Environmental Justice Questionnaire 1

Tacoma

- Pierce County PM 2.5 Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan 

# Appendix D. Environmental Justice

Questionnaire

PSCAA convened a community task force to develop recommendations to reduce fine particle pollution in the Nonattainment Area. The task force membership represented a broad variety of community groups and interests. Both the task force and PSCAA considered environmental justice in the development and implementation of the fine particle reduction strategies.
Ecology and PSCAA worked collaboratively to complete this environmental justice questionnaire to:

 Tr ack opportunities and challenges the agencies and their partners faced in addressing environmental justice.

 Recommend actions the agencies would like to incorporate into their efforts, if given additional resources.

1) How did the agencies address environ mental justice concerns for the priority communities identified in the sections below?

A. Low

- income households

 Residents that met low

- income qualifications with an installed, eligible wood stove or fireplace insert could receive a free heating replacement, u p to a maximum level

.

 The low

- income qualification was expanded to more residents so that households earning less than 80 percent of the median income in Pierce County were eligible. Previously it applied to households earning less than 50 percent of the median income.

 Low

- income qualified residents were given several options for replacing their uncertified device, such as certified wood stoves, pellet stoves, and non

- wood heating. Around half of low

- income residents replaced their wood stoves with non

- wood burning heating, such as natural gas or electric.

 Many low

- income residents in the Nonattainment Area get their wood for free. PSCAA focused on educating residents about clean burning practices and properly seasoning wood.

 A burn ban violat ion can incur fines up to $1,000. First time burn ban violators were offered a path to no penalty. PSCAA worked with violators to educate them about burn bans and clean burning, sign them up for text alerts notifying them of the start and end of burn ban s, and encourage replacement of older more polluting stoves.

 PSCAA engaged actively with Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) partners to leverage services for mutual clients needing heating assistance or information about wood smoke reduct ion.
B. People whose primary source of heat is wood

 Residents with no other adequate source of heat could apply for an exemption to allow them to continue to use their wood stoves during burn bans. If the home had anotherEnvironmental Justice Questionnaire 2

Tacoma

- Pierce County PM 2.5 Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan device that could not heat the home to 70 degrees F, three feet off floor, they could receive an exemption allowing them to burn during burn bans.

 Residents with no alternative source of heat were encouraged to participate in the woodstove changeout program to receive up to $350 for t he removal and recycling of eligible wood

- burning devices, and a discount of up to $1,500 for replacing their wood

burning device with certain clean heating replacement equipment. Low

- income residents meeting certain requirements could apply to receive a free heating replacement. Close to $2 million in incentives was provided, with approximately 3⁄4 of that going to low

- income households.

C. Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities

 PSCAA staff participated in Spanish language radio shows to talk abou t wood smoke reduction, burn bans, and stove changeouts. Task Force public meeting information was translated to Spanish and distributed to Spanish

- language publications.

 PSCAA mailed postcards to 220,000 households to notify them of the open house for

co mments on the Clean Air Task Force recommendations. The postcards were in English and translation services were offered for Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Spanish speaking communities. Also, the phone comment line was offered in English, Spanish, Cambodian, and Vietnamese. A third party translation and interpretation service was offered on

- demand to answer questions about the wood smoke reduction program.

D. Households that Rent

 PSCAA reached out to the Association of Property Managers of Pierce County to i dentify woodstove changeout and replacement options for rental properties. Some landlords and property managers had concerns that changing out a heating device while a unit was rented out could violate the terms of a lease. A device changeout could occur if both the landlord and tenant agree to it or when a unit is not rented out.

 PSCAA reached out to rental properties that received notices of violation for burn bans to educate them about burn bans, clean burning options, and changeout incentives.

E. Vulnerable populations including communities of color, children, elderly, people with low levels of mobility, and those with underlying health conditions

 PSCAA focused on building partnership with local agencies, community groups and organizations. Agency and Partner staff delivered 60 presentations to local community

groups, including churches, school PTA nights, food banks, senior centers, and cultural organizations. PSCAA staff attended outreach events, hung posters, distributed flyers and met with loc al leaders. Collaboration with area cities, citizens and others greatly extended messaging and helped connections with hard

- to

- reach audiences.

F. Puyallup Tribe of Indians

 Established a cooperative agreement between the Puyallup Tribe, PSCAA, Ecology, a nd EPA to outline the planning process and roles and responsibilities for bringing the area into attainment. This included participation of the Puyallup Tribe in the community task force to identify pollution reduction strategies, and informing and consul ting with the Tribe at key milestones in the process.Environmental Justice Questionnaire 3

Tacoma

- Pierce County PM 2.5 Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan 2) Are there other ways the agencies focused on environmental justice concerns that the comments above do not cover?
In addition to addressing the priority communities outlined above, the agencies overall approach focused on environmental justice by:

 Clearly identifying the sources that contribute to the nonattainment problem to develop appropriate reduction strategies.

 Identification of potentially affected communities with the highest risk and exp osure and vulnerable populations with a lower capacity to address the pollution problem.

 Involving a diverse range of interests and concerns in a community task force to evaluate the fine particle problem and develop strategies to reduce fine particle poll ution. The task force included 22 community members, including people who burn wood in their home for heat, healthcare, neighborhood associations, industry, the realtors, the chamber of commerce, and other groups who were interested in this issue.

 Providi ng multiple opportunities for public participation and meaningful involvement to address the problem.

 Building partnerships with the local community to help in outreach, implementation, and enforcement.

 Prioritizing outreach and education and providing in centives to voluntarily participate in the woodstove changeout program.

3) Is there anything else the agencies would like to shar e?

 Not at this time.