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Environmental Justice

State and Local Government

Environmental Justice Training for States


2019 State EJ Training Webinar Series

The EPA launched a State EJ Training Webinar Series to build the long-term capacity of practitioners working to advance environmental justice at the state level. Webinars in the series for 2019 will include:

  • Identifying and Prioritizing Environmentally Impacted and Vulnerable Communities,
  • Enhancing Community Involvement in the Regulatory Process,
  • Using Comprehensive Area-Wide Planning to Promote Equitable Development,
  • Application of Environmental Justice to State Environmental Impact Assessments, and
  • Environmental Justice Considerations for Rural Water Infrastructure. 

Sign up for the EJ Listserv to receive registration announcements for webinars in the series and learn about other environmental justice resources and opportunities. 

Identifying and Prioritizing Environmentally Impacted and Vulnerable Communities 
(April 16, 2019)

Identifying and prioritizing environmentally impacted and vulnerable communities is an important first step in integrating environmental justice in decision-making. The EJ practitioner will learn about:

  • factors and data sources used to identify areas of EJ concern
  • how states are using this information to prioritize agency attention and resources
  • different approaches you can use in your own work

PowerPoint Slides, EJ Mapping Tools and Resources Fact Sheet, Learning Objectives, Biographies of Speakers (PDF)

Enhancing Community Involvement in the Regulatory Process
(May 15, 2019)

Community involvement is an important tool for advancing environmental justice. The EJ practitioner will learn about:

  • methods you can use to make public participation more meaningful
  • ways in which community involvement leads to better decisions
  • how a state agency integrated community involvement into its culture

PowerPoint Slides, Resources Fact Sheet, Learning Objectives, Biographies of Speakers (PDF)

Using Comprehensive Area-Wide Planning to Promote Equitable Development
(June 18, 2019)

Approaching a community holistically through area-wide planning is an important way to address environmental justice, and promote community revitalization and equitable development.  The EJ practitioner will learn about:

  • what area-wide planning is and its key elements
  • how a community applies the area-wide planning approach
  • how a state environmental agency uses comprehensive collaborative approaches

PowerPoint Slides, Resources Fact Sheet, Learning Objectives, Biographies of Speakers (PDF)

Application of Environmental Justice to State Environmental Impact
(July 23, 2019)

Environmental justice, health issues and community impacts are important considerations during environmental impact review process.  The EJ practitioner will learn about:

  • basics for considering environmental justice in National Environmental Policy Act review
  • how a state agency addresses health issues through health impact assessments
  • application of environmental justice principles in a transportation project

PowerPoint Slides, Resources Fact Sheet, Learning Objectives, Biographies of Speakers (PDF)

Rural Water Issues: Progress and Challenges in Implementing California’s Human Right to Water (October 8, 2019)

The State of California is implementing programs to ensure safe, accessible and affordable drinking water for overburdened and disadvantaged communities, particularly those in rural areas.  The EJ practitioner will learn about:

  • policies, tools and resources associated with implementation of California’s Human Right to Water
  • how community engagement and stakeholder advocacy have shaped California’s water laws and policies
  • remaining and emerging challenges, including a changing climate

PowerPoint Slides, Resources Fact Sheet, Learning Objectives, Biographies of Speakers (PDF)


Other Environmental Justice Training Resources
 

EPA’s Air Pollution Training Institute (APTI)

Free training resources for state & local government personnel (air quality planners, technical staff).  Includes online self-instructional courses, videos, and classroom sessions relating to subjects such as planning/regulation development, monitoring, mobile sources, basic Clean Air Act 101 topics, and much more. 

Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities Case Studies Webinar Series

These webinars include a brief overview by EPA on lead in drinking water and highlight examples of state efforts to reduce lead in schools and child care facilities. The webinars included presentations from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and University of Massachusetts Amherst; New York Department of Health; Denver Water and Denver Public Schools.

Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Webinar Series

Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) established its webinar series to promote interactions among grantees, increase awareness of common issues and approaches, and facilitate consideration of emerging concerns. While the primary audience is grantees within the PEPH network, anyone interested in environmental public health is welcome to participate. Webinar presentations are available on a range of topics, including:

  • Citizen Science: Using Community-Driven Approaches to Address Environmental Health Disparities;
  • Culturally Appropriate Communications in Environmental Health Sciences Research;
  • Meeting Target Audiences No Matter Where They Are: Strategies for Effective Use of Social Media for Public Health Communication; Air Sensor Stories; and
  • Engaging Youth in Environmental Public Health.