Explore State Environmental Justice Law & Policy

Maps and Geospatial Information System (GIS) Tools for Environmental Justice

Citation: N.Y. Dept of Environmental Conservation, "Maps and Geospatial Information System (GIS) Tools for Environmental Justice" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

This mapping tool locates "potential environmental justice communities" by mapping "U.S. Census block groups of 250 to 500 households each that, in the Census, had populations that met or exceeded at least one of the following statistical thresholds: 1. At least 52.42% of the population in an urban area reported themselves to be members of minority groups; or 2. At least 26.28% of the population in a rural area reported themselves to be members of minority groups; or 3. At least 22.82% of the population in an urban or rural area had household incomes below the federal poverty level.

State: New York Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

North Carolina Community Mapping System

Citation: N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality, "North Carolina Community Mapping System" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

This mapping tool indicates locations of NCDEQ permitted facilities, hazardous waste/ superfund sites, and potentially underserved block groups.

State: North Carolina Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Connecticut Environmental Justice Mapping Tool

Citation: Conn. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, "DEEP and UConn CIRCA Partner to Develop Mapping Tool for Environmental Justice Communities" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)and the University of Connecticut’s Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) are partnering on the development of an “Environmental Justice (EJ) MappingTool” to identify vulnerable populations that may be disproportionately impacted by programs, policies, or projects and to inform initiatives for creating healthy communities.

State: Connecticut Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Understanding Environmental Justice in Minnesota Mapping Tool

Citation: Minn. Pollution Control Agency, "Understanding Environmental Justice in Minnesota Mapping Tool" (last accessed July 28, 2022).

This mapping tool is intended to make sure "that pollution does not have a disproportionate impact on any group of people" based on "the principle of environmental justice." "The MPCA considers tribal areas and census tracts with higher concentrations of low income residents and people of color as areas of increased concern for environmental justice."

State: Minnesota Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Environmental Justice Mapping Tool

Citation: Or. H.B. 4077 (codified as Or. Rev. Stat. § 182.535 to 182.550)

The Environmental Justice Council has been tasked with "develop[ing] an environmental justice mapping tool." While the tool is being developed, "the council shall develop and conduct an inclusive community engagement process to receive input from communities across this state and consult with natural resource agencies."

State: Oregon Type: Law Category: Mapping Tool

New Jersey What’s In My Community? Mapping Tool

Citation: N.J. Dept. of Environmental Quality, "What's In My Community?" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

This interactive mapping tool allows users to view the overburdened communities, the criteria each block group meets, and the municipality for which the overburdened community is designated in accordance with the New Jersey Environmental Justice Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157, as well as query addresses to determine if they are within an overburdened community.

State: New Jersey Type: Law Category: Mapping Tool

Indiana Department of Environmental Managment Disadvantaged Community Determination Mapping Tool

Citation: Indiana Dept. of Environmental Managment, "Disadvantaged Community Determination" (last accessed Nov. 19 2024).

"This application is intended to provide an Environmental Justice analysis tool specifically for Indiana and staff members of IDEM. Data was obtained from the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool , a tool developed by "The Council on Environmental Quality" to assist with ensuring compliance with the Biden Administration's "Justice40" initiative, an integral aspect of Executive Order 14008. All methodology and data sources are available here. It should be noted that in January of 2023, the Biden Administration directed Federal agencies to transition to using CEJST to identify disadvantaged communities; therefore, this embedded data, and the developed application should be the initial analysis done to identify EJ communities in Indiana."

State: Indiana Type: Category: Mapping Tool

Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Department Policy: Non-Discrimination and Environmental Justice Guidance

Citation: Wyo. Dept. of Environmental Quality, "Nondiscrimination and Environmental Justice Guidance" (March 24, 2020) (last accessed July 29, 2022)

This guide provides an overview of the steps that WDEQ has taken complementary to Title VI. Such steps include designating a non-discrimination coordinator, providing language access tools for Spanish language such as a translated website, and placing non-discrimination posters around the office. The Guide defines Environmental Justice as "a subset of non-discrimination. It is defined as the fair treatment and meaningful invoIvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies."

State: Wyoming Type: Policy Category: EJ Coordinator/Agency, Language Access

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) EJMAP

Citation: N.J. Dept. of Environmental Protection, "Environmental Justice Mapping, Assessment and Protection (EJMAP)" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

"EJMAP is intended to provide the public with a visual representation of: the location of [Overburdened Communities] OBCs throughout the State; and the presence of environmental and public health stressors in each OBC; and how the stressors in each OBC compare on a State and County basis, both individually and cumulatively."

State: New Jersey Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Wisconsin Environmental Equity Tool

Citation: Wis. Environmental Equity Tool

The purpose of the Wisconsin Environmental Equity Tool is to provide a state-specific environmental equity screening and mapping tool using more detailed local and state data.

State: Wisconsin Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Washington Department of Health Environmental Health Disparities Map

Citation: Wash. Dept. of Health, "Environmental Health Disparities Map" (last accessed July 29, 2022)

This mapping tool compiles environmental public health data for the state. It includes COVID-19 data, lead exposure, diesel pollution, and more.

State: Washington Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Extreme Heat Impacts in Rhode Island Health Equity Zones

Citation: R.I. Dept. of Health, "Extreme Heat Impacts in Rhode Island Health Equity Zones" (last accessed July 29, 2022)

This mapping tool overlays data on "urban heat hotspots" and "sensitive populations" to "identify places in Rhode Island’s Health Equity Zones with a higher risk for heat‐related illness during extreme heat events. By identifying these higher risk areas, HEZ collaborative groups and other partners can better direct resources and outreach to these communities."

State: Rhode Island Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Rhode Island DEM Environmental Resource Map

Citation: R.I. Dept. of Environmental Management, "RIDEM Invironmental Resource Map" (last accessed July 29, 2022)

RIDEM's Environmental Resource mapping tool has a layer option under "boundries and regulatory overlays" for "environmental justice area[s]."

State: Rhode Island Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Pennsylvania Environmental Justice Areas Viewer

Citation: Pa. Dept. of Evironmental Protection, "Environmental Justice Areas Viewer" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

This mapping tool compares census tract data on race, language, poverty, education, and health with the locations of permitted facilities, remidation projects, and superfund sites. The tool maps "Environmental Justice Areas" which are "any census block group where 20% or more individuals live in poverty, and/or 30% or more of the population is minority. " The tool can be used "to visualize, analyze, and print maps of EJ Areas, EJ Areas of Concern, permitted facilities and datasets from other state departments and federal government agencies."

State: Pennsylvania Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Open EnviroMap

Citation: N.M. Environment Dept., "OpenEnviroMap" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

This mapping tool tracks many imputs including permitted facilities, brownfields, drinking water sources, hazardous waste sites, and population demographics among others.

State: New Mexico Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

EGLE MiEJscreen: Environmental Justice Screening Tool (DRAFT)

Citation: Mich. Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, "MiEJscreen" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

"MiEJscreen is an interactive mapping tool that identifies Michigan communities that may be disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards. The map allows users to explore the environmental, health, and socioeconomic conditions within a specific community, region, or across the entire state."

State: Michigan Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Massachusetts Environmental Justice Maps Viewer

Citation: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, "Environmental Justice Maps Viewer" (last accessed July 28, 2022).

This mapping tool visualizes Environmental Justice Communities in Massachusetts.

State: Massachusetts Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Illinois EPA EJ Start

Citation: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, "EJ Start" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

Illinois has an environmental justice mapping tool, Illinois EPA EJ Start, which maps areas of environmental concern for both "minority population" and "low income" populations.

State: Illinois Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Colorado EnviroScreen

Citation: Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, "Colorado EnviroScreen" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

Colorado EnviroScreen is an interactive environmental justice mapping tool and health screening tool for Colorado that, among other things, identifies areas that meet the definition of “Disproportionately Impacted Community” under the Colorado Environmental Justice Act (HB21-1266). It was developed for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) by a team from Colorado State University.

State: Colorado Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

CalEnviroScreen

Citation: California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, "CalEnviroScreen," (last accessed July 28, 2022)

"CalEnviroScreen is a mapping tool that helps identify California communities that are most affected by many sources of pollution, and where people are often especially vulnerable to pollution’s effects. CalEnviroScreen uses environmental, health, and socioeconomic information to produce scores for every census tract in the state." Available in English and Spanish, agency rulemakers and community organizers alike use this resource as a valuable tool to review environmental inequalities and identify disadvantaged communities. "CalEPA formally designates four categories of geographic areas as disadvantaged [communities]: [1] Census tracts receiving the highest 25 percent of overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0; [2] Census tracts lacking overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 due to data gaps, but receiving the highest 5 percent of CalEnviroScreen 4.0 cumulative pollution burden scores; [3] Census tracts identified in the 2017 DAC designation, regardless of their scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0; and [4] Lands under the control of federally recognized Tribes."

State: California Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Alabama Department of Environmental Management, “Environmental Justice Map”

Citation: Alabama Department of Environmental Management, "Environmental Justice Map," (last visited July 28, 2022)

This map divides Alabama into areas of 4 categories: Minority/low income, Minority, Low income, and Non-EJ areas

State: Alabama Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Environmental Database Act

Citation: N.M HB 51 (codified as N.M. Stat. Ann. 1978 § 74-7A-1 et. seq. (2021))

This law directs NMED to create a database of environmentnal issues including permitted energy facilities, agricultural operations, sensitive habitat, and "vulnerable populations" with respect to rates of poverty and asthma.

State: New Mexico Type: Law Category: Mapping Tool, Permitting

EGLE Environmental Mapper

Citation: Mich. Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, "Environmental Mapper" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

This is an online interactive map charting sources of pollution such as underground storage tanks as well as brownfields sites. The tool uses the methodologies of CalEnviroScreen and EPA’s EJSCREEN, blending EPA and state-level data on pollution burdens (environmental exposures) and population characteristics (sensitive populations, socioeconomic factors) to yield a numerical EJ score for a community. In addition, “context layers” may be overlaid, such as historical redlining maps. At this time, the functionality does not extend to layering environmental justice populations.

State: Michigan Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Maryland Park Equity Mapper v2.0

Citation: Md. Dept. of Natural Resources, "Maryland Park Equity Mapper" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

This map investigates the cultural, socioeconomic, and health barriers to green space access for people of color and low-wealth community members throughout the state.

State: Maryland Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Maryland Environmental Justice Screen Tool (MD EJ SCREEN)

Citation: Md. Dept. of Natural Resources, "Maryland Environmental Justice Screen Tool" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

The Maryland Environmental Justice Screen Tool (MD EJSCREEN) was developed to allow users to explore layers of environmental justice concern, determine the overall ‘EJ Score’ for census tracts in the state, and view additional context layers relevant to their area of concern or story they would like to tell.

State: Maryland Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

Connecticut 2020 Environmental Justice Census Block Groups Map

Citation: Conn. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, "Connecticut 2021 Environmental Justice Census Block Groups Map" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

This static map depicts the 2021 Connecticut environmental justice communities as defined by section 22a-20a of the Connecticut General Statutes. EJ communities include distressed municipalities as defined by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) as well as census block groups that are not in distressed municipalities in which 30% or more of the population lives below 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

State: Connecticut Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

AZ Counties Demographic and Environmental Dashboard

Citation: Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, "AZ Counties Demographic and Environmental Dashboard," (last accessed July 28, 2022)

ADEQ has developed an online dashboard tool that provides Arizonans with environmental and demographic data for each county in the state.

State: Arizona Type: Policy Category: Mapping Tool

An Act Renaming And Reorganizing The Environmental Justice Task Force

Citation: Or. HB 4007, 81st Ass., (codified as Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 182.535, 182.538, 182.542,182.545 & 182.550, and Or. Laws chap. 508, §§ 30 & 32)

This Act renames the Environmental Justice Task Force as the Environmental Justice Council and establishes that "the members shall be persons who are well-informed on the principles of environmental justice and who, to the greatest extent practicable, represent minority communities, low income communities, environmental interests, industry groups and geographically diverse areas of the state." The Act defines "environmental justice" as "... the equal protection from environmental and health risks, fair treatment and meaningful involvement in decision making of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, immigration status, income or other identities with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and … policies that affect the environment in which people live, work, learn and practice spirituality and culture." It also states that "environmental justice communities" are those that "… include communities of color, communities experiencing lower incomes, communities experiencing health inequities, tribal communities, rural communities, remote communities, coastal communities, communities with limited infrastructure and other communities traditionally underrepresented in public processes and adversely harmed by environmental and health hazards, including seniors, youth and persons with disabilities."

State: Oregon Type: Law Category: Mapping Tool, General/Definitions, EJ Advisory

Vermont Environmental Justice Act

Citation: Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 3, § 6001 - 6007

Vermont law establishes EJ as a policy of the state, creates an advisory and interagency task force, directs investments proportionately in environmental justice focus populations, mandates a mapping tool, and also requires the consideration of cumulative impacts. The law defines environmental justice as meaning "all individuals are afforded equitable access to and distribution of environmental benefits; equitable distribution of environmental burdens; and fair and equitable treatment and meaningful participation in decision-making processes, including the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Environmental justice recognizes the particular needs of individuals of every race, color, income, class, ability status, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity or ancestry, religious belief, or English language proficiency level. Environmental justice redresses structural and institutional racism, colonialism, and other systems of oppression that result in the marginalization, degradation, disinvestment, and neglect of Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color. Environmental justice requires providing a proportional amount of resources for community revitalization, ecological restoration, resilience planning, and a just recovery to communities most affected by environmental burdens and natural disasters." Additionally, the law defines "environmental justice focus population" as meaning any census block group in which: (A) the annual median household income is not more than 80 percent of the State median household income; (B) Persons of Color and Indigenous Peoples comprise at least six percent or more of the population; or (C) at least one percent or more of households have limited English proficiency."

State: Vermont Type: Law Category: General/Definitions, Public Participation, Permitting, EJ Advisory

California Department of Public Health Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Indicators for California

Citation: California Department of Public Health, "Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Indicators for California" (last accessed July 28, 2022)

The California Department of Public health maintains these indicators to assess exposures, social vulnerability, and adaptive capacity for areas across California.