Environmental Justice Questionnaire 1

Tacoma-Pierce County PM2.5 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:

 Track 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 environmental 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, up 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 violation 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 bans, 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 reduction. 

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 another 
Environmental Justice Questionnaire 2

Tacoma-Pierce County PM2.5 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 the removal and recycling of 

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

comments 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 identify 

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 local 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, and 

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 consulting with the 

Tribe at key milestones in the process.
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Tacoma-Pierce County PM2.5 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 exposure 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 pollution. 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.

 Providing 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 incentives to voluntarily participate in 

the woodstove changeout program. 

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

 Not at this time.