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IN THIS EDITION:
NEW ORLEANS, LA) – Today, the Environmental Justice Data Action Portal (EJ DAP) was officially launched at a press conference where attendees received a live demonstration of the portal’s features and capabilities. Designed to empower communities and policymakers alike, the EJ DAP is an innovative tool providing access to critical environmental and social justice data through an intuitive, interactive platform.
The EJ DAP, developed in partnership with Intellectual Concepts, LLC, combines extensive datasets on pollution, toxic chemicals, health outcomes, and demographic information, creating a user-friendly and accessible hub of vital information for communities impacted by environmental burdens. With a few clicks, users can access insights into pollution types, sources, and toxicity data for over 150 chemicals. Additionally, the portal’s integration of demographic and socioeconomic indicators enables users to see where environmental impacts intersect with social vulnerabilities.
Empowering Communities through Data and Transparency
The portal is designed to help users identify and address specific environmental challenges within their communities. With the ability to run localized queries based on ZIP codes, users can easily locate pollution sources, understand chemical compositions, and view community-specific environmental and health data. Through this data, community members, policymakers, and industry leaders are better positioned to communicate and collaborate on meaningful action toward environmental justice.
Key Features of the EJ Data Action Portal:
During today’s press conference, EJ DAP developers provided a live demonstration of the portal’s functionality, showcasing how users can navigate its features and apply its data in real-world contexts. The live demo highlighted how the portal’s data can aid in identifying environmental disparities and informing policy decisions that promote environmental justice.
“The democratization of data is crucial for the success of EJ communities as it will empower them to tell their stories, show injustices, and to convince administrators and other stakeholders that what they are experiencing is real. The DSCEJ’s goal with the EJ DAP is to provide the tools and resources that will allow communities to become confident, competent data champions.” said Dr. Beverly Wright, DSCEJ Founder and Executive Director.
The EJ DAP is a collaboration among experts and stakeholders in the environmental justice field, integrating insights from the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), and Environmental Justice Index (EJI). This central resource aligns with the national commitment to promoting equity, health, and environmental justice, offering data transparency and empowering communities across the nation.
The Environmental Justice Data Action Portal is accessible at https://www.ejdap.org/.
About EJ DAP
The Environmental Justice Data Action Portal (EJ DAP) is committed to providing reliable, accessible environmental data to strengthen community-driven efforts toward achieving health equity and environmental justice. Through the portal, EJ DAP supports informed advocacy and policy, contributing to a more equitable future for all. This project was made possible by a grant from the Windward Fund.
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NEW ORLEANS) The DSCEJ will host a press conference to launch the Environmental Justice Data Action Portal (EJ DAP), an innovative, user-friendly platform that the DSCEJ has designed to consolidate key environmental and demographic datasets into a single, accessible hub.
During the demonstration, presenters will show how users can search by ZIP code to locate pollution sources, assess chemical toxicity, and view demographic and socioeconomic data to understand environmental impacts within specific communities. This powerful tool is designed to facilitate community collaboration, inform local and federal policies, and enhance transparency in environmental health data.
EJ DAP integrates data from key sources, including the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), and Environmental Justice Index (EJI), making it a comprehensive resource for those addressing environmental burdens and social vulnerabilities. This tool was made possible by a grant from the Windward Fund.
Date: Friday, November 8
Location: DSCEJ HQ – 9801 Lake Forest Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70127
Time: 9:00 AM
WHO:
Members of the media are invited to attend, please RSVP to media@dscej.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2024
Press Contact: Maria Langholz, maria@team-arc.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is set to vote on the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, introduced by Sen. Manchin (I-WV) and Sen. Barrasso (R-WY). This bill is a blatant effort to cater to the fossil fuel industry’s demands, as outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, while masquerading as a measure to advance renewable energy and transmission infrastructure development.
Ahead of the expected vote, environmental justice leaders issued the following statements. All leaders quoted below are available for an interview. Please email maria@team-arc.com if you want to be put in touch.
Dr. Bob Bullard, Director of the Bullard Center for Environmental Justice at Texas Southern University: “It would be a colossal mistake for the US Senate to pass this so-called permitting reform bill. While it contains some important provisions to accelerate the deployment of needed clean energy and transmission infrastructure, at the same time, it contains a giant giveaway to the fossil fuel industry to keep doing what got us into this environmental and climate crisis. Rolling back environmental and legal protections will hurt our most vulnerable populations and communities and is a step backward in our quest for communities to achieve environmental, climate, energy, and health justice.”
Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder & Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, New Orleans, Louisiana: “Louisiana communities pay the price for this kind of legislation that puts oil and gas polluters over people, as called for in Project 2025. Justice delayed is justice denied and this bill by Senators Manchin and Barrasso is designed to do both. It would delay our transition to an equitable and renewable energy economy and deny our rights to restore communities and build sustainable livelihoods. We urge President Biden to dump this bill which threatens the progress made toward advancing environmental and climate justice.”
Richard Moore, Co-Coordinator of Los Jardines Institute and Co-Chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council: “Dirty industries have long put their profits over our communities. The Manchin-Barrasso permitting bill may have a new name, but it’s the same old polluter priorities that will silence our voices and undercut our efforts to advance environmental justice. Communities like mine need real solutions like the Environmental Justice for All Act to help give us a voice in the projects built in our neighborhoods, hold bad actors accountable, and incorporate environmental justice concerns into the project decision-making process.”
Peggy Shepard, Co-Founder and Executive Director at WE ACT for Environmental Justice: “We need a permitting process that protects public health, especially of communities of color and of low-income who bear the brunt of pollution and the disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis. This legislation fails to do that. It aims to make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to continue polluting our communities. And transmission buildout is critical for the clean energy transition, but must never be done at the expense of communities. A better pathway is possible, one that secures a just transition and safeguards the most vulnerable communities.
July 22, 2024 –
Following the recent announcement that President Joe Biden has ended his campaign for re-election, Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), released the following statement:
The DSCEJ expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the continuing work of President Joe Biden and his unprecedented commitment to environmental justice and climate action. No administration in history has done more than President Biden’s to ensure that all people—regardless of race, income, or ZIP code—live in healthy, safe and sustainable communities.
President Biden is the first U.S. President to call-out “Cancer Alley” from day one of his term, and directed the US Environmental Protection Agency to take action that includes holding industries accountable for endangering the health of residents and requiring them to lower pollution to significantly reduce cancer risks.
In August 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, delivering historic investments to support the most ambitious climate and clean energy plan in U.S. history. The IRA invested roughly $55 billion to reduce local pollution, as well as improve public health and economic security in Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander, and low-income communities.
Additionally, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provides $93 billion for pollution cleanup and lead pipe removal. This combined funding supports the Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40 percent of federal climate, clean energy, and other infrastructure investment benefits from more than 500 federal programs to low-income communities and communities of color. This Biden-Harris policy led the DSCEJ to launch its Justice40 Community Engagement Project to build the capacity of communities through education and training. We were able to directly impact 240 Hub Leaders and Hub Members of community-based organizations throughout the United States.
Thank you President Biden for your unwavering and continuing commitment to the environmental health of our communities, our nation and our world. We look forward to a future with VP Kamala Harris’ leadership in carrying the torch to advance Environmental Justice.
About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice: Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice.
July 10, 2024 – The Energy Future New Orleans Coalition (EFNO) has sent a letter to the New Orleans City Council calling upon the Council to address the utility debt crisis that has left New Orleanians powerless. Through the discovery process under docket UD-23-02, we have learned that Entergy New Orleans’ (ENO) residential disconnection rate for 2023 was 19%, meaning nearly one out of every five residents was disconnected last year for inability to pay ENO’s unaffordable bills.
The letter urges the Council to allocate funds from the recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) settlement to establish a standing arrearage management program for ENO ratepayers. The terms of the FERC settlement (as established by R-24-194) included a $98M lump sum payment by System Energy Resources, Inc. to ENO.
Of that $98M, $32M were designated to be held by ENO as a credit for customers, to be distributed at the direction of the Council in the amount of up to $10M per year.
EFNO has previously urged the Council, under docket UD-23-02, to implement an arrearage management program that pairs incremental debt forgiveness with energy efficiency improvements in ratepayers’ homes. This approach will not only help residents escape utility debt but also ensures they remain debt-free in the future.
We, the members of EFNO, once again call upon the Council to relieve the significant burden of utility debt by devoting this FERC settlement money to the establishment of this crucial arrearage management program. Given the extreme heat that we have experienced already this summer, and the likelihood of an active tropical storm season, it is imperative that the Council act now to protect vulnerable ratepayers from being disconnected from a vital service.
Members of EFNO will be at the regular Council meeting on Thursday, July 11 to urge the Council to act on this proposal and will be available to speak to members of the press.
About Energy Future New Orleans: EFNO is a coalition of diverse people and organizations dedicated to making New Orleans an equitable and renewable energy city for present and future generations. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice is a member of the EFNO Coalition
About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice: Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice.