n a > a r d water sta ndards
¦ Formetfy re-dined
¦ Food insecuntyand child nutrition leve s
¦ Children receiving school Jurnch program
• Income and %of households on suppienrventaryinooime benefits
¦ Numbers of superfund waste,, ardfillsard toxic facilities
¦ Low e d o senior affair mer* a r d tow high school g*a d Lratfcm rales
¦ High matemalard infant mortafrfyrates
¦ High asthma rates a nd deaths
¦ Poorty ma inta 1 re d sloe k of ho Lrsing
• Lack of grocery stores, prafferation of [cent stores and fast-food outlet)
WhEJAC E.O. 12898 WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
Speakers;
• Richard Moore, Workgroup Co-Chair
• Car/etfa 77/ous/, Workgroup Co-Chair
• Kyle Whyte, PhD
2G
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WHEJAC E.O, J2S9S WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION:
Workgroup Members: Rch jrd Msore, CaridtaTikHisi,Susans Airnanxj, Angela Lagxi, J jj'l Pjt-jl
Kyfe Whyle, UK Xycx»j
Executive Order 14003 Sec. 220
(h) The In teragency Council shall, within 120 days of the date of this order, submit to the Pre&iden t,
through the National dim ate Advisor, a set of recommendation for further updating Brecutn/e Order
12S98.
1) What sections of Executive Order 12B9Sshould be revised?
2 J What com port entsshoul d be added to Executive Order12B9S
3) What components should be removed from Executive Order 1233S?
27
fV.Hi JAC E.O. 12S9B tNOBXGSGtlP UPDATE £ DISOESDH:
The addition of entire section on definitions that are more inclusive
"envffonmente/ justice" 20? (S)
Just treofme.nt + full protection j20 f fGj[/J J
J,ermYonmenta/ justice community'' (201 (c)}
Emphasizing geographic location and risk of experiencing higher or
more adverse human health or environmental outcomes
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ffMEJAC E.G. 12&9E1HOXKGROUF UPDATE & DtSCUSS&t*
Culture and justice treatment
201 (G) (iv) improvement in human health and environmental
outcomes in communities disproportionately impacted by
environmental and health hazards, including the improvement of
environmental outcomes "that protect cultural practices, the
maintenance and restoration of cultural heritage, and the
cultural bases of human health.
23
WffJAC £.Q. HOPXGStOUP !PM t OUCiKHOW: CartirkXXL.
The addition of the concepts of culture:
In the definition of "environmental justice"
Example "
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WW£1AC E.G. US9E V/OJHZGRQUP UPDAF £ iWSCiiS JSO.M: GoritoiittL.
The concept of "meaningful participation" (201 (I))
• Definition of "meaningful participation" concerns influence and
decision-making., technical assistance, cultural and linguistic
considerations, access, and capacity building.
• The definition of meaningful participation works throughout the
recommendations document
31
YfHEAA.C E.G. J2B93 WQEKGJKXtF UFDAW 4i DtSOSSS/DH: CsmHamxL-
Civil Rights and Systemic Racism (501)
• Systematic racism, health and the environment
¦ Civil Rights enforcement
¦ National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) enforcement
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WHIEJAC E.G. 12B?B1NOSKGS!OUP LipUAF £ DiSCVSS/DN: C»tftoy«L.
Expanded and detailed strategic plan criteria (304}
¦ Timeta b es, reports, me a nirvgful p artioip ation
¦ Reduce, p'event e mro'e pollution, egocy polluter ard cumutative n-'poets
¦ |304f ;e} plans to coordinate wtn state, county, a nd otherunits of government,
"including a a ear statement describing haweach Fede'a agency can support "he
development rnp ementafon, ard eve ua+tari of envronmenfei I justice
strateges for those units of government Fede*a agercy stra-egc plans must
drectty address what courses of action, including in connection with federa
funding, wii! be taken to a d dress env'ronmental Justice issues at state, county, or
loc a e ve Is of gove»r me nt
¦ |304) p) in the initia p an., rot later than ore 11J year after the effective d a te of the
Ode', a plan to convene an environmental justice advisay comnritteepuRtrant
to the Fede*a Advisory Committee Act or a r. equ'sva eni body toprovideongoing
expertise, input and review of agency shafegc pans.
33
WffJAC E.O. J 1B9B WO£KG£CUP IFDAW & DOCIESDN: CorftaiMXl-
Signing Statement and Policy Statement (101):
• Policy statement
• The significance of a signing statement as a public record
• Signing statement's expression of the spirit of E.O.
34
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GREETINGS AND REMARKS
o Cecilia Martinez, PhD, Senior Director for Environmental
Justice - Council on Environmental QuaJJfy
o Deb Haaland, Secretary-United States Deportment of the
In ten or
Deb Haaland
Secretary
United States- Department of the Interio?
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WHEJAC CLIMATE JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL WORKGROUP UPDATE & DISCUSSION
Speakers:
• Catherine Coleman Flowers, Workgroup Chair
• JadeBegay
• N/cky Sheafs, PhD
37
WHEJAC CLIMATE JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL WORKGROUP UPDATE A DISCUSSION:
Workjgroup Members: Dt. Rachel Morelia-Frasdt, Wichete Rabsru,Catherine F'owers, Dr. NictySheats, Viola Waghiyi.
Jode &egay. Andrea Deigado
Enecu Uwe Order 14009 requires the creation of a Climate and Ecttnoirrie J ustice Screen ing Too!, to be es uhlished by Juiy 2021. At tiis lime,
a phased approach tor implementation is fa-sing owtsdered U> ens ire a con Lhi nous araoss of 'mp'ovemenL Ipra topusL. ellecLve, va"d.
and reports Ve tool. Therefore, tSiegoal is lp psUfa'sh a base Climate and Economic Justice Screen ing Too) in July in compliance of EO
14008, and UxataMish a plan lor building up the Screen ing Tool with benchmark dates lor completion of Lhe phases of development
11 Whal shou Id be the goal and pu rpose of the Climate and Economic J :eIke Screen ing "fool?
a. What is the Large! usef|s| for Lhe tool?
b. For what pu rpose wouId 0 comma n ities and other target users need/use the tool?
c. Are there oLher erisLing toob lather than CalEn viroScreen | used fay slate and bca! govern men Li, or other en LiLks that are
effective and shou Id be reviewed for cons deration in development of the Climate and Economic Justice Screen ing Tool?
21 What indicators/data should, if puss Pte, be included in Lite Climate and Ecortprnic Jus Lici: Screen ing Tool in the July 2021 release?
a. Are there indicators in thecurrenL EPA E1SCR.EEN thai are useful and, if possible, showSd pe included in the Climate and
Economic Jus Lice Screen ing Tool?
fa'. Are there indicators in the current EPA ~ SCREEN that are noL usefuland siiouU not be considered in theCFirnaleand
Economic Justice Screen ing "EkjI?
3S
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Wf£JAC GUMATF JUSTKjF 5CSff«WG TQOI WOEKGIOUP UPDATE* OIGUTSQN:
The goal and purpose of the CM mate and Economic Justice Screening
Tool
Indicators/data should bE intdirfed in the
cSrnate a rut Economic Justice Screening TocJ
4 Hosdir^t indosires. iret .tot Ions,.agorests,gaverri rr>c rrr s i rd prapfcaccojrnaaie
kJemrtyirija: areas at need tor spcofcc communn jcs and dtie-a ing rosa-j rces/ prop* mm^
acoardiTvcV flor aa-mpte: direcnr« resources & fcenetrrs under Justce40|
* Preventing farmer damagp in dtsafrarifBgedar cwerburdened cammunrtics
Prjarrraing resources
* HYtorrriiT^C policy changes
1 Evaluating The etleas at legUbfloryand poicy interventions ftrad ng p^ress toward £1 jpalsl
* Hdpkr^ communrtses acfcrocato tar themselves ^similar ® "ho§ds?^r. jcopfc a^ourr-apto" &ji
Q:oader Than thai!
Dam on the porrrafttmg process That willaltawcommunn>es id mcanir^iully paroopKe
Data on permfts, what a heirsal&wed, what fc ind at emssions
Dais, on emtssiOfts
* What do wo need?
* Pollution and Emission indicators
* Heafchy and EqtAy Indicators
* Process Indicator
* Economic Indicators
* Porlormanco metrics
* Funding
* AocourntatilfIHy tar Process
• Exposure Burdens
• Proximity to Potential
Hazards
• Sensitive Populations
• Demographic/SES factors
• Energy
• Economic
Devel op m ent/1 nvestm ent
• Climate Vulnerability
• Infrastructure
39
Public Comm
¦ Members of the pubJJc will be given three £3) m/nufes to
present comments to the WHEJAC.
• Submit written comments to: whejac@epa.aov
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Public
Commenf
Time
25:00
to* Set mmejli mcf|* ey&r
Q ¦Vy ilp* S" -JtU.' LK
41
VVHEJAC BUSINESS MEETING REFLECTION & CONVERSATION
o Karen L Martin, Designaled Federal Officer - U.S. Environmental Pratec ton Agency
o Cecitia Martinez PhD, Sen/or Director for En vJronmentof Justice -Co unci! on
Environ men tai Q uality
a Richard Moore, White House Enwonmenfal Justice Council Co-Chair - Los Jardines
institute
o Peggy Shepard, White House En vironmental Justice Council Co-Chair-WE ACT for
Environmen talJus tee
c Catherine Cofeman Ffowers, White House Environmental Justice Council Vice Chair
- Cen ter for J? ura/ En terprse and Environmen taf J ustce
c CarJeJfa ritousi, White House Environmental Justice Council Vice Chair-Havasupai
Tribal Council
c The WHEJAC will use this time to reflec/ on the meeting proceedings, public
commenf period, discuss and del/berate action items and finalize next steps.
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CLOSING REMARKS & ADJOURN
o Karen L. Marf/n,, Designated Federal Officer - U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
o R/ch or d Moore, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair -
Los Jardines Institute
o Peggy Shepard, White House Environmental Justice Council Co-Chair
- WE ACT for Environmental Justice
43
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I, Richard Moore, Co-Chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, certify
that this is the final meeting summary for the public meeting held on May 13, 2021, and it
accurately reflects the discussions and decisions of the meeting.
August 12, 2021
Richard Moore Date
I, Peggy Shepard, Co-Chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, certify
that this is the final meeting summary for the public meeting held on May 13, 2021, and it
accurately reflects the discussions and decisions of the meeting.
X"V
' August 12, 2021
Peggy Shepard Date
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