Northeast-Midwest Institute Releases Environmental Justice Scorecard
The Northeast-Midwest Institute has released a new scorecard that evaluates and ranks state policies surrounding environmental justice reform.
The scorecard looks at ten specific metrics to gauge a state’s commitment to environmental justice. These indicators include the presence of a state agency with a mandate to deal with environmental justice issues, a legislative committee that deals with E.J. legislation, an E.J. state official, an E.J. Advisory Commission, a state E.J. plan or report, advocacy by outside E.J. organizations, E.J. resolutions/bills passed by the state legislature in the past two to four years, and online tools that make it easy for citizens in a state to learn about environmental justice and/or map out environmental justice communities.
The scorecard is accompanied by a report that breaks this information down and provides important context. It looks at the regions of the northeast and midwest (New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest) and compares their efforts to advance environmental justice policies. The report also considers the efforts of individual states, breaking down some of the most successful policies and analyzing states that are lagging behind their neighbors.
Three of the eighteen states in the northeast and midwest – Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York – ranked the highest in their state commitment to environmental justice reform, each scoring positively on all ten of the criteria studied.
The new NEMWI report also discusses New York's and New Jersey’s recent landmark E.J. legislation as well as the lack of attention to environmental justice reform by states such as New Hampshire and Indiana. The report concludes with an analysis of trends and recommends policies that states can implement to advance environmental justice for their citizens.
Both the report and the scorecard were researched and written by NEMWI intern Nicholas Griffin, a student at Brown University.
To learn more about environmental justice and the progress that northeastern and midwestern states have made on this important issue, read the full report here.
U.S. Senate-Passed Inflation Reduction Act Includes Funding for Key Conservation Programs
The U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday by a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. The bill, which aims to tackle climate change, lower prescription drug prices, and reduce the national budget deficit through measures that include a 15 percent minimum corporate tax rate, was passed through the reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority in the Senate. The House is expected to take up the bill this Friday.
Along with a historic $369 billion investment in climate and clean energy and $100 billion to lower prescription drug costs, the Senate included some key provisions that would increase resources for water conservation. They include:
$8.45 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which provides financial support to implement conservation practices on working lands.
$6.75 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which provides grants for conservation projects at the state, multistate, or watershed-scale level.
$3.25 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), which provides financial assistance to producers to maintain and improve existing conservation systems and to adopt additional conservation activities.
$1.4 billion for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which provides financial support for Agricultural Land Easements and Wetland Reserve Easements.
EPA Releases Guidance for Utilities To Develop Lead Service Line Inventories
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released key guidance for water utilities to develop lead service line inventories across the nation. The guidance was released as EPA continues to award historic funding to address lead services lines through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. According to EPA’s website, this guidance will support water systems with their efforts to develop inventories and provide states with needed information for oversight and reporting to EPA.
Specifically, EPA’s Lead Service Line Inventory guidance will:
Provide best practices for inventory development and for communicating information to the public.
Include a template for water systems, states, and Tribes to use or adapt to create their own inventory.
Contain case studies on developing, reviewing, and communicating about inventories.
Highlight the importance of prioritizing inventory development in disadvantaged communities and where children live and play.
The guidance can be viewed here. Additionally, EPA will hold a webinar on the guidance on August 10. For registration information, please visit here.
Briefing Highlights Challenges for EPA in Implementing Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 's work – and the challenges it faces – was the topic of an August 2nd briefing hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, the fourth event in a series of briefings entitled "Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities Implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law." The webinar explored the progress that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made in its efforts to advance the billions of dollars in funding for water infrastructure in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill since it was signed into law last November.
After a brief introduction by Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities, Karen Dettmer, the Managing Director for Infrastructure Implementation at the EPA's Office of Water, elaborated on the EPA's efforts to provide a new technical assistance program and guidelines to support disadvantaged communities while distributing $50 billion in water infrastructure funding from fiscal years 2022-2026. With funding through the State Water Revolving Fund, Lead Service Line Fund, the Emerging Containment program, and PFAS, Director Dettmer stated that the EPA has an important responsibility to follow through with its investments. So far in fiscal year 2022, the EPA already has allocated $7.2 billion from these program areas, according to the EPA's website here.
EPA leaders have rapidly pushed out the BIL funding with new technical assistance programs to help states access funding. Right before the briefing, EPA Administrator Regan in Alabama announced the Closing America's Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative to provide direct technical assistance to communities that do not currently have wastewater management systems. In addition, $100 million in BIL funding is going to environmental finance centers to better support local and state governments in applying for the funding.
Disadvantaged communities such as Flint, Michigan, have had lead pipelines poisoning their drinking water supply, leading to significant community impacts such as lead poisoning and developmental issues for children in school. Dettmer noted that under a mandate provided in the BIL by Congress, the EPA is developing guidelines that will be available soon to assist disadvantaged communities in receiving 49 percent of the $42.8 billion still available over the next four fiscal years as SRFs to be distributed. The language on disadvantaged communities is still up to the states; however, EPA has pushed for individual states to change their definitions to better aid states in improving their water infrastructure, according to a memo released by the EPA on March 8. Dettmer stated that she believes that providing individual states with new guidelines on supporting disadvantaged communities, through loan forgiveness programs with a near 0% interest rate and grants, will help position states to complete pipeline replacements. As Dettmer noted, "because these are already existing programs, we are already well served, positioned to get that funding out as quickly as possible," however with the formula funding to states it will be up to state leaders to deliver to local governments.
The briefing concluded that the EPA still has to figure out how to provide more technical assistance and support to disadvantaged communities in utilizing the available IIJA funding.
Ambitious Clean Energy Agenda in Massachusetts Languishes in Legislature
An ambitious agenda of proposed clean energy bills in Massachusetts is languishing in the state legislature. In the current 192nd legislative session, members of the Massachusetts House and Senate have introduced at least 27 clean energy-related bills this legislative session. So far, however, only one bill has been passed and sent to Governor Baker’s desk for his signature.
The one clean energy bill signed into law among the 27 bills introduced in the legislature is Senate Bill 9 -- An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy.
Of the other 26 bills, two have had committee hearings and are waiting for a vote by the general body, 14 remain stuck in committee, and ten others have been referred to a committee but have seen no further action. These bills cover a variety of energy policies, including new funding sources, clean energy transition plans, and new accountability measures.
Despite many state legislators' public statements and excitement for more action, almost all proposed bills remain stuck in the legislative process with little possibility of passage. Most bills that die in committee are either being merged into other bills or are referred for further study and are not taken up further.
Among the many bills currently pending in the Massachusetts legislature, about half of the bills seek to provide funding or rules for clean energy resources. This includes, Senate Bill 2168 -- An Act Ensuring Access to Solar Energy for All Communities -- which directs the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to provide programs for energy affordability for low-income and environmental justice communities. Other pending funding bills include three appropriations bills for 2022 for offshore wind and clean energy ports.
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This Week in Washington
In the House:
No relevant committee hearings this week due to August recess.
In the Senate:
No relevant committee hearings this week due to August recess.
