The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new national initiative to address environmental justice concerns in communities across the country. The agency will provide $100,000 each to 10 communities for demonstration projects that promote collaboration between communities, governmental agencies, and other stakeholders to address the disproportionate environmental and health risks faced by in low-income and minority populations. The projects will test and share information on different approaches to improving environmental results in these communities, with a focus on “green” development. For more information, link to the Environmental Justice Showcase Communities website. (11-17-09)

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The Environmental Protection Agency has announced the availability of a free online supplement to the American Journal of Public Health that includes over 30 research-based articles, editorials, and commentaries highlighting the contributions of environmental and occupational justice projects across the United States, including projects supported by EPA, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Topics covered in the supplement include how community-based approaches in urban and rural areas have successfully improved public health outcomes for vulnerable populations. For more information, link to the EPA news release and to the AJPH November 2009 Supplement. EPA also will host a symposium on the science of disproportionate environmental health impacts on March 17-19, 2010, in Washington, D.C. The symposium will focus on technical papers regarding seven factors that may lead to disproportionate environmental health impacts on minority and low-income populations. For more information and to register, link to the symposium website. (11-12-09)

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The Environmental Protection Agency is accepting applications for $1 million in grants to support projects that help low-income communities address environmental and public health issues. EPA plans to award approximately 40 grants of up to $25,000 each in fiscal year 2010. Applications are due Jan. 8, 2010. For more information, link to Environmental Justice Small Grants Program. (11-4-09)

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The Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and Dillard University are hosting the 2010 Conference on Environmental Justice, Air, and Green Jobs: Evolution and Innovation, on Jan. 25-27, 2010, in New Orleans. The conference will address topics including goods movement, sustainability and green jobs, impacts of ambient air pollutants and greenhouse gases on disproportionally affected communities, and impacts and challenges of hazardous waste and cleanup activities. NIEHS has issued a call for abstacts for poster presentations during the conference, due Nov. 13, 2009. For more information, link to the conference website. (10-28-09)

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PolicyLink and the Prevention Institute have published a report that examines “the intersection of transportation, health and equity,’’ offering policy recommendations for improving health outcomes and environmental quality in low-income communities and communities of color. The report describes 11 policy proposals, including prioritizing investments in public transportation and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure; encouraging equitable transit-oriented development through incentives for integrating land use and transportation planning; targeting transportation investments to vulnerable communities; and supporting the development of cleaner bus and truck fleets. The report also includes a foreword by U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar. For more information, link to The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America. (7-23-09)

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PolicyLink, the Transportation Equity Network, and the Gamaliel Foundation have published a series of recommendations for ensuring transportation equity for lower-income people and communities of color in the Surface Transportation Authorization Act (STAA) of 2009 currently before the U.S. Congress. The recommendations address increasing access to jobs and workforce development opportunities in the transportation sector; providing transportation options for all, including low-income people, the elderly, and the disabled; reforming transportation institutions to provide increased accountability and transparency; and establishing national transportation objectives. For more information, link to Equity Recommendations for STAA. (7-17-09)

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The Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Southwest Environmental Justice Office has published a guide for community organizers and decisionmakers on EPA’s environmental justice programs and resources. The Environmental Justice Resource Guide includes information on agency funding sources, training opportunities, and technical and program assistance for minority and low-income communities disproportionately affected by environmental and public health impacts. The guide also includes community success stories. For more information, link to the EPA Region 9 Environmental Justice Office website. (6-24-09)

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The Southern Transportation Civil Rights Executive Council will host at three-day Southern Transportation Civil Rights Training Symposium on Aug. 18-20, 2009, in Birmingham, Ala. The symposium will feature concurrent sessions on major Federal Highway Administration civil rights programs and will include guest speakers, training sessions, and a free full-day National Title VI Forum. For more information, link to the symposium website. (6-9-09)

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The Washington State Department of Transportation has developed a glossary of transportation terms translated from English to Spanish to assist in communicating with limited English proficiency populations. The document may be accessed on the WSDOT Limited English Proficiency Guidance website. For more information, link to the English-to-Spanish Transportation Terms Glossary. (6-4-09)

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The University of Southern California’s Center for Sustainable Cities has published a report on the “climate gap,” or the disparity in the way climate change affects people of color and the poor in the United States. The report focuses on California and includes an analysis of the state’s climate policy. The report finds that extreme weather events such as heat waves and droughts already impact minorities and the poor disproportionately and are expected to increase in the future. The report also finds that these groups will be subject to higher levels of air pollution associated with climate change. Solutions offered for narrowing the climate gap include: adopting technologies that identify neighborhoods most vulnerable to the climate gap, choosing an auction or fee-based system for capping greenhouse gas emissions to provide revenue for vulnerable communities, and reducing greenhouse gases from sources that also cause toxic air pollution in the most polluted neighborhoods. For more information, link to The Climate Gap: Inequalities in How Climate Change Hurts Americans & How to Close the Gap. (5-28-09)

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A new report documents a study sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund on equity issues associated with congestion pricing projects, which require motorists to pay higher tolls based on the level of traffic congestion. The study, conducted by Rand Corp., examined existing economic and planning literature on congestion pricing systems, including studies of regions where congestion pricing has been implemented and theoretical work on congestion pricing. The report includes an introduction to congestion pricing principles, defines the different notions of equity in the context of congestion pricing, evaluates the evidence of equity implications of congestion pricing, and offers recommendations for making congestion pricing more equitable. One key recommendation is for transportation planners to formally incorporate equity criteria into the early stages of the planning process for congestion pricing projects. Another recommendation is for equity concern to be monitored in the same way as environmental concerns, so that project goals are met over time. For more information, link to Equity and Congestion Pricing: A Review of the Evidence. (6-2-09)

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