The Role of Public Participation in Advancing Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice Defined Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, culture, education, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Fair Treatment Fair Treatment means that no group of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal environmental programs. and policies.

Meaningful Involvement Meaningful Involvement means that: (1) potentially affected community residents have an appropriate opportunity to participate in decisions about a proposed activity that will affect their environment and/or health; (2) the public's contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision;

Meaningful Involvement (3) the concerns of all participants involved will be considered in the decision- making process; and (4) the decision- makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.

The Importance of Public Participation to EJ NEJAC “One of the most serious flaws in permitting is the way environmental agencies fail to engage the public in permit decision-making.” National Environmental Policy Commission “Public participation is one of the cornerstones of environmental justice.”

Executive Order Federal agencies must take steps to ensure that there is adequate and effective communication between decision makers and affected minority and low-income communities

Conservation with Justice All state and non-state actors planning activities with potential impact on nature conservation shall secure to all potentially affected persons the substantive and procedural rights that are guaranteed by national and international law—Dinah Shelton

The Failure of Public Participation Mechanisms The principal public participation methods used by government agencies—public hearings, public meetings, and notice and comment rulemaking procedures—frequently do not create conditions necessary for effective, or “authentic” public participation Cheryl Simrell King et al., The Question of Participation: Toward Authentic Public Participation in Public Administration, 58 Pub. Admin. Rev. 317, 317 (1998).

Traditional Participation Cheryl Simrell King et al., The Question of Participation: Toward Authentic Public Participation in Public Administration, 58 Pub. Admin. Rev. 317, 317 (1998)

Authentic participation

Public Participation Approaches Location and timing of meetings Notice in multiple languages published in accessible media Provide scientific information in an understandable format Ensure access to information related to the issues under consideration

Early Notice and Ongoing Engagement Texas Air Pollution Programs EPA’s Public Participation Guidelines “EPA needs to integrate the knowledge of others in a meaningful way” Engage the public early and often including in the development of options

Working with Communities CERCLA Program Community Liaison Illinois Living Room Public Meetings

Community Involvement Plans Clearwater, Florida Community-Based Comprehensive Brownfields Planning Work with the community to establish principles to guide redevelopment Empower and educate the community Establish strategies to address community priorities Bring stakeholders together for implementation

New York Brownfields Opportunity Areas Provides community groups funding for up to 90% of the cost of preparing revitalization/implementation plans for brownfields sites

Other examples Neighborhood Commissions-- Huntington Park, California Neighborhood-based planning-- East Austin Texas EPA—Habitat for Humanity Program

Technical Assistance Grants Provides money for activities that help communities participate in decision-making process at eligible superfund sites. Initial grant of $50,000 is available to community groups to contract with independent technical advisors to interpret/understand the technical aspects of the superfund site

Public Participation GIS PPGIS involves the use of geographic information systems to array information in a way that makes that information more useful in the context of public participation.

Conclusion Authentic public participation is critical to addressing environmental justice issues Authentic public participation demands that government assume new roles--as a facilitator, a convener and a source of information and assistance rather than only as an expert decision maker

Conclusion It requires early notice of, and ongoing engagement of affected communities And it will continue to require continued development of innovative new tools to make the environmental decision making process more transparent and more equitable