Water Justice Toolkit a Guide to Address Environmental Inequities in Frontline Communities

2020 ANTHONY A. LAPHAM FELLOWSHIP WATER JUSTICE TOOLKIT A GUIDE TO ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUITIES IN FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES 2020 ANTHONY A. LAPHAM FELLOWSHIP WATER JUSTICE TOOLKIT A GUIDE TO ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUITIES IN FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 5 Why We Need a Toolkit 6 About American Rivers 8 BACKGROUND 9 The Environmental Justice Movement in the United States 10 The Importance of Rivers to Communities 13 Federal Laws and Policies 15 1: CLEAN & SAFE WATER GUIDE 19 Purpose 20 Federal Laws And Policies Related to Clean and Safe Water 23 How Do I Know if My Water is Polluted 26 Recommendations 1. Citizen Suits 31 2. Stormwater Permitting 34 3. EPA’s Residual Designation Authority 39 4. Re-Designation Process 40 Resources 41 2: EQUITABLE FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT GUIDE 43 Purpose 44 Background 46 Emergency Steps 48 Recommendations 1. Understanding Flood Maps and Insurance 49 2. Integrating Equity and Justice Into Hazard Mitigation Plans 52 3. Encourage Floodplain Management Training 56 Resources 58 3: TITLE VI ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMPLAINTS & COMPLIANCE GUIDE 59 Introduction 60 Community Benefits Agreements 62 Title VI. A Reactive Approach 66 Guidelines on Filing an Environmental Justice Administrative Complaint 68 Challenges Associated with Title VI Complaints and Compliance 71 4: LOCAL LAND USE PLANNING & ZONING GUIDE 75 Purpose 76 Background 78 Recommendations 1. Bolster Public Participation 80 2. Encourage “Cumulative Impacts” Language 82 3. Encourage Equitable Zoning Policies 84 4. Participation in Zoning Hearings 87 5: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GUIDE 91 Purpose 92 Recommendations 1. Public Comment 93 2. Legislative Advocacy 98 3. Equitable Community Meetings and Hearings 103 6: COMMUNITY SCIENCE GUIDE 107 Purpose 108 Steps to Create Your Community Science Project 112 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 124 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Low-income communities and communities impacts can include exposure to pollutants of color disproportionately bear the negative such as lead, PFAS, industrial waste, and environmental impacts stemming from more and result in health impacts such as the inequitable systems rooted in this lead poisoning, asthma, and other illnesses. country. While our country is considered To address these inequities, communities to be a leader in environmental regulations can use legal, planning and policy tools to and safety, we are faced with inequitable advance environmental justice. American accessibility and enjoyment of our natural Rivers has developed a set of six legal and environment including water and rivers. policy guides to advance environmental Unfortunately, these inequities are not rare. justice efforts in frontline communities. The need to address water-related We hope this resource serves to support environmental inequities in our country is communities in their efforts to address their heightened by the threat of climate change. water-related injustices. These guides are Safe and accessible clean water is threatened not meant to be exhaustive, but rather, a with increased droughts, severe storms, and curated set of important legal and advocacy increased flooding. These impacts exacerbate tools. We hope this provides a helpful place threats to lower income communities and to start. communities of color, impacting them more frequently and severely than higher wealth or predominantly white communities. These BRONX RIVER, NEW YORK / CHARLES R. BERENGUER, JR. WATER JUSTICE TOOLKIT 1 THE GUIDES The purpose of providing the following legal guides is to support communities in their efforts to implement long-term sustainable change. With time and the right resources, everyone can learn how to utilize environmental laws and policies to advocate for and address environmental justice concerns. The following guides are meant to serve as a resource for local communities and organizations to either start or supplement their environmental justice efforts. 1: CLEAN & SAFE WATER GUIDE 2: EQUITABLE FLOOD RISK 3: TITLE VI ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT GUIDE JUSTICE COMPLAINTS & This guide encompasses COMPLIANCE GUIDE recommendations on how This guide encompasses communities can engage with recommendations on how to This guide is intended to be used federal law and policy to address participate in decision-making as a resource to understand the environmental injustices and secure to mitigate flooding impacts. The background and purpose of Title VI clean water. The guide discusses negative impacts of flooding have and how communities can effectively the Clean Water Act and the Safe consistently and disproportionately use this tool to voice environmental Drinking Water Act, as well as burdened lower-income communities justice concerns. Title VI is a federal resources on water quality and and communities of color. This guide law that falls within the Civil Rights compliance. is intended to bolster community Act of 1965. Under Title VI, a engagement in water governance in complaint can be filed when either This guide includes: order to influence flooding related the federal government or recipient • Guidance on filing citizen suits policies. of federal funding intentionally under the Clean Water Act and discriminates on the basis of race, the Safe Drinking Water Act This guide includes: color, or national origin. • Guidance on stormwater • Information on how floodplain management, permitting, and designations are made This guide includes: green infrastructure • Background on hazard mitigation • Process used for filing an • Guidance on use of the Residual planning and recommendations environmental justice complaint Designation Authority under the on how to participate in the with a federal, state, or local Clean Water Act hazard mitigation planning and agency • Information on how to re- processes • Recommendations on how local designate a source of water in • Information on training entities and state agencies can order to require higher water guides provided by the Federal comply with Title VI quality standards Emergency Management Agency • Resources on water quality data 2 EXECUTIVE Summary 4: LOCAL LAND USE PLANNING 5: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 6: COMMUNITY SCIENCE GUIDE & ZONING GUIDE GUIDE Environmental justice advocates Environmental justice is rooted in Public participation is the have used community science to local planning and the opportunity, foundation of democracy and the bring forward environmental justice or lack thereof, for communities heart of environmental justice. This lawsuits. This guide is designed to to participate in decisions that will fundamental concept of participation encourage individuals in their roles impact their surroundings. Local is that the public interests are as community scientists and to planning can address exposure to represented when people participate promote the practice of community- pathogens associated with wastewater meaningfully in a process they based science as a catalyst for treatment plants, hazardous waste understand. Sustainable and long- environmental justice. incinerators, solid waste landfills, term solutions are created by and disposal sites. These polluting engaging with communities. This guide includes: entities can have a significant impact • Background on community on community and environmental This guide includes: science and information on how health, including waterways. • Information and guidance on science can support legal or public comment policy-based claims This guide includes: • Recommendations on how to • Recommendations on how to • Recommendations on how to participate in legislative advocacy create a community science bolster community participation • Policies to encourage equitable project in decision-making processes community meetings and • Examples and case studies of • Examples of equitable hearings successful community science zoning policies that include projects the consideration of diverse • Resources to support ongoing communities community science projects • Recommendations on how to participate in local zoning and board meetings WATER JUSTICE TOOLKIT 3 4 UPPERWATER FLINTJUSTICE RIVER TOOLKIT WORKING GROUP INTRODUCTION WATER JUSTICE TOOLKIT 5 WHY WE NEED A TOOLKIT According to the U.S. Environmental injustices that exist despite sweeping water Protection Agency (EPA), environmental policies that were created to address issues justice is “the fair treatment and meaningful concerning access to and quality of water in involvement of all people—regardless of their the United States (US). race, color, national origin or income—with respect to the development, implementation, Addressing climate change and water and enforcement of environmental laws, inequities is a human rights and justice regulations, and policies.” issue. The environmental burdens faced by communities of color and low-income Environmental justice and water justice, communities in the U.S. and around the in particular, are important issues for river world are being intensified by the impacts of conservation. Access to clean water and climate change. Those who are most affected healthy rivers is critical for the health of by flooding, drought, extreme temperatures all communities everywhere. Yet there is and storms have the fewest resources a long history of Black and Indigenous to adapt due to a legacy of community communities and other communities of disinvestment in basic infrastructure such as color (BIPOC communities) systematically stormwater management. PRIOR PAGE: being denied such basic necessities. Cases INTRENCHMENT CREEK, such as Flint, Michigan

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