Environmental Justice

Description

Participants in this workshop will learn what is meant by "Environmental Justice," techniques for responding to EJ needs, how to develop mitigation in response to EJ issues, and how to address the scope of analysis in NEPA documents.  Participants will explore current guidance to Federal agencies for addressing EJ issues, and best techniques for mitigating impacts to low-income and minority communities.

Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop participants will be able to do the following:

  • Understand the meaning of environmental justice (EJ).

  • Interpret existing policies for EJ analysis and documentation.

  • Understand the integration of EJ with the NEPA analysis process.

  • Know how to engage low-income or minority communities and interest groups into public decisionmaking.

  • How to prepare documentation of EJ considerations and responsive strategies.

Content

The basic format of the one-day workshop includes the following components:

  • Define what is meant by; environmental justice (EJ).

  • Overview of the history for environmental justice.

  • Definition of terms used in EJ analysis.

  • The analysis process for integrating EJ consideration and issues into the NEPA analysis process.

  • Techniques for how to best mitigate EJ concerns and issues.

  • Techniques for integrating disadvantaged and minority communities into the public involvement process and decisionmaking.

  • Ways to document the EJ analysis and considerations into NEPA disclosure documents.

 

Audience

Participants for this training generally include Federal and State employees and contractors that engage in policymaking; including NEPA analyses that require consideration of disproportionate impacts to low-income or minority or communities.

Process

This workshop is interactive intended to explore specific problems and questions faced by practitioners in managing and responding to EJ issues.  Specific case studies are presented that require thinking on the part of workshop participants.  However, an in-depth understanding EJ guidance and NEPA are not required.  For optimal learning, class size is limited to 30 participants. This one-day workshop consists of a carefully designed combination of the following components:

  • 40% Lecture

  • 20% Group Discussion

  • 40% Exercises

Materials

Participants receive the following:

  • Workshop manual of materials presented

  • Case study exercises

  • Workshop resources workbook