WORKING TOGETHER

TOWARDS

COLLABORATIVE AND

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

United States Enforcement and EPA/300-R-00-008

Environmental Protection Compliance Assurance November 2000

Agency (2201A) www.epa.gov/oeca 

Office of Environmental Justice

Integrated Federal Interagency

Environmental Justice

Action Agenda

 
1

An Integrated Federal Interagency 

Environmental Justice Action Agenda

Preface

Across the nation, commu nities are working hard to address a ran ge of environmental,

public health, economic and social concerns, known as environmental justice issues. They are

struggling to better understand the complex relationships between the environment, the economy,

and equity. Through the efforts of many go vernmental and non-governmental organizations,

communities are beginning to fashion strategies that result in healthy and sustainable communities

which are environmentally sound and econ omically revitalized. 

Environmental justice is a complicated issue and the concept is not yet well understood. It

is not a static concept but a dynamic process. However, important lessons are emerging. One such

lesson is the need for greater Federal Agency collabora tion. Without focused and concerted efforts

on the part of multiple agencies, singularly directed initiatives, no matter how we ll intentioned, fall

short in the face of the overwhelming challenges pres ented by the combined ills of environmental,

social and economic distress. Another lesson is the need to involve all stakeholders in the

development of the solutions. All groups in a community must be mobilized to truly make a

lasting difference. While relatively simple lessons, these concepts are not easily

implemented—especially when distressed communities are burdened with so many needs.

The Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Ac tion Agenda is an attempt to

break through the cycle of despair. It represents an important step in the implementation of

Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmen tal Justice in Minority

Populations and Low-Income Populations.” The Executive Order focuses the attention of Federal

agencies on the human health and environmental conditions in minority and low-income

communities with the goal of ach ieving environmental justice and fostering non-disc rimination in

programs that substantially affect human health or the environment. Under Executive Order

12898, Federal agencies are directed to make achieving environmental justice an integral part of

their missions. The Executive Order makes clear that its provisions also apply to programs

involving Native Americans and Alaskan Natives.

The Action Agenda seeks to build upon creative solutions emanating from communities. 

This is an important principle of environmental justice. The Action Agenda seeks to crea te

partnerships between Federal agencies and other stakeholders to promote comprehensive solutions

to environmental justice issues. The results are inspiring—demonstrating that the forces of

environmental protection, economic development, meaningful public participation, and community

revitalization can work together for the benefit of all.

Charles Lee, Chair

Interagency Working Group 

on Environmental Justice
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SECTION I

INTEGRATED FEDERAL INTERAGENCY 

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACTION AGENDA 

GOAL

BACKGROUND

COMPONENTS
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An Integrated Federal Interagency 

Environmental Justice Action Agenda

GOAL

The Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agend a (Action Agenda) seeks to

build dynamic and proactive partnerships among Federal agencies to benefit environmentally and

economically distressed communities. Increased coordination and cooperation among Federal

agencies will enhance identification, mobilization and utilization of Federal resources. Increased

coordination and cooperation also will enable distressed communities to improve environmental

decision-making and more efficiently access and leverage Federal government initiatives. The

Action Agenda will result in improved quality-of-life for minority and/or low-income populations

suffering disproportionate environmental impacts. These populations may include indigenous/tribal

communities.

The Action Agenda intends to a ccomplish the following:

• Ensure that no segment of the population, regardless of race, color, national origin, or

income, suffers disproportionate adverse human or environmen tal effects, and that all

people live in clean, healthy and sustainable communities.

• Create opportunities for building partnerships between specific Federal agencies to promote

comprehensive solutions to environmental justice issues.

• Promote models based in an integrated approach to addressing environmental, public health,

economic and social concerns of distressed communities.

• Ensure that those wh o live with environmental decisions (community residents; state, tribal,

and local governments; and the private sector) have meaningful opportunity for public

participation in the decision-making process.

• Provide a lasting framework for the integration of environmental justice into the missions of

Federal agencies.

 

The Action Agenda will include examples of interagency environmental justice projects and

agency-specific initiatives, to be initiated or implemented by various Federal agencies during the

year 2000. The Action Agenda will seek to build the constructive problem-solving capacity of

communities in partnership with state, tribal, and local governments. The Action Agenda is not

intended to replace or supercede existing federal/state/tribal/local government decision-making

processes.
6

BACKGROUND

This Action Agenda is consistent with the direction set forth in the President Clinton’s Executive

Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, signed February 11, 1994. Executive Order 12898 calls on

17 Federal agencies and White House offices to make environmental justice an integral part of

their mission to the extent practicable and permitted by existing law. It mandates objectives in the

following areas: (1) identify disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental

effects on minority and low-income populations; (2) coordinate research and data collection; (3)

conduct public meetings; and (4) develop interagency model projects. It also establishes an

Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (IWG) composed of representatives from

these agencies and offices to accomplish these objectives.

In June 1999, the IWG began to develop the concept of an Integrated Federal Interagency

Environmental Justice Action Agenda as a way of incorporating environmen tal justice in all

policies, programs, and activities of Federal agencies. Two environmental justice listening

sessions sponsored by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the EPA

Office of Environmental Justice (the first July 11, 1998, in Los Angeles, CA; and the second

March 6, 1999, in New York City) and a national conference entitled “Environmental Justice:

Strengthening the Bridge Between Economic Development and Sustainable Communities” (June

10-12, 1999, in Hilton Head, SC) provided new energy to Federal interagency efforts to secure a

healthy and sustainable environment for all Americans regardless of race, color, ethnicity, or

economic status. These events provided new opportunities for senior Federal officials to respond

directly to affected communities and for meaningful dialogue among all stakeholders

(communities, businesses, academia, public health organizations, and Federal, state, tribal, and

local governments). These efforts clarified the need to address concurrently disproportionate

environmental impacts, economic and social concerns, and community empowerment. 

Experience has demonstrated that efforts to address the environmental problems of minority and/or

low-income communities without meaningful community input will result in failure. An informed

and involved community is a necessary and integral part of the decision-making process in

addressing environmental protection and its integration with the community’s economic and social

goals. Experience also has demonstrated that environmental problems suffered by such

communities cannot be fully addressed within the authority of any single governmental entity. 

Therefore, within the context of this Action Agenda, “environment” is defined pursuant to National

Environmental Policy Act compliance and encompasses those elements that affect a community’s

quality-of-life. 
7

ACTION AGENDA COMPONENTS

The Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is an ongoing, “living”

framework. The key areas of the Action Agenda are:

Promote Greater Coordination and Cooperation Among Federal Agencies

• Continue to support Regional Interagency Task Forces responsible for commitments made

at the CEQ listening sessions in Los Angeles and New York City.

• Conduct national Federal Interagency Working Group meetings on a regular basis.

• Coordinate communications among Federal agencies on national and regional levels.

• Encourage regional Federal interagency strategies or action plans.

• Develop new models for Federal interagency collaboration on regional, state, tribal, and

local levels.

Make Government More Accessible and Responsive to Communities 

• Ensure that core values and principles of the National Environmental Justice Advisory

Council Model Plan for Pub lic Participation are incorporated into Federal environmental

justice activities.

• Develop a directory of environmental justice contacts. Initially, for Federal agencies;

future editions to include state and local environmental justice contacts.

• Compile a set of web-based environmental justice success stories from Federal agencies.

• Conduct interagency listening sessions in local communities throughout the nation.

• Conduct ongoing dialogue with state, tribal, and local governments.

Ensure Integration of Environmental Justice in Policies, Programs and Activities of Federal

Agencies.

• Promote agency-specific initiatives to benefit environmental justice communities.

• Compile summary of notable Federal government environmental justice accomplishments.

• Develop and conduct national and regional environmental justice training, which are

agency-specific and interagency-focused.

• Promote opportunities for community-based assessment, intervention and prevention

strategies to reduce health disparities, particularly within minority and/or low-income

communities where disproportionate environmental effects may contribute to such

disparities (To be addressed at National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Meeting,

May 23-26, 2000).

• Develop strategies to enhance Federal interagency efforts to address needs of

environmentally and economically distressed communities (To be addressed at National

Environmental Justice Advisory Council Meeting, December 11-14, 2000).
8

Initiate Environmental Justice Demonstration Projects to Develop Integrated Place-Based

Models for Addressing Community Livability Issues. (A fact sheet on the selected projects

can be found under Section II.)

Demonstration Project Objectives:

• Learn how Federal agencies can better collaborate to ensure local problem-solving.

• Achieve concrete beneficial results for affected communities.

• Ensure meaningful participation of affected communities in decision-making process.

• Enhance existing assets within affected communities.

• Promote greater partnership with state, tribal and local governments.

• Develop a template for integrated community-based solutions to environmental justice

issues.

• Document lessons learned to positively impact more communities.

• Recommend changes in Federal policy, where appropriate. 

Demonstration Project Selec tion Criteria: 

• Areas selected are composed of predominantly minority or low-income populations that

face negative environmental, public health, and/or socio-economic effects.

• Selected projects sho uld be community-based where there is a strong community interest in

participating in all phases of the project, including its conception, implementation, and

completion.

• Communities selected may have existing resources sufficient to sustain the project through

completion and beyond and where the demonstration project will contribute to building

upon and enhancing existing assets within communities.

• Communities selected have potentially taken steps to address and/or seriously consider

environmental justice, rural community development and capacity building, brownfield

economic redevelopment, and/or other related issues.

• At least two Federal agencies will commit to participating in each demonstration project

initiated; there will be meaningful participation by community-based organizations;

academic institutions; non-governmental organizations; state, tribal, or local governments;

and/or the private sector.
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SECTION II

INTEGRATED FEDERAL INTERAGENCY 

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE DEMONSTRATION 

PROJECTS 
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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE DEMONSTRATION 

PROJECTS 

1. Greater Boston Urban Resources Partnership: “Connecting Community and

Environment” (Boston, MA/) Lead Agency: EPA

2. Camden - City of Children Partnering for a Better Future (Camden, NJ) 

Lead Agency: HUD

3. New York City Alternative Fuel Vehicle Summit (New York, NY) Lead Agency: DOE

4. Addressing Asthma in Puerto Rico–A Multi-Faceted Partnership for Results (Puerto

Rico) Lead Agency: HHS/HRSA

5. Bridges to Friendship Nurturing Environmental Justice in Southeast and Southwest

Washington, DC (Washington, DC) Lead Agency: DOD (Navy)

6. Re-Genesis: Community Cleanup and Revitalization in Arkwright/Forest Park

(Spartanburg, SC) Lead Agency: EPA

7. Protecting Children’s Health and Reducing Lead Exposure through Collaborative

Partnerships (East St. Louis, IL) Lead Agencies: EPA & HUD

8. Bethel New Life Power Park Assessment (Chicago, IL) Lead Agency: DOE

9. New Madrid County Tri-Community Child Health Champion Campaign 

(New Madrid County, MO) Lead Agencies: EPA & USDA/NRCS

10. Easing Troubled Waters: Ensuring Safe Drinking Water Sources in Migrant

Farmworker Communities in Colorado (Colorado) Lead Agency: EPA

11. Environmental Justice and Public Participation Through Technology: Defeating the

Digital Divide and Building Community Capacity (Savannah, GA and Fort Belknap

Indian Reservation, MT) Lead Agency: DOE

12. Protecting Community Health and Reducing Toxic Air Exposure through

Collaborative Partnerships in Barrio Logan (San Diego, CA) Lead Agency: EPA

13. Oregon Environmental Justice Initiative (Portland and Rural Communities, Oregon)

Lead Agency: DOJ

14. Metlakatla Indian Community Unified Interagency Environmental Management 

Task Force (Ketchikan, AK) Lead Agency: DOD

15. Environmental Justice in Indian Country: A Roundtable to Address Conceptual,

Political and Statutory Issues Lead Agency: DOE
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 Project Summary Sheet

Greater Boston Urban Resources Partnership:

“Connecting Community and Environment” (Boston, MA)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Improving Public Health

PROJECT PURPOSE:

The ongoing partnership of 39 community-based

organizations, universities, and federal, state, and

local agencies acts as a liaison between communitydefined needs and available federal resources in

order to respond to critical community issues. The

Partnership will focus on the restoration of Chelsea

Creek, which is the most polluted tributary to the

Boston Harbor; working with local residents to

transform the area into a recreational, educational,

and economic resource; and improving the

environment and public health of predominantly

minority and low-income populations.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

The federal agencies involved are participating

as members of the Greater Boston Urban

Resources Partnership (GB-URP). The Urban

Resources Partnership (URP) Initiative and the

USEPA Urban Environmental Initiative (UEI) are

federally sponsored efforts to promote

community-based planning and implementation

of natural resource projects in selected underserved urban communities. The Initiative

demonstrates the value of federal agency

partnerships to effectively deliver technical and

financial assistance and other services to the

public, and involves low-income and minority

 July 2000

communities that have traditionally had limited

access to environmental resources. The Project

also demonstrates sustainability in recognition

that many environmental issues may not be

adequately addressed without the combined

resources of federal, state, and local

governments and the capacity building at the

community level, in order to develop long term

solutions from a “bottom up” approach.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

The main areas of emphasis will be

Chelsea, Somerville and Boston. In 1999,

Greater Boston’s multiracial population

totaled 574,283, accounting for 41 percent

of Chelsea’s and 24 percent of East

Boston’s populations. The unemployment

rate in Chelsea is 12.1 percent, and it is

11 percent in East Boston. Nearly 51

percent of the residents of Roxbury live at

or below the poverty level.
Contacts:

Kristi Rea

U.S. EPA Region 1

(617) 918-1595

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The activities anticipated will benefit the community

through the following efforts:

• Encourage and create opportunities for meaningful

community involvement, serve community needs,

and provide community benefits;

• Foster cooperation among residents and government

officials for the enhancement of the urban

environment;

• Serve and involve low-income communities and

minorities that have traditionally had little access to

environmental resources in planning and decision

making;

• Develop a plan for long-term sustainability and

improvements that addresses community

environmental education and improvement needs;

• Host a regional summit on asthma titled

“Environmental Justice Children’s Initiative,” designed

to develop a strategy for filling the gaps in current

action on asthma and to emphasize prevention of

exposure to known triggers in homes, schools, and

the outside environments; and

• Partner with the Chelsea Creek Action Group (CCAG)

to work with local residents to build public awareness,

promote public access, clean up contaminated land,

and transform the Chelsea Creek into a recreational,

educational, and economic resource for the

communities and region.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• City of Boston will provide office space, equipment,

supplies, and in-kind support.

• EPA will provide technical and financial assistance

with Comparative Risk Assessments, the mapping

of environmental hazards, development of public

awareness campaigns, and education on permitting

processes.

• HUD will provide experience in reviewing grant

applications.

• Massachusetts Department of Environmental

Management will provide expertise in urban treerelated issues, assist in education activities, and

assist with the application and management of grants.

• Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife

Enforcement will provide technical and financial

resources to conduct shoreline surveys.

• Tufts University and the Watershed Institute will

provide support with GIS mapping of open space, oil

terminals, and built-up areas along Chelsea Creek.

• USDA Forest Service will provide technical and

financial assistance for the management of forests

and related natural resources in urban areas.

• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

(NRCS) will provide technical assistance for the

restoration of Chelsea Creek and other improvements

of natural resources within the urban environment,

and financial assistance as appropriate.
 Project Summary Sheet

Camden —City of Children Partnering for a Better Future

(Camden, NJ)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Improving Children’s Health

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Federal partners will work with local educational

institutions in the distressed City of Camden,

which has a high population of children, to build

the capacity of residents, particularly youth, to

address environmental justice issues by improving

educational, economic development, and health

care opportunities. Activities will include (1)

Asthma and Lead Poisoning Outreach, (2) Student

Air Congress, (3) Rutgers University Masters

Degree Program in Environmental Studies, and

(4) Youth Corp Training.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

The Camden project has been designed to ensure

that the health of city’s children in safeguarded for

throughout all stages of their development.

Manufacturing and related land use account for

one-third of Camden’s nine square miles, and

brownfields constitute more than half of all industrial

sites in the city. Abandoned industrial sites contain

chemicals, transformers, and other contaminants

that pose significant threats to human health.

Through partnerships established as a result of

this effort, however, school-age children are being

targeted for the Asthma and Lead Poisoning

Outreach and EMPACT program, high school

dropouts have been targeted for Youth Corps

Training, and the Partnership for Environmental

 July 2000

Technology Education has been directed at

college students. Additionally, opportunities exist

for graduate students through the Rutgers Camden

Campus’s environmental sciences master’s

degree program.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

Camden is the fifth poorest city in the

United States and has been

characterized as the most devastated

city in America. One out of every three

residents of Camden is living below the

poverty line, the unemployment rate is

36 percent, and the city has a

predominantly minority population.

Almost one-third of the city’s population

(31,000 of the total 87,500) is children.
Contacts:

Maureen O’Neill Denise Notice-Scott

U.S. EPA Region 2 HUD

(212) 637-5025 (212) 264-1401

Dr. Margaret Lee Dan Mahoney

HHS/HRSA HHS/CDC

(212) 264-2571 (215) 685-2784

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The goal of the Camden project is to create jobs

and to protect youth from exposure to

environmental contaminants. To achieve these

goals, the project will:

• Sponsor 57 Camden students for a summer youth

environmental education program and create jobs for

youths by offering a 150-hour brownfields assessment

and cleanup job training program;

• Improve screening and follow-up care for children at

risk of exposure to lead and asthma-inducing allergens

and train mothers of children with lead poisoning or

asthma on abatement and control strategies;

• Establish effective government, private, and

community partnerships for environmental

assessment and planning;

• Complete an inventory of brownfields using a

geographic information system in order to provide

“one-stop shopping” - for community groups and

developers on site conditions and reuse potential;

• Monitor the completion of all site assessments,

make preliminary assessment and site investigation

reports readily available, and prioritize Camden’s

brownfields for redevelopment;

• Identify, compile, and disseminate information on

lead issues for inner city New Jersey schools with

Region 2, the New Jersey Interagency Task Force on

the Prevention of Lead Poisoning, and the University

of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in

collaboration with Ramapo College;

• Increase public awareness of the hazards of lead

poisoning and asthma and build the capacity of the

community to address the problems of exposure;

• Develop mechanisms to facilitate the provision of

healthy home environments for all community

members, but especially for children at risk from lead

poisoning and asthma;

• Facilitate recommendations for policy that effectively

protect children from lead and asthma hazards; and

• Work with EPA Region 2, EPA Region 3, and Rutgers

University in Camden to establish a master’s degree

in environmental studies.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• DOL will co-sponsor the summer youth employment

program.

• HHS/Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) will provide health

intervention for children with asthma.

• HHS/Center for Disease Control (CDC) will be the

primary agency on lead initiatives.

• HUD will take the lead for new brownfields initiatives

including economic development loans for the city.

OTHER PARTICIPATING PARTNERS

• New Jersey Department of Environmental

Protection

• New Jersey Economic Development Association

• New Jersey Housing Mortgage and Finance

Agency

• New Jersey Redevelopment Authority
 Project Summary Sheet

New York City Alternative Fuel Vehicle Summit, New York, NY

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Improving Children’s Health

PROJECT PURPOSE:

A partnership of federal agencies, local officials, and

community organizations will conduct a series of

meetings culminating in an Alternative Fuel Vehicle

Summit. The project goal is to accelerate the

conversion of vehicular fleets operating in NYC

metropolitan area to cleaner fuels. This is intended

to result in better air quality for heavily congested

environmental justice neighborhoods.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

As a member of the White House Interagency Task

Force on Environmental Justice Issues in New York

City, the Department of Energy (DOE) met in Spring

of 1999 with the White House Council on

Environmental Quality. Through the Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, DOE agreed to

lead the efforts of the federal government and

community representatives in organizing an

alternative fuels summit, focusing on accelerating

the conversion to cleaner fuels of fleets operating in

the New York City metropolitan area. During the

Summer of 1999, DOE formed a planning committee

of partners to determine the content of the summit on

alternative fuels.

 July 2000

The existence of a planning committee on this issue

has allowed the city to talk to community groups

about current projects on alternative fuels and has

given the community groups the opportunity to

express their concerns about poor air quality and the

need to do more. The planning committee has given

the federal participating agencies the ability to rally

together to try to change the bus purchasing plans of

the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The communities involved with this

project are located in heavily

congested environmental justice

neighborhoods areas of Manhattan,

the Bronx, and Brooklyn which have

been affected by high concentrations

of diesel burning vehicular traffic.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The planning committee recommended holding a

design charette to gather additional neighborhood

and local and state government input on the issue

of alternative fuels. Following that meeting, the

planning` committee put together an action plan for

2000 and 2001 based on input from participants

and included the following tasks:

• Hosting neighborhood meetings to encourage local

heavy-duty fleets to switch to alternative fuels;

• Sponsoring a city workshop on alternative fuel school

buses;

• Sponsoring an airport meeting to encourage more

fleets to use alternative fuels;

• Assisting with an alternative fuels workshop for local

governments;

• Holding an alternative fuels summit to showcase

successes and build on this work to lead to greater

penetration of alternative fuel vehicles in heavy-duty

niche markets located in designated environmental

justice neighborhoods; and

• Identifying heavy-duty transportation fleets and

establishing contacts or conducting outreach to

representatives in order to get their participation in

planned meetings.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• DOE will serve as the project lead and co-coordinator

of the Interagency Task Force on Environmental

Justice in New York City that supports the AFV

project. DOE will also provide project coordination at

the Headquarters level, program resources and

technical assistance through the Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and logistical

and in-kind support to projects activities.

• DOI, working closely with local officials, community

organizations and other federal agencies, will help

organize meetings.

• GSA will help develop markets. • HUD will provide logistical and facilitation support.

• New York City Department of Transportation will

serve as a contributing member to the summit

Planning Committee and the Interagency Task Force

on Environmental Justice in New York City that

supports the AFV project; will provide assistance in

organizing community-based informational meetings;

will assist by providing contacts with local vendors,

equipment manufacturers and utility marketing

personnel; will provide information concerning

funding opportunities; and will offer assistance in

developing approaches to develop model projects.

The following partners will serve as contributing

members to the summit Planning Committee, be

responsible for identifying heavy-duty transportation

fleet operating within their designated community

area, establish contacts or conduct outreach to

representatives of targeted fleets to get them involved

in project activities, and provide meeting locations,

as required:

• Lower Washington Heights Association

• New York City Environmental Justice Alliance

• The Point Community Development Corporation

• United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park

• West Harlem Environmental Action

Contacts:

Marcy Rood Omar Friella

DOE Environmental Justice Alliance

(202) 586-8161 (212) 239-8882
 Project Summary Sheet

Addressing Asthma in Puerto Rico—a Multifaceted

Partnership for Results

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Improving Children’s Health

PROJECT PURPOSE:

A partnership of federal agencies, local health

departments, community groups, foundations, and

universities will seek local community input to gain a

better understanding of what accounts for the high

prevalence of asthma in Puerto Rico. The project will

result in a geographic action plan that maximizes

asthma prevention and augments current interagency

efforts to develop a community asthma intervention

program for children in Puerto Rico’s low-income,

under-served populations.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

A study conducted by the Puerto Rico Department of

Health (in collaboration with ATSDR) found that 30

percent of Latino Puerto Rican children aged 13-14

and more than 40 percent of children aged 6-7 had

been diagnosed with asthma, a serious and

sometimes life-threatening respiratory condition. This

project will take a collaborative approach to implement

a comprehensive strategy to improve children’s health

by reducing the incidences of asthma. To this end,

an asthma summit led by HRSA and cosponsored by

EPA, Mt. Sinai Hospital, and Roberts Wood Johnson

Foundation is being convened in New York City May

31 to June 1, 2000 to develop geographical action

plans. The summit covers New York, New Jersey,

Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A special

breakout session on Puerto Rico will be held.

 July 2000

Professional health providers and community activists

will hold a dialogue to facilitate multiagency and

community efforts toward next steps. This summit

will complement and augment efforts currently

underway by the sponsoring partners to develop a

community asthma intervention program for Puerto

Rico.

The main population that this effort is

intended to address is children in Puerto

Rico. In the United States, Latinos are

disproportionately impacted by asthma.

Although within the Latino population there

are variations in asthma rates depending on

an individual’s national heritage, a study

conducted by the Puerto Rico Department

of Health (in collaboration with HHS/CDC

and HHS/ATSDR) found that asthma was

fairly prevalent among children living in the

Puerto Rico.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?
Contacts:

HHS/ATSDR HCFA

Dr. Henry Falk (212) 264-3772

(212) 264-2571

Maureen O’Neill Dr. Luz Claudio

U.S. EPA Region 2 Mt. Sinai Hospital

(212) 637-5025 (212) 241-7625

Dr. Jose Rodriguez-Santana

Pediatric Pulmonary Clinic

(787) 754-8500

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The activities anticipated will benefit the community

through the following efforts:

• Facilitate participation in the Puerto Rico breakout

session at the asthma summit;

• Develop a Puerto Rico Action Plan to address asthma;

• Build upon existing scientific research and

community-based work on asthma as well as explore

financial and technical partnerships in order to

advance in new directions; and

• Develop and implement a community asthma

intervention program for Puerto Rico to reduce the

incidence of asthma in children.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• Department of Health and Human Services

(DHHS)/Agency for Toxic Substances and

Disease Registry (ATSDR) will assist in presenting

findings from asthma summit to community groups

in Puerto Rico.

• DHHS/Health Resource Services Administration

(HRSA) will sponsor the asthma summit. • EPA will co-sponsor the asthma summit. • Mt. Sinai Hospital will host the asthma summit and

offer technical assistance.

The following partners will provide support to this

initiative when the follow-up asthma conference is

held

in Puerto Rico:

• Puerto Rico Community Groups

• Puerto Rico Department of Health

• Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board

• Puerto Rico Lung Association

• University of Puerto Rico

OTHER PARTICIPATING PARTNERS

• DHHS/Health Care Finance Administration

(HCFA)

• HUD

• NIH
 Project Summary Sheet

Bridges to Friendship: Nurturing Environmental Justice in

Southeast and Southwest Washington, D.C.

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Economic Development

PROJECT PURPOSE:

The well-established Bridges to Friendship

Partnership will focus on environmental justice

concerns related to the revitalization of Southeast

and Southwest Washington, D.C. neighborhoods

next to the Washington Navy Yard. Efforts will

center around turning environmental liabilities into

opportunities by better orchestrating job training

and employment and entrepreneurial opportunities,

identification of community assets, and strategies

to address gentrification and community

displacement.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

Bridges to Friendship is a community-based,

sustainable development partnership of community

organizations, businesses, D.C. government and

federal government organizations that have come

together to contribute to the revitalization of the

southern quadrants of Washington, D.C. This

alliance is focused on enhancing the quality of life

and preserving the natural and cultural heritage of

the area by promoting economic development and

environmental protection. In particular, the

partnership strives to use existing resources in new

ways and support existing community efforts with

new allies.

 July 2000

Environmental justice, capacity building, and

brownfields redevelopment are driving forces behind

the project since it began in response to community

concerns related to the Anacostia River, federal

cleanups of contaminated sites, and contamination

of other sites in the community.

Much of the value added by the partnership comes

through capacity building, such as linking youth

outreach and job training resources to providers at

all levels to create employment opportunities for

area residents.

The Bridges to Friendship area

includes Southeast and Southwest

Washington, D.C., where the

Washington Navy Yard is located.

This area includes communities

dominated by public and low-income

housing and is predominantly African

American.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?
Contacts:

David Ouderkirk

Bridges to Friendship, Naval District Washington

(202) 442-4020

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY?

This project will benefit the Washington, D.C.

community through the following efforts:

• Increase the variety, quality, and quantity of job

training and career development opportunities for

local residents;

• Increase the number of quality businesses operating

in Southeast and Southwest Washington, D.C. or

owned by local residents. Bridges to Friendship will

target three businesses for start-up in or relocation to

Southeast/Southwest D.C. and will co-sponsor

business development seminars;

• Increase the availability of quality educational,

employment, and recreational opportunities for youth

living in the target area;

• Deliver career readiness seminars in public housing

and other community locations, foster the

development of additional internship programs, and

support community youth activities;

• Create a highly effective, efficient, and sustainable

management infrastructure; and

• Ensure that other Bridges to Friendship goals and

area planning efforts in general (zoning, housing,

etc.) incorporate community vision and needs.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• Alice Hamilton Occupational Health Center will

provide environmental and occupational Health &

Safety training and Life Skills, Job Readiness and

Intellectual Enrichment training, and support for

employer interest and job placement.

• Covenant House Washington will provide youth

outreach and job readiness assistance, internship

and leadership development for youth, and partner

with the Navy to provide Day Care provider on-thejob training.

• DOE will conduct energy education and job training

programs, provide alternative fuel vehicle

maintenance, and supply additional resources

through its brightfields and sustainability programs.

• DOI will provide assistance and expertise in design,

development, and implementation of green space

beautification and landscaping projects; youth and

job training/mentoring programs; and work with the

D.C. metro bus system to prevent storm water runoff from polluting waterways.

• DOL will provide expertise in training and labor

exchange activities, advise partners in the workforce

development system, and facilitate coordination of

DOL programs and projects.

• DOT will conduct community outreach through its

transportation planning and assistance programs,

and provide relevant job training opportunities.

• District of Columbia Department of Employment

Services will provide management infrastructure

support, job training resources and employment

networks.

• Ellen Wilson Community Development

Corporation will prepare area low-income residents

for employment opportunities associated with the

redevelopment of the commercial corridor and

residential neighborhood south of the SE-SW

Freeway.

• EPA will provide management infrastructure support,

leverage its commitment and extensive resources

devoted to the Anacostia Ecosystem Initiative, ensure

that environmental concerns and safeguards are

integrated into partnership efforts, provide Superfund

Job Training Initiative and community involvement

expertise and resources, and provide deconstruction

expertise and resources.

• Friendship House Association will provide

community resources, access to residents, and social,

educational, training, and economic development

services.

• GSA will provide opportunities through the Small

and Minority(8A) Business program, provide

opportunities for facility deconstruction, and provide

facilities for meetings and instruction.

• HUD will provide community building, facilitation and

technical assistance and enhance community

revitalization through continued funding of locally

responsive housing and community development

programs.

• USDA, Forest Service will utilize existing expertise

in providing consultant service in promoting urban

reforestation through the Urban and Community

Forestry Program.

• US Navy, Naval District Washington will support

the management infrastructure of the partnership;

actively develop opportunities for local residents to

train in marketable job skills; and identify job

opportunities for community members at Navy Yard

businesses.
 Project Summary Sheet

Cleanup and Revitalization through Collaborative Partnerships,

Arkwright and Forest Park Community (Spartanburg, SC)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Economic Development

PROJECT PURPOSE:

The project will assist Re-Genesis, a community

based organization in the Arkwright/Forest Park

area of Spartanburg, South Carolina, in involving a

broad variety of stakeholders to foster identification,

inventory, assessment, cleanup and redevelopment

of contaminated sites. The project will also help

build a community-based partnership to include

local and state agencies in a dynamic process of

stakeholder education, structured dialogues, and

planning charettes to create short- and long-term

development strategies.

The project is designed to involve a variety of

stakeholders working together to foster identification,

inventory, assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment

in the Arkwright/Forest Park area of Spartanburg,

South Carolina. Through a collaborative effort, the

groups will be able to avoid redundancy and maximize

the use of private monies and public grant dollars to

best help this environmental justice community.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

The target community is within a one-quarter-mile

radius of two Superfund sites. Other local areas of

concern include an abandoned textile mill, an

operating chemical plant, two dumps, and several

suspected illegal disposal areas. These properties

have brought concerns about public safety, blight,

 July 2000

health, and the environment for some time. The area

has not enjoyed any substantial commercial

development for years, and the vast majority of

normal retail needs are not within close proximity.

Re-Genesis, an active, community-based group with

1,400 members, has taken the lead in establishing

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

The City of Spartanburg, South Carolina

has a population of 43,687.

Approximately 53 percent of the

population is white and 46 percent is

African American. The targeted area —

Arkwright/Forest Park on the south side of

the city—has a 96 percent African

American population.
Contacts:

Jewell Harper Rosalind Brown

U.S. EPA Region 4 U.S. EPA Region 4

(404) 562-8629 (404) 562-8633

partnerships to address local environmental and

health issues as well as revitalization. Although

these partnerships focused initially on cleanup issues

(two abandoned toxic sites have been

environmentally assessed since 1998 and one site

has undergone a $1 million voluntary cleanup),

current plans represent renewed hopes for

revitalization. The county has recently applied a

$20,000 environmental justice grant and a $100,000

EPA Superfund Redevelopment Initiative grant, and

plans to apply for a DOE Bright Fields grant. A recent

forum on “Responsive Revitalization” was held with

more than 60 diverse stakeholders in attendance.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

Expected benefits to the community include

creation of housing, a technology center, a

southeastern regional clinic, and a job training

center. The Arkwright and Forest Park

Community partnership will benefit as the result of

activities which will:

• Educate stakeholders in the fundamentals and

impacts of brownfields cleanup and redevelopment;

• Build local commitment and partnerships for beneficial

community redevelopment;

• Educate the partnership on sustainable reuse tools

and cleanup funding mechanisms;

• Lay the foundation for re-examining future

development and growth;

• Facilitate job training efforts;

• Continue developing recommendations for a

revitalization process through structured dialogues

and facilitated charettes;

• Host a series of meetings with community,

developers, and state and federal representatives to

review a proposed development plan for the area;

and

• Host meetings with the community, state and DOT to

develop a transportation plan for the area.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• DOT will partner with the State of South Carolina to

determine the impact on the Arkwright community of

a proposed connector between State Highway 295

and either State Highway 221 or Collins Avenue.

The value of this connector to the community will be

to provide access to the community for future

commercial development.

• EPA will offer technical information in relation to

development of environmentally compromised

properties.

• HUD will partner with the county through the

community’s consultant to develop one or more

housing subdivisions.

OTHER PARTICIPATING PARTNERS

• City of Spartanburg

• County of Spartanburg (Community and

Economic Development Division, Transportation

Planning)

• First Federal Bank

• First South Bank

• Re-Genesis

• South Carolina Department of Health and

Environmental Control

• South Carolina Economic Development

Administration

• Spartanburg Development Council

• University of South Carolina

• Vigindustries/International Minerals and

Chemical Corporation

• Wachovia Bank
 Project Summary Sheet

Protecting Children’s Health and Reducing Lead Exposure through

Collaborative Partnerships (East St. Louis, IL)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Improving Children’s Health

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Community groups, local hospitals, federal, state

and local agencies in East St. Louis and St. Clair

County will collaborate to implement a comprehensive

strategy to improve children’s health by reducing

lead poisoning. The project will address both lead

based paint hazards and uncontrolled lead releases

to surface soil. Removal actions, where necessary,

will promote opportunities for redevelopment in

neighborhoods and eliminate illegal dumping.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

The St. Clair County region of Illinois is an area that

is littered with idled smelters, junkyards, and defunct

industry. It has numerous abandoned, contaminated

lots that serve as play areas for the communities’

youth and as illegal dumping havens. This project

targets East St. Louis and other communities in St.

Clair County, Illinois, including Brooklyn, Alorton,

Centerville, and Washington Park. Air pollution has

been a major problem due to the fact that St. Louis

Metropolitan Area exceeds EPA’s limit on the amount

of smog in the air. In addition, when children living

in East St. Louis were tested for lead poisoning,

there were four times as many children with lead

poisoning than in the surrounding communities, and

the rate of lead poisoning was four times higher than

the national average.

 July 2000

Another recurring and severe problem in the region

is flooding. The drainage systems currently in place

were originally constructed to drain agricultural land,

not to convey runoff from stormwater in residential

and urbanizing areas. The region has a combined

sewer and stormwater system that is deteriorating.

Impermeable surfaces (e.g., roads and parking lots)

have increased the volume of water running into

streams and rivers, and pollution from lead, oil,

gasoline, and other products on these surfaces is

carried directly into local water bodies. As wetlands

and forested areas are paved, flooding continues to

become even more severe.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

Sixty-five percent of the population

of East St. Louis is low-income

compared with a state average of

27 percent, and 98.6 percent of the

population is minority compared to

a state average of 25 percent. The

surrounding communities

(Brooklyn, Alorton, Centerville, and

Washington Park) have similar

demographics.
Contacts:

Noemi Emeric Richard Mark

U.S. EPA Region 5 St. Mary’s Hospital

(312) 886-0995 (618) 482-7025

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

This project will take a collaborative approach to

implement a comprehensive strategy to improve

children’s health by reducing lead poisoning. It will

address both lead-based paint and uncontrolled

lead releases to surface soil. East St. Louis will

benefit from the following activities:

• Conducting blood lead screening of children 0-12

years old and pregnant mothers;

• Providing appropriate medical care service referrals

for cases of high lead blood content;

• Conducting lead-based paint hazard control

throughout the county;

• Assessing uncontrolled lead releases to surface soil

and homes with lead hazards;

• Conducting housing rehabilitation along with

landscaping efforts and weatherization;

• Conducting site assessments on abandoned lots

and following up with removal actions and demolition

activities when necessary;

• Assisting in building community capacity to recognize

lead hazards and ways to reduce the threats to

children’s health as well as avenues to better

communication and environmental decision-making;

• Promoting a healthy environment for the

environmental justice community by offering a greater

avenue for residents to become more involved in

environmental issues in their community; and

• Hosting public meetings and availability sessions

and distribute a quarterly newsletter to discuss the

progress and next steps of the project.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• Army Corps of Engineers will assist with project

coordination, technical assistance and conduct site

assessments at abandoned lots when necessary.

• East-West Gateway Coordinating Council will

conduct lead soil sampling in approximately 30

residential yards in the city. The Council will work

with homeowners to implement landscaping activities.

• EPA has provided a $75,000 grant to conduct lead

soil sampling in East St. Louis near many defunct,

bankrupt industrial areas. EPA will continue to

provide technical assistance, potentially fund

community education/awareness and facilitate the

project collaboration.

• East St. Louis Community Development Block

Grant Office will assist in providing the $10,000

Home Repair Grants to homes identified through the

partnership. The office will also provide prevention,

education and awareness assistance.

• E. Side Local Health District will assist in the blood

lead screening, providing appropriate medical care

referrals, and conducting prevention and education/

awareness information workshops and distributing

materials throughout the community.

• HUD has provided a $2.8 million dollar grant to St.

Clair County through their Lead Hazard Control

Program and will continue to provide technical

assistance and lessons learned from other grantees

with similar challenges.

• Illinois Department of Public Health will continue

to implement the US EPA grant to conduct lead soil

sampling to characterize the uncontrolled releases

of lead in the soil. Historical blood lead data will be

mapped and a temporal evaluation of blood lead

trends in the area will be performed. The Department

will also continue to support/facilitate lead blood

screening.

• Neighbors United for Progress will provide leadbased paint assessments and assist with community

outreach and education.

• St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants

Department is the recipient of the HUD Lead Based

Paint Hazard Control grant and will provide funding

to several community organizations and contractors

to implement the blood lead screening, case

management, assessment, prevention/education,

lead hazard control and landscaping activities.

• St. Mary’s Hospital Corporate Health Center will

provide blood lead screening, case management,

prevention/awareness and education assistance.
 July 2000 Project Summary Sheet

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

Bethel New Life PEM Fuel Cell Deployment in a “Green”

Building and Power Park Assessment (Chicago, IL)

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Economic Development

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Federal partners will work to assist Bethel New Life,

a faith-based community development corporation

located in the West Garfield section of Chicago,

Illinois, to fulfill its vision of turning the neighborhood’s

environmental liabilities into assets. The project will

design, develop, install, field test, and monitor

performance of a 20-kW Proton Exchange

Membrane (PEM) fuel cell power system as part of

the “Lake/Pulaski Commercial Center” building

development. Bethel is developing the building as

a “green,” energy-efficient, affordable, commercial

retail center. The deployment of a PEM fuel cell

system in a mixed-use commercial building will be

on the leading edge of demonstrations of advanced

PEM fuel cell technology in building applications.

The fuel cell power system will provide approximately

27 percent of the estimated 75-kW peak power

requirement of the building. Waste heat from the

fuel cell will also be used to supplement the

building’s heating and/or hot water requirements.

The project will also conduct a feasibility study to

determine the opportunities for incorporating energyefficient technologies. This will enable the design

and construction of a mixed-use development that

takes advantage of existing rail links and converts

an abandoned industrial area into a revitalized

economic center to provide much needed housing,

jobs, and commercial and industrial development.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

INVOLVED?

Bethel New Life, a faith-based community

development corporation in Chicago, Illinois, is

seeking to demonstrate the significant benefits that

green development and distributed energy

resources can provide in addressing the need for

economic redevelopment and critical infrastructure

The target community – the West Garfield Park

section of Chicago – is a mostly AfricanAmerican community (98 percent) with 40

percent of the residents living on incomes below

the poverty level. The proposed mixed-use

development would provide this community with

a convenient location for resources such as a

child development center, a medical clinic, a

bank, a drug store, and other commercial

spaces. The community also anticipates the

availability of Welfare to Work training and

employment through building and landscaping

contractors at the site.
Contacts:

Martin Kurtovich Norm Peterson

DOE National Laboratory

(202) 586-5196 (630) 252-7229

Mary Nelson

Bethel New Life, Inc.

(773) 473-7870

issues, such as electricity reliability, air quality, and

transportation. By working with the Department of

Energy (DOE) and federal, state, local, and private

and nonprofit partners, Bethel New Life hopes to

redevelop an area in the West Garfield Park

community of Chicago along Lake Street and Lake

Pulaski into a “power park,” which utilizes energyefficiency technologies. A feasibility study for the

proposed project will examine the incorporation of

distributed energy resources (including on-site

power generation) and whether development as a

power park would address summer air cooling

needs without further taxing the city’s power grid or

generation capacity.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY?

Bethel New Life’s objective is to use the existing rail

system links and convert a devastated abandoned

industrial area into a revitalized economic center

that provides much needed housing, jobs,

commercial, and industrial redevelopment. The

community will benefit from the following tasks

associated with the project:

• Demonstrate the excellent energy-efficiency and

environmental benefits of PEM fuel cells used in

building applications;

• Assess the energy opportunities that could enable

the design and construction of a mixed-use

development in the target area;

• Conduct a feasibility study to look at how the Bethel

New Life property could benefit from its development

as a “power park” (in the long term, this study could

be used to attract government grants and private

development money for investment in this site);

and

• Redevelop the area to include a commercial center

at a major transit stop that will provide the surrounding

community with comfortable access to the local rail

line.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• Argonne National Laboratory will provide overall

project coordination, technical assistance and

program resources to project development, use of

research facilities, and project planning and

development assistance.

• Bethel New Life, Inc., will co-coordinate project

activities and team development, contribute staff

and resources, plan and organize building

development project construction phases,

collaborate with other partners to assemble project

teams, and pursue grant funding and other financial

instruments.

• City of Chicago Department of Environment will

provide support to demonstrate the use of

photovoltaics on the roof construction.

• Commonwealth Edison will provide project funding

support through the City of Chicago’s Department of

the Environment.

• DOE will serve as the project lead, provide technical

assistance, and program support through the Office

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and

solicit grant proposals.

• Farr Associates will serve as the building architect

and as a member of the project development team.

• HUD will provide Bethel New Life with an Enterprise

Zone grant award.

• Illinois Department of Commerce and Community

Affairs will demonstrate the use of photovoltaics on

the development’s roof construction and assist

Bethel New Life in assembling project teams.

• Illinois Energy Office will prepare and submit

proposals to provide for the design, development,

installation, field testing, and performance monitoring

of fuel cell power system to support the project’s

commercial center.

• Institute of Gas Technology will contribute to the

design and development of the fuel cells to be

employed in the project and serve as a development

team member.

• Mantaky Realty Group will provide assistance in

land development and use and serve as a

development team member.

• Mosaic Energy will serve as a member of the

project development team.
 Project Summary Sheet

New Madrid County Tri-Community Child Health

Champion Campaign (New Madrid County, MO)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

 July 2000

The City of Lilbourn, City of Howardville,

and Village of North Lilbourn are rural

agricultural communities located in the

bootheel region of Missouri,

approximately 175 miles south of St.

Louis. These towns do not have the types

of businesses or industry established that

might make them sustainable, and they

are characterized by gross poverty and

substandard housing conditions. This

project will benefit the community by

providing a safer environment for

children, greater community awareness

regarding health hazard prevention, and

a greater capacity to address needs and

concerns on a local level.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Improving Children’s Health

PROJECT PURPOSE:

An EPA-USDA partnership works with state and

local agencies to address three areas that impact

children’s health: lead, asthma/allergies, and water

quality. The projects came about when three rural

towns in New Madrid County, Missouri, saw the

potential benefits of working together. A subsequent

request to federal and state agencies for assistance

resulted in this project. While community education

and capacity building is an ongoing part of this

project, efforts will include proactive actions such

as planting trees to decrease dust contaminants

and improving stormwater drainage.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

EPA Region 7 and the Natural Resource

Conservation Service Midwest Region have

fostered partnerships based on their commitment

to ensure that all communities receive the benefits

of their programs and that no portion of the population

be disproportionately impacted in a negative way

by their policies, programs, and procedures. The

first area in which these two organizations

concentrated their efforts was in three small towns

located in the bootheel of Missouri. The project

began by identifying environmental hazards that

might place community members (with an emphasis

on children) at a health risk. Data were also

collected to evaluate whether there was

disproportionate risk in these three communities

compared to the rest of the state to consider

environmental justice.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.
Contacts:

Althea Moses

U.S. EPA Region 7

(913) 551-7649

Great Rivers Alliance of Natural Resource Districts

(314) 830-3790

The resulting New Madrid County Tri-Community

(NMCTC) Child Health Champion Campaign is a

community-led initiative with a variety of local and

regional partners. Community development,

leadership, and capacity-building skills are integral

parts of this project and essential to the sustainability

of any efforts undertaken. Data collection,

communication, and coordination by all of the partners

resulted in the completion of an Action Plan in 1999.

Implementation of this plan is expected to take place

beginning in 2000 and continuing through 2001.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The activities anticipated under the action plan will

benefit the community through the following efforts:

• Screening/testing of children in the target communities

for lead poisoning;

• Providing appropriate medical care service referrals

for cases of high lead blood content;

• Providing education and awareness regarding the

environmental health hazards of chemical products,

tobacco smoke, home insect allergens, and field and

agricultural dust;

• Planting evergreens, and long-lived trees and shrubs

in areas around schools and children’s playgrounds

to decrease dust contaminants;

• Providing educational materials and training

workshops concerning safe drinking water, stagnant

water, water sampling and also the signs/symptoms

of the ill health effects due to contaminated water;

• Building capacity in the community to recognize

environmental hazards and ways to reduce those

threats in drinking water, stormwater drainage, and

stagnant water;

• Improving stormwater drainage in the targeted

communities;

• Taking drinking water samples and constructing a

template for a drinking water consumer confidence

report; and

• Facilitating the participation of community members

in technical training provided by the state.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• Bootheel Lead Nurses will provide health screening

and information and referral services.

• Delta Area Economic Development Corporation

will conduct educational workshops.

• EPA Region 7 will provide financial, compliance,

and technical assistance in the areas of lead, asthma/

allergies, and water quality.

• Great Rivers Alliance of Natural Resource Districts

will assist with project coordination and technical

assistance.

• Headstart will support/facilitate health screening. • Lincoln University Cooperative Extension will

provide technical assistance, information, and referral

services.

• Missouri Department of Conservation will provide

technical assistance with a design topography plan

to address blowing dust and pesticides.

• Missouri Department of Natural Resources will

provide technical and drinking water compliance

assistance as well as provide operator certification

training.

• Missouri Department of Public Health will provide

technical assistance and conduct health education

and information workshops.

• New Madrid County Health Department will provide

health screenings and assistance referrals.

• NMCTC Community Team will assist with project

coordination, communication efforts, and education.

• USDA/Natural Resource Conservation Service

(NRCS) will provide technical assistance for

excavating drainage ditches, surveying, and

designing a stormwater drainage system. They will

also provide leadership, grant writing, and

management training.
 Project Summary Sheet

Easing Troubled Waters: Ensuring Safe Drinking Water Sources in

Migrant Farm Worker Communities in Colorado

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Ensuring Safe Drinking Water

PROJECT PURPOSE:

A new partnership has been created among

environmental and community groups, educational

institutions, and government agencies to identify

the location and assess the safety of drinking water

sources for Colorado migrant farm worker camps.

The network created by these partnerships will be

used to more effectively deliver human health and

environmental services in the future.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

Although many health problems found in the general

population also affect migrant farm workers, in many

cases the frequency or intensity of the problem is

greater within the migrant population than in the

population at large. Migrant farm workers in the

United States represent a diverse group of people.

About 85 percent are from minority groups—

Hispanics (65 percent), African Americans,

Jamaicans, Haitians, Laotians, and Thais. While

contributions made by migrant farm workers are

essential to the U.S. economy, an estimated 61

percent of farm workers live in poverty. Additionally,

migrant farm workers are often found to be living

with a number of health problems related to their

working environments, yet fewer than 20 percent

are served by accessible health care centers.

 July 2000

A 1997 report issued by the U.S. Department of

Labor (DOL) found that more than 300,000 workers

a year are poisoned by pesticides. A variety of

contaminants may affect drinking water sources in

these areas, including organophosphates and other

pesticides from agricultural runoff, chemicals from

nearby industrial facilities, and lead and biological

contaminants resulting from structural sources

such as defective plumbing and sewer lines. In

addition to the direct exposure facing workers,

children may also be affected. They come into

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

This project will address the

drinking water concerns of migrant

farm workers in various parts of

Colorado.
Contacts:

Jean Belille

U.S. EPA Region 8

(303) 312-6556

contact with pesticides through residue from their

parents’ clothing, dust tracked into their homes,

contaminated soil in areas where they play, food

brought directly from the fields to the table, and

contaminated well water.

Federal agencies, like the USEPA, are committed

to bringing together the expertise, resources, and

attention needed to address the human health risks

facing this disenfranchised population.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The community will benefit through the following

efforts:

• Developing geographic information system (GIS)

maps of migrant farm worker camps and water

sources;

• Assessing available water quality data for these

camps;

• Conducting additional water testing for identified

sites;

• Recommending changes to federal policies regarding

testing of migrant worker water sources as a result of

data analysis and interagency/worker dialogue;

• Developing an interagency and community plan to

address communication and education needs;

• Developing a database to track issues such as

migrant farm worker camp locations, water source

location and types of contamination, and the number

of workers at specific sites to ensure the provision of

safe drinking water; and

• Building a sustainable support network to implement

policy and communication changes.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• Colorado Department of Labor will assist with

information for database development and help

assess potential programmatic and/or policy changes

regarding worker camps.

• Colorado Department of Public Health and

Environment will assist with information for database

development, clarify drinking water regulations and

inspection process for Colorado, and help assess

potential programmatic and/or policy changes

regarding regulation of drinking water sources in

worker camps.

• Colorado State University—High Plains

Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and

Safety will assist with information for database

development.

• Cooperative Extension Service will assist with

database development and help develop and

implement a communication plan.

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

will assist with providing information for database

development.

• DOL currently performs inspections to enforce the

Migrant Seasonal Protection Act to ensure workers

receive promised wages, transportation, and housing.

They will also be assisting with database development

related to these inspections, including camp location

and, potentially, water quality information.

• EPA Region 8 will facilitate dialogue among partners

and help define needed programmatic/policy changes.

Region 8 will provide outreach support and legal and

technical expertise.

• National Center for Farmworker Health will provide

information on relevant studies.

• Plan de Salud del Valle (Salud Family Health

Center) will assist with database development and

help with additional water sampling and help assess

potential programmatic and/or policy changes

regarding farm worker camps.
 Project Summary Sheet

Environmental Justice and Public Participation Through Technology:

Defeating the Digital Divide and Building Community Capacity

(Savannah, GA and Fort Belknap, MT)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Community Education and Capacity Building

PROJECT PURPOSE:

This partnership of federal, tribal, and local agencies,

community organizations, and historically black

colleges and universities will work to help communities

gain access to information technology and gain

capacity to participate in environmental decision

making. Federal agencies will provide both

computers and technical assistance to establish

community technology centers. The project will

target two communities: the first in Savannah, Georgia

and the second at the Fort Belknap Indian

Reservation. These will serve as models for eventual

replication by other communities and tribes. Along

with federal agencies, Howard University will provide

training and ongoing technical support.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

In 1992, the EPA chartered the Federal Facilities

Environmental Restoration Dialogue Committee

(FFERDC) to examine issues surrounding

environmental cleanup at federal facilities. The

committee made a series of recommendations that

were designed to improve environmental cleanup

decision making at federal facilities. One such

recommendation stated that federal, state, tribal,

and local governments need to make special efforts

to consult with groups that have been commonly

excluded from this process, such as minority, low-

 July 2000

income, rural and inner-city residents, and Native

American communities. The committee further stated

that these groups need assistance to expand and

develop their capacities where needed to participate

in cleanup decision-making processes.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

The project will target two communities: the

first in Savannah, Georgia, and the second at

the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in

Montana. A partnership of federal, tribal, and

local agencies, community organizations, and

historically black colleges and universities will

work to help these communities gain access

to information technology and gain capacity to

participate in environmental decision making.

These activities will serve as models for

eventual replication by other communities and

tribes.
Contacts:

Dr. Mildred McClain

Citizens for Environmental Justice

(912) 233-0907

John Rosenthal

Urban Environment Institute

(703) 922-7653

Mervyn Tano

International Institute for Indigenous

Resource Management

(303) 733-0481

Melinda Downing

DOE

(202) 586-7703

Ben Speakthunder

Fort Belknap Indian Community Council

(406) 353-2205

The development of community technology centers

to provide access to computers and the Internet

for these underrepresented groups is one way to

empower them in environmental decision-making

processes. These technology centers will enable

the target communities to participate in information

exchanges and policy-formation dialogues. The

proposed community technology center threeyear project will allow federal and nonfederal

partners to combine resources to develop model

community technology centers in an environmental

justice community and a Native American

community that will have applicability across similar

stakeholder communities.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The objective of this effort is to help targeted

communities gain access to computers and the

Internet in order to expand and develop capacity to

participate in environmental decision making. Specific

activities associated with this objective which will

benefit the community are as follows:

• Create community technology centers to give

communities access to federal agencies and a wide

range of environmental information on the Internet;

• Conduct training programs that include computerbased and Internet research and tools; toxic release,

chemical, and risk assessment information; and

community economics;

• Supervise community use of the training and tools

received;

• Create and implement youth development programs;

• Provide economic development tools,

entrepreneurship training, and other resources such

as proposal writing and grant management to make

the technology centers self-sufficient;

• Provide continuous technical assistance from

historically black colleges and universities and other

sources via the Internet and e-mail;

• Develop a technical assistance Web site (TechNet)

and listserve;

• Conduct a research meeting with the targeted

communities and others to discuss experiences,

lessons learned, and implications for the future; and

• Conduct a research project to evaluate the results

and examine the implications for program

modification and replication.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• DOE Office of Intergovernmental and Public

Accountability will provide surplus computers,

environmental training, and public participation

assistance.

• EPA will provide surplus computers and

environmental training.

• Urban Environment Institute will provide training

and ongoing technical support.

OTHER PARTICIPATING PARTNERS

These partners will provide support as appropriate

to this technology project:

• AOL

• Center for Environmental Justice

• City of Savannah

• Fort Belknap Indian Community Council

• International Institute For Indigenous Resource

Management

• National Urban Internet
 Project Summary Sheet

Protecting Community Health and Reducing Toxic Air Exposure

through Collaborative Partnerships in Barrio Logan (San Diego, CA)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Improving Children’s Health

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Federal, state, and local agencies will work with

local partnerships led by the Environmental Health

Coalition to conduct a model project on ways to

improve air quality in the predominantly Latino

community of Barrio Logan. The project will provide

information to the community by utilizing an air

monitoring station in a local high school recently

established by California Air Resources Board

(CARB). CARB envisions the project providing a

model for the new Neighborhood Impacts Program

and plans to duplicate this community involvement

and participation effort in other low-income, minority

communities in California. The project also will

involve clinical studies to substantiate the high rate

of asthma and will work to improve health care

delivery.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

The Barrio Logan community is a low-income

Latino community plagued by substandard

housing, over crowded schools, a lack of health

care and social services, and high unemployment

rates. Criss-crossed by two major freeways, this

community is subject to the release of three

million pounds of toxic air pollution each year

from numerous small industries, large shipyards,

naval installations, and waste storage facilities

adjacent to the area. Poor air quality has been

attributed to the high incidence of asthma (28

percent compared with a national average of 7

percent) and other respiratory illnesses in the

 July 2000

children living in these communities. The

respiratory health hazard index for the area is

100-200 times above acceptable levels and is

rising, however, there are no air monitors in the

immediate area to assess the kinds of toxins

impacting these communities.

Federal, state and local agencies will work together

to create a model project that examines ways to

improve air quality in this community. The project

will provide information to the community by utilizing

an air monitoring station in a local high school

recently established by the CARB, and will also

involve clinical studies to substantiate the high rate

of asthma and work to reduce health risks in this

community.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

The community of Barrio Logan and

surrounding areas have a population

that is 85 percent Latino. Forty percent

of these residents are living below the

state’s poverty level. The community

borders an industrialized portion of San

Diego Bay and is considered to be one

of the most polluted communities in the

county.
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The Barrio Logan Air Monitoring Workgroup is studying

how to improve air quality in the Southeast San

Diego County community of Barrio Logan and

surrounding communities. This project will provide

a range of benefits to the Barrio Logan community by

doing the following things:

• Building community capacity and skills to understand

environmental impacts on their health and how to

effectively deal with local, state, and federal

authorities to change their communities and

environment;

• Encouraging local, state, and federal authorities to

more aggressively inspect, regulate, and enforce

environmental laws in small businesses that are

located right next to residential areas;

• Identifying major pollutant sources in Barrio Logan

and helping the community/local authorities reduce

or eliminate these sources. For instance, Barrio

Logan is working with all industries in the area to

implement pollution prevention strategies and/or

relocation to industrial zones. Also, trucks should

be rerouted from going through the Barrio Logan

community to prevent dust and other particulate

exposure to residents;

• Showing a reduction in the asthma and respiratory

illnesses of children living in Barrio Logan once

pollution sources are identified and cleanup is

initiated; and

• Identifying a process to allow local communities to

have a meaningful voice in selecting their community

for the city’s redevelopment effort.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• American Lung Association (ALA) will conduct

Open Airways training in school and is working to

provide scientific input on source identification for air

pollutants.

• Air Pollution Control District (APCD) provided

staff, a web site, and data/information to a workgroup

and their community on air station; is comparing

information with other parts of city; and has modified

behavior on granting air variances in area.

• California Air Resource Board (CARB) will use the

Barrio Logan Air Monitoring Project as a model for a

new Neighborhood Impacts Program and duplicate

the community-based involvement approach in other

low-income, minority communities. CARB will also

develop methods and protocols for identifying,

monitoring, and reducing air pollution impacts in

communities affected by multiple emission sources.

CARB provided $500,000 in resources (staff and

equipment) to set up a monitoring station and conduct

emission inventory in the Barrio Logan community.

• Environmental Health Coalition is working

aggressively with the city and City Council on the

Redevelopment Zone for Barrio Logan to make the

area mainly residential.

• EPA is working with local CUPAs to make sure

inspections and enforcement efforts are occurring

and has quarterly meetings with EHC to address

broad-ranging issues in community.

• HUD will assist the local authorities in securing

adequate, safe housing for Barrio Logan residents.

• Industrial Environmental Association represents

many of the industries in Barrio Logan and tries to

encourage pollution prevention strategies.

• Mercado Tenants Association provides meeting

space, translates, and disseminates information to

the community on the project, and arranges

community meetings and field trips to the monitoring

station for residents.

• NIEHS will provide support to conduct clinical studies

on asthma incidence and work to reduce health risk

related to environmental exposures.

• San Diego School District is working with the

American Lung Association to conduct Open Airways

training in schools and using Tools for Schools to

identify indoor air pollution sources in schools.

• USC Health Center will provide scientific and medical

investigation in the area (particularly as it relates to

the children in the area). The Center has been

involved in family education projects on air pollution

sources in Barrio Logan.

Contacts:

Clarice Gaylord

U.S. EPA Region 9 California Air Resource Board

(619) 235-4767 (916) 445-3742

San Diego County Air Pollution Control District

(619) 694-3358

Fred Tyson Frank Riley

NIEHS HUD, San Diego

(919) 541-0176 (619) 557-5310
 Project Summary Sheet

Oregon Environmental Justice Initiative

(Portland and Rural Communities, Oregon)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Improving Public Health

PROJECT PURPOSE:

A partnership comprising federal, tribal, state, and

local government and community partners will work

to accomplish three community-identified needs in

the State of Oregon that impact public health:

reduce lead exposure in urban areas, reduce

pesticide exposure in rural areas, and eliminate

illegal dumping on tribal lands. The Initiative will

include targeted inspections. It will also include

community-based research, outreach, and

education projects such as a mobile lab for blood

lead testing; development of PC-based geographic

information system profile of Oregon consisting of

environmental and health databases; communitybased environmental monitoring; two federal-tribalstate summits; and “Safe Food”—a farmworker,

youth-designed research project to identify pesticide

residues.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

The Environmental Justice Initiative for the District

of Oregon is a multiyear partnership comprising

federal, tribal, state, and local government and

community partners. Through the support of state

government and community-based organizations,

the Initiative has generated sustainable support to

achieve a goal of the Children’s Health Initiative:

reducing the risk of lead paint exposure.

 July 2000

By helping communities educate themselves and

establish relationships with agencies that can help

them positively affect their environmental concerns,

the federal partners hope to increase the lead-safe

housing stock, increase testing for lead poisoning for

at-risk children, and reduce pesticide exposure for

farmworkers and their children through state-led

inspections and appropriate judicial authority.

Although the Oregon Environmental Justice

Initiative is focusing on the needs of

children, farmworkers, and tribes in

Portland and surrounding rural

communities, the Initiative responds to

several important national health-related

concerns. This approach to problemsolving, using the tools of enforcement and

community-based research and education,

can be duplicated and emulated in other

Regions.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?
Contacts:

Monica Kirk Okianer Christian Dark

U.S. EPA Region 10 United States Attorney for

(503) 326-3269 the District of Oregon

(503) 727-1013

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

The participating communities and tribes will benefit

from this project through activities that will achieve

the following:

• Promote place-based partnerships with grassroots

community groups, local, state, and tribal

governments, business, unions, community service

non-profit organizations; the academic community;

and the media;

• Leverage federal resources to address three

community-identified needs--reduction of lead

exposure in urban areas, reduction of pesticide

exposure in rural areas, and elimination of illegal

dumping on tribal lands;

• Provide a framework for interagency, multimedia,

collaborations with communities, with concrete

measures of success;

• Create an Environmental Justice Working Group;

• Implement an enforcement strategy through targeted

inspections in environmental justice communities to

address lead, pesticides, and illegal dumping on

tribal lands;

• Create a mobile lab for blood lead testing;

• Develop a PC-based geographic information system

profile of Oregon that consists of environmental and

health databases;

• Host summits of local, state, and federal

representatives with community presenters;

• Institute community-based environmental monitoring;

and

• Implement the “Safe Food” project, which will assist

in identifying pesticide residues in the home;

measure levels of exposure to pesticides in food,

water, and the immediate home environment; and

assess ways to deliver culturally appropriate

prevention strategies in order to increase pesticide

avoidance behaviors and decrease levels of

environmental exposure to pesticides.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• EPA Region 10

• HUD

• U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon

OTHER PARTICIPATING PARTNERS

These partners will serve in an advisory role and

work together to hold an environmental justice

summit and plan the summer 2001 inspections:

• Albina Weed & Seed Project

• CREATE

• Environmental Justice Action Group (EJAG)

• Environmental Justice Work Group (EJWG)

• Governor’s Environmental Justice Advisory

Board (GEJAB) • King Neighborhood Association

• Multnomah County Health Department

• Oregon Environmental Council

• Oregon Legal Services

• Oregon OSHA (will also determine drinking water

risks)

• Oregon State Health Division

• Pinerose y Campesinos Unidoes del Noroesta

(PCUN)

• City of Portland Water Bureau

• Urban League of Portland
 Project Summary Sheet

Metlakatla Indian Community Unified Interagency

Environmental Management Task Force (Annette Island, AK)

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Address environmental concerns on Annette Island.

PROJECT PURPOSE:

The formation of a partnership of federal, tribal and

local government agencies and organizations to

address areas of contamination and to develop and

implement the Metlakatla Indian Community(MIC)

Master Plan. This Master Plan will address land

use, areas of contamination, and future development

on the peninsula.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

INVOLVED?

Government activities on this land began in 1940

with the lease of 10,000 acres to the Department of

War for building a World War II defense base;

establishing a minor U.S. Navy base; establishing

a major U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) base; creating a

U.S. Air Force ballistic missile early warning system

complex; and installing a U.S. Army radar/

communication system. The Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) assumed 5,000 acres of lease

property and ownership of most of the facilities after

1949, and operated Annette Island Airport until the

nearby Ketchikan International Airport displaced it

in 1973. The USCG continued to use the Annette

airport until relocating to Sitka in 1977. The

government stored a combined total of one million

gallons of fuel at several sites on the island. Today,

extensive soil contamination exists around some of

these fuel storage sites. In addition, lead, asbestos,

 July 2000

and oils containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

have been found at building sites formerly leased

by the government where abandoned government

vehicles, airplane parts, drums, and other wastes

now sit. To date, four federal agencies (COE, BIA,

FAA, and USCG) have spent approximately $5

million investigating and cleaning up contamination

on the peninsula, however, it is estimated that an

additional $62 million may be needed over the next

10 years.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

The Annette Islands Indian Reserve is located

in southeast Alaska, approximately 20 miles

south of Ketchikan. This reserve has been the

home of the MIC since 1887, and is the only

Indian reserve in Alaska. The U.S. government

currently holds this land in trust for the tribe.
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY?

Through a coordinated federal effort to resolve

environmental concerns, this project will achieve

the following:

• Collaborative relationships between tribal and federal

officials;

• Mitigation of environmental impacts in order for the

tribe to use its property in an economic and beneficial

way;

• Protection of the customary and traditional use of

food resources;

• Development and implementation of a Master Plan

for cleanup and restoration of the Metlakatla

Peninsula;

• Building tribal capacity to manage and conduct

environmental programs;

• Providing federal technical assistance as needed

and monitoring of the tribe’s performance; and

• Planning development in order to promote

economic growth through the tourism and

commercial fishing industries.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will provide assistance

and funding for planning activities associated with

site cleanup and use.

• Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes

of Alaska will conduct soil and water sampling.

• DOD, Army Corps of Engineers (COE) will provide

assistance through funding and cleanup MOUs.

• EPA will provide assistance with building tribal

environmental program capacity.

• FAA will provide funding assistance.

• USCG will assist with the identification and

mitigation of past impacts

Contacts:

Johnny Duplantis Andrea Elconin

COE, Alaska District COE, Alaska District

(907) 753-2829 (907) 753-5680
 Project Summary Sheet

Environmental Justice in Indian Country: A Roundtable to

Address Conceptual, Political, and Statutory Issues

Federal Interagency Environmental Justice

Demonstration Projects

The overall goal of the Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda is to increase efforts to

identify, mobilize, and make use of federal resources to benefit environmentally and economically distressed

communities. The Action Agenda is building dynamic and proactive partnerships that access the initiatives and

resources of federal agencies to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities that suffer

disproportionate environmental impacts.

MAJOR FOCUS OF THE PROJECT:

Community Education and Capacity Building

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Federal agencies in collaboration with tribes, tribal

organizations, and other interested parties will

conduct a roundtable to thoroughly discuss, and

identify means to address, the broad range of tribal

cultural, religious, economic, social, legal, and

other issues related to environmental justice in

Indian country. Both tribal leaders and federal

agencies have been struggling to properly interpret

and implement the principles of environmental

justice in a manner that is consistent with the needs

of tribal communities and the complexities of federaltribal trust relationships. This demonstration project

proposes to produce a coherent implementation

strategy based on substantive input from tribes.

WHY IS THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT INVOLVED?

The Roundtable will provide an opportunity for all

branches of the federal government to improve

their understanding of the underlying issues and

complexities of environmental justice in Indian

Country, including gaps in policy, technical, scientific,

social, and legal research. This will enable federal

agencies and tribes to collaborate effectively in

order to develop a framework for policy and

regulations related to environmental justice in Indian

country.

 July 2000

The two-day Roundtable is planned for late summer

2000 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and grew out of

a commitment by federal agencies to tribal groups

at the June 1999 environmental justice conference

in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

WHERE IS THE

PARTICIPATING

COMMUNITY?

The Roundtable proposes to assemble a

representative group of American Indians,

Alaskan natives, environmental protection

experts, legal scholars, ethicists, tribal elders,

religious leaders, cultural specialists, policy

experts, and others from around the nation to

identify and address the issues associated with

environmental justice in Indian Country.
Derrick Watchman Clifford Mahooty

DOE DOI - BIA

(202) 586-0211 (505) 346-7507

Jessica Alcorn Roy Miller

DOE DHHS-IHS

(202) 586-0798 (301) 295-1522

Danny Gogal

EPA

(202) 564-2576

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO

THE COMMUNITY?

This Roundtable will be structured to bring discussion

and attention to the pressing issues of environmental

justice in Indian Country, including addressing

negative perceptions of current federal policies. The

specific tasks associated with this objective are as

follows:

• Conduct research in order to produce a source book

on environmental justice in Indian Country. The

source book will be a compendium of news articles,

statutes, treaties, books, and other works of differing

opinions, positions, and philosophies;

• Distribute findings and recommendations of the

Roundtable to the elected or appointed official of all

tribes and tribal colleges;

• Design an implementation strategy for a research

agenda, communication strategy, and tribal capacitybuilding program as identified in the roundtable;

• Create a working group composed of tribal leaders,

tribal colleges, and other interested parties to develop

research issues set out in the roundtable;

• Develop tribal college capacity to become a

clearinghouse for environmental justice issues in

Indian Country; and

• Use recommendations and findings from the

Roundtable for the development of resource

management, environmental protection,

environmental restoration, and cultural risk

management curricula for workshop training and

future tribal college courses.

PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMITMENTS

• DHHS Indian Health Services will provide information

on barriers they face in building infrastructure and

how they handle waste disposal of their own facilities

in tribal areas.

• DHHS Administration for Native Americans will

provide financial assistance for the Roundtable.

• DoD will provide information on their Indian policy

and how their Department is implementing that policy

in the course of cleanups on Indian lands. DoD will

also provide information on how they manage waste

disposal facilities in Indian Country to comply with

federal laws.

• DOE will assist with the planning and implementation

of the roundtable, provide information on their

programs and how they have worked to increased

tribal capacity through their activities, and provide

personnel to assist in IWG’s Tribal Outreach Plan.

• DOI Bureau of Indian Affairs will play a major role

in the planning of the roundtable and assist with

ensuring follow-up and implementation of action

items identified during the roundtable. DOI will also

provide expert knowledge of the federal trust

responsibility to tribes, give insights to how

environmental justice impacts the trust responsibility,

and explain how they manage their facilities on tribal

land to comply with all federal environmental laws.

• DOI Bureau of Reclamation will provide information

on how the Bureau implements DOI’s Indian policy

during projects that may impact tribes.

• EPA will assist with the communication and tribal

capacity-building component of the roundtable,

provide technical and policy expertise on

environmental laws and regulations in Indian Country,

and explain the difficulties associated with enforcing

federal environmental laws on tribal lands.

• HUD will provide information on their Indian programs

and how they have assisted tribes with economic

development.

• USDA will provide information on how their rural

development programs assist economic development

in Indian Country. They will also discuss potential

grant programs for tribal infrastructure development,

and how the Department implements its Indian policy.

Contacts:
43

SECTION III

FEDERAL INTERAGENCY

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE 

WORKING GROUP

KEY CONTACTS
44

Intentionally Left Blank
45

FEDERAL INTERAGENCY 

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

WORKING GROUP

KEY CONTACTS

AGENCY NAME TELEPHONE E-MAIL

 EPA/OEJ Charles Lee,

Associate Director, OEJ

Environmental Protection

Agency

202/564-2515

Fax: 202/501-1163

lee.charles@epa.gov

DOC/NOAA Roan Conrad, Director

Office of Sus tainab le

Developm ent 

Department of Commerce

202/482-3384

Fax: 202/482-2663

roan.conrad@hdq.noaa.gov

DOD Len Richeson

Environmental Protection

Specialist

Department of Defense

703/604-0518 richeslh @ac q.osd .mil

DOE Robe rt Moore

Environmental Justice

Coordinator

Department of Energy

202/586-4758

Fax: 202/586-9260

robert.moore@hq.doe.gov

DOJ Quentin C. Pair, Attorney

Department of Justice

 202/514-1999

Fax: 202/514-2583

quentin.pair@usdoj.gov

DOI Willie Taylor, D irector 

Office of Environmental

Policy and Compliance

Department of Interior

202/208-3891

Fax: 202/208-6970

willie_taylor@os.doi.gov

DOL David Demers, Director

Office of Research and

Techn ical Supp ort

Department of Labor

202/219-6197 x 184

Fax: 202/212-9216

demers_david@dol.gov

DOT Wendell Stills, Team Leader

Federal Highway

Administration

Department of

Transportation

202/366-2052

Fax: 202/366-3409

wendell.stills@fhwa.dot.gov

HHS/ATSDR Dr. Rueben Warren

Asst. Adm. for the Office of

Urban Affairs, ATSDR

Health and Human Services

404/639-5060 

Fax: 404/639-5063

RCW4@cdc.gov
AGENCY NAME TELEPHONE E-MAIL

46

HHS/HRSA Jeanean Willis, MPH

Senior Health Advisor

Health and Human Services

30l/443-0943 jwillis@hrsa.gov

HHS/NIEHS Dr. Charles Wells, Director

Environmental

Justice/Health Disparities

and Public Health, NIEHS

Health and Human Services

301/496-2920

Fax: 301/496-0563

wells1@niehs.nih.gov

HUD Antoinette G. Sebastian

Community Planning and

Development

Housing and Urban

Development

 202/ 708-0614

x4458

antoinette_sebastian@hud.gov

OMB Carol D ennis

Environmental Justice

Contact

Office of Management and

Budget

202/395-4822

Fax: 202/395-5836

cdennis@eop.omb.gov

USDA/US

Forest

Service

Carol W ettstein

Environmental Justice

Coordinator, USFS

US Department of

Agricultu re

202/205-1588 

Fax: 202/205-1174

cwettstein@fs.fed.us