Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced the release of the Governor's Environmental Justice Advisory Council report, representing a significant step towards addressing Environmental Justice (EJ) concerns in North Carolina. This comprehensive report comes as a result of the reestablishment of the Secretary of Environmental Quality's Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board in October 2023 by Governor Cooper's Executive Order No. 292.
The Council's report contains 14 bold recommendations to advance environmental justice and ensures state agencies incorporate environmental justice in future decision-making processes. The report also includes over 40 recommendations from the Council's Environmental Justice Hub and Mapping Tool, Cumulative Impacts, Community Engagement, and Training subcommittees.
“As the birthplace of the environmental justice movement, North Carolina is working to level the playing field for impacted communities and preserve and protect our natural lands and resources,” said Governor Cooper. “This report provides important recommendations that will help identify and address environmental justice challenges across our state.”
Executive Order 292 directs a whole-of-government approach and instructs the Governor's Office and Cabinet agencies to incorporate environmental justice considerations into their policies and programs to the extent permitted by law. It also encourages Cabinet agencies to use the statewide environmental justice mapping tool. Since the signing of EO 292, The Council has actively engaged with affected communities, holding council meetings in Wayne, Halifax, and Stanley counties and participating in a tour of the West Badin community. The Council’s Environmental Justice Hub and Mapping Tool, and Public Engagement Subcommittees have held virtual and in-person meetings to gather public feedback on the directives in the Executive Order, ensuring that the voices of the people are heard and valued in this process. Cabinet agencies have worked to incorporate EJ into policies and programs. Cabinet agencies draft EJ goals, incorporating public and Council feedback. The Department of Information Technology lead the development of the Environmental Justice Hub, a central location for EJ information, including awarded grants, and the Environmental Justice Mapping Tool which includes environmental, health and socioeconomic data from across departments.
"When implemented, our recommendations constitute an evidenced-based and data-driven roadmap for achieving Environmental Justice in our state," said Jim Johnson, PhD, EJ Advisory Council Co-Chair and Director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center at the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. "We want to ensure that North Carolina is a safe, healthy, and resilient place to live, work, play, and do business for all North Carolinians and support state agencies' engagement in this work."
"We also initiate a framework for assessing the cumulative impacts of multiple environmental harms on many communities," said Virginia Guidry, PhD, EJ Advisory Council Co-Chair and NCDHHS Environmental Justice Lead. "We must measure and reduce these burdens to achieve environmental justice in North Carolina."
The unanimously approved 14 recommendations are as follows:
1. Creating an Office of Environmental Justice within the Governor’s Office of Public Engagement.
2. Collaborating with EJ leaders to ensure the EJ Mapping Tool accurately reflects areas impacted by EJ issues.
3. Creating a North Carolina-specific EJ index.
4. Reviewing the EJ Hub and Mapping Tool for accessibility.
5. Developing a process to review, respond to and implement input received on the EJ hub.
6. Recommending cabinet agencies engage with community members around data collection and review.
7. Developing a cumulative impacts guidance document.
8. Recommending cabinet agencies review information gaps identified by the EJ Hub & Mapping Subcommittee and within their agency and provide a list of additional data they can supply; develop legislative language that authorizes such data collection and analysis, as needed.
9. Engaging community leaders and EJ organizations in meeting planning.
10. Seeking advice from tribal organizations and other relevant entities on the needs and best processes for engaging with these communities.
11. Documenting and sharing public feedback and responses on public engagement events; evaluating and addressing barriers to engagement.
12. Requiring EJ training for all state and local government employees.
13. Cataloging and sharing EJ-relevant state resources to prevent duplication of efforts.
14. Clarifying the definition of EJ to increase familiarity and ease of use.
The full text of the recommendations can be found on pages 3-4 of the report.
Read North Carolina’s Governor's Environmental Justice Advisory Council Report here.
Read Governor Cooper’s Executive Order No. 292 here.
###