Massachusetts' environmental arm has a new strategy to bring equity into focus in the programs and policies under its purview.
The Healey administration released its first environmental justice strategy Thursday, a 182-page report to drive new practices with the "deep understanding that all communities deserve environmental protection regardless of race, national origin, or income bracket," a release from the administration said.
Among the new policies, the Department of Energy Resources will have to look at "energy burden," and how low-income communities are overburdened with the cost of energy, Undersecretary of Environmental Justice and Equity María Belén Power said at a Thursday briefing.
The administration will also prioritize clean energy and sustainability efforts in environmental justice neighborhoods, defined as lower-income communities with higher percentages of minorities or residents who don't speak English as a first language. The Department of Agriculture Resources, under the new plan, will work with Native American tribes and indigenous communities to advance food access and security.
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Departments under the Executive Office of Environment and Energy will offer resources and grant applications in a wider range of languages and coordinate environmental justice training for all staff under the EEA office.
"It is a historic moment, because we are addressing the harms and trying to reverse decades and generations of environmental injustice in the most overburdened and vulnerable populations," Power said.
