Environmental Justice areas in this guide have been defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The Department defines an environmental justice area as any census tract where at least 20 percent of the population lives in poverty, and/or 30 percent or more of the population is minority.

Support for Health Equity datasets and tools provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) through their Health Equity Initiative.

SACOG, with the assistance of the SACOG Equity Working Group, identified 2020 EJ areas as census block group level concentrations of low income, and/or high minority and/or qualification of an “other vulnerability" and/or within the CalEnviroScreen 3.0 identified areas. The other vulnerabilities take into consideration concentrations of: older adults aged 75 or more, linguistically isolated households, single parent households with children under the age of 18, low educational attainment, severely housing cost burdened households, and persons with disabilities.This is consistent with SACOG's 2020 MTP/SCS adopted plan. This feature has identified 548 boundaries as Environmental Justice areas for the SACOG region as of August 2021.

Data shows polygon locations of Potential Environmental Justice Areas (PEJA) and is defined in the PEJA field. PEJA's have been identified based on data from the 2014-2018 5-year American Community Survey (ACS), conducted by the US Census Bureau. Environmental justice efforts focus on improving the environment in communities, specifically minority and low-income communities, and addressing disproportionate adverse environmental impacts that may exist in those communities. The information balloon for each census block group area displays the census block group ID, population, percent minority, percent below poverty level, county, municipality, and a link to more information on the Department of Environmental Conservation's website https://www.dec.ny.gov/public/333.html The data was collected by the US Census Bureau as part of the American Community Survey. Reported income and race/ethnicity data were analyzed by OEJ to determine the presence of Potential Environmental Justice Areas. The designated areas are then considered for additional outreach within the permitting process, for grant eligibility, and for targeted enforcement of Environmental Conservation Law violations. Utilized established methods as originally detailed in the Interim Environmental Justice Policy, US EPA Region 2, December 2000, and recommended by the Environmental Justice Advisory Group, Recommendations for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Justice Program, January 2, 2002. Individual thresholds for low-income populations (statewide), minority populations (rural communities), and minority populations (urban communities) were determined by using ArcGIS 10.3 (used to indicate if census block groups overlapped Census designated urban areas) and IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (to conduct a K-means clustering algorithm on ACS data for the three categories). More detail is provided under processing steps. Service updated annually. For more information or to download layer see https://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/inventories/details.cfm?DSID=1273Download the metadata to learn more information about how the data was created and details about the attributes. Use the links within the metadata document to expand the sections of interest see http://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/metadata/nysdec.PEJA.xml

The table EJ Area Designations is part of the dataset NYC: Environmental Justice Area Census Tract Designation, available at https://redivis.com/datasets/dwsf-7xy0dj7ax. It contains 2166 rows across 8 variables.

This resouce contains two spatial datasets.

MPCA Environmental Justice Areas
MPCA Census Tribal Areas

These data represent areas of consideration for MPCA environmental justice efforts. Our goal is to highlight regions where community members are disproportionately impacted by environmental issues. The data fields in this layer are a mix of American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates and calculations performed by MPCA staff. Margins of error are not considered when determining potential areas of consideration.

As an attempt to highlight environmental justice areas of concern, we show census tracts where the estimated percentage of the population that identify as people of color is 40% or greater, the estimated percentage of economically disadvantaged community members is 35% or greater, as well as the estimated percentage of the population that has limited English proficiency is 40% or greater. We also include language information for each census tract and highlight the top three estimated languages spoken by those who report that they do not speak English well.

Income Threshold:
The federal government defines poverty thresholds on an annual basis (https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html). For MPCA use, we show an income threshold at 2 times the federal poverty threshold.

2022:
2 x $13,590 = $27,180 (individual)
2 x $27,750 = $55,500 (family of four)

This resource also contains Tribal Areas. These areas are derived by taking the maximum extent of two spatial datasets: the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 TIGER/Line Shapefiles, Current American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Areas for United States; and Minnesota Department of Transportation's Tribal Government in Minnesota.

Environmental Justice 2023 Set is comprised of two layers: Environmental Justice Block Groups 2023 and Environmental Justice Distressed Municipality 2023. All Census and ACS data used in the creation of these data are the latest available from the Census at time of calculation. Environmental Justice Block Groups 2023 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2022 Block Group TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2021 ACS 5-year estimate. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcPro. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2023 was created from the Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2022 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions). From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2023 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2020 TIGER/Line files. In the re

Environmental Justice areas are identified at the Transportation Analysis Zone (TAZ) level. A TAZ is an agglomeration of Census Blocks, but smaller than a Census Tract, allowing for a refined approach with significant accuracy, small enough to capture population within often overlooked geographies, yet large enough to leverage accurate sample data.A TAZ will be identified as a location of EJ concern if it has a minority population percentage at or above the lesser of the regional average or the national average and/or a population in poverty whose percentage of the full TAZ is at or above the lesser of the regional average or the national average. For the criteria mentioned above, a location identifies as an EJ area if either or both of the following thresholds are met:Percent of residents of minority status at or above 31.65%Percent of residents at or below poverty level: 13.63%Data Source: American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year EstimatesCurrent Vintage: 2018-2022Data Processing Notes:NOACA staff implement their EJ analysis through the following steps so they can identify and map EJ areas in Northeast Ohio:Calculate the percentage of both the United States current population and NOACA’s current population that is “minority.”Calculate the percentage of both the United States current population and NOACA’s current population that is below the poverty level.Compare the values in Step 1; the lesser value is the minority criterion. Compare the values in Step 2. The lesser value is the poverty criterion.For each TAZ, NOACA staff estimate the minority and poverty percentages of that TAZ’s current population.If either the TAZ’s minority percentage or poverty percentage exceeds the minority criterion or the poverty criterion, respectively, then NOACA staff identify that TAZ as an Environmental Justice Area of Concern.For more information visit Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA)

Map of environmental justice areas in Ada and Canyon counties.

description: These data are from EJSCREEN, an environmental justice (EJ) screening and mapping tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and methodology for calculating "EJ indexes," which can be used for highlighting places that may be candidates for further review, analysis, or outreach as the agency develops programs, policies and other activities. The tool provides both summary and detailed information at the Census block group level or a user-defined area for both demographic and environmental indicators. The summary information is in the form of EJ Indexes which combine demographic information with a single environmental indicator (such as proximity to traffic) that can help identify communities living in areas with greater potential for environmental and health impacts. The tool also provides additional detailed demographic and environmental information to supplement screening analyses. EJSCREEN displays this information in color-coded maps, bar charts, and standard reports. Users should keep in mind that screening tools are subject to substantial uncertainty in their demographic and environmental data, particularly when looking at small geographic areas, such as Census block groups. Data on the full range of environmental impacts and demographic factors in any given location are almost certainly not available directly through this tool, and its initial results should be supplemented with additional information and local knowledge before making any judgments about potential areas of EJ concern.; abstract: These data are from EJSCREEN, an environmental justice (EJ) screening and mapping tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and methodology for calculating "EJ indexes," which can be used for highlighting places that may be candidates for further review, analysis, or outreach as the agency develops programs, policies and other activities. The tool provides both summary and detailed information at the Census block group level or a user-defined area for both demographic and environmental indicators. The summary information is in the form of EJ Indexes which combine demographic information with a single environmental indicator (such as proximity to traffic) that can help identify communities living in areas with greater potential for environmental and health impacts. The tool also provides additional detailed demographic and environmental information to supplement screening analyses. EJSCREEN displays this information in color-coded maps, bar charts, and standard reports. Users should keep in mind that screening tools are subject to substantial uncertainty in their demographic and environmental data, particularly when looking at small geographic areas, such as Census block groups. Data on the full range of environmental impacts and demographic factors in any given location are almost certainly not available directly through this tool, and its initial results should be supplemented with additional information and local knowledge before making any judgments about potential areas of EJ concern.

This data layer references data from a high-resolution tree canopy change-detection layer for Seattle, Washington. Tree canopy change was mapped by using remotely sensed data from two time periods (2016 and 2021). Tree canopy was assigned to three classes: 1) no change, 2) gain, and 3) loss. No change represents tree canopy that remained the same from one time period to the next. Gain represents tree canopy that increased or was newly added, from one time period to the next. Loss represents the tree canopy that was removed from one time period to the next. Mapping was carried out using an approach that integrated automated feature extraction with manual edits. Care was taken to ensure that changes to the tree canopy were due to actual change in the land cover as opposed to differences in the remotely sensed data stemming from lighting conditions or image parallax. Direct comparison was possible because land-cover maps from both time periods were created using object-based image analysis (OBIA) and included similar source datasets (LiDAR-derived surface models, multispectral imagery, and thematic GIS inputs). OBIA systems work by grouping pixels into meaningful objects based on their spectral and spatial properties, while taking into account boundaries imposed by existing vector datasets. Within the OBIA environment a rule-based expert system was designed to effectively mimic the process of manual image analysis by incorporating the elements of image interpretation (color/tone, texture, pattern, _location, size, and shape) into the classification process. A series of morphological procedures were employed to ensure that the end product is both accurate and cartographically pleasing. No accuracy assessment was conducted, but the dataset was subjected to manual review and correction.University of Vermont Spatial Analysis LaboratoryThe dataset covers the following tree canopy categories:Environmental Justice Priority AreasCensus tracts composite / quintileExisting tree canopy percentage & environmental justice priority levelExisting tree canopyPossible tree canopyRelative percentage changeFor more information, please see the 2021 Tree Canopy Assessment.

Environmental Justice Block Groups 2022 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2020 ACS 5-year estimate. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcPro. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2020 was created from Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions).

From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2022 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2020 TIGER/Line files. In the resulting layer, the tribal lands were deleted so only the distressed municipalities remained. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually when the DECD produces its new list of distressed municipalities (around August/September).

Note: A distressed municipality, as designated by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, includes municipalities that no longer meet the threshold requirements but are still in a 5-year grace period. (See definition at CGS Sec. 32-9p(b).) Fitting into that grace period, eight towns continue to be eligible for distressed municipality benefits because they dropped off the list within the last five years. Those are Enfield, Killingly, Naugatuck, Plymouth, New Haven, Preston, Stratford, and Voluntown.

Analysis of ‘Environmental Justice Area Census Tract Designation’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/8079e6d2-e738-4d50-b91e-cbae8e32c516 on 28 January 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Shapefile of census tracts by environmental justice area designation defined by Local Law 64 (2017). For more information about this dataset, visit the Environmental Justice Areas map.

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Current, March 2024 revision, IMPO Environmental Justice Areas based on 2020 Census Block Groups selected by the 2020 MPA boundary. https://www.indympo.org/maps-and-data/maps/demographics-environmental-justice “Environmental Justice (EJ) refers to the process of evaluating and analyzing the planning process in reference to the most disadvantaged populations. Environmental Justice populations are identified by the federal government as low-income and minority populations. As part of our planning process, we evaluate the impact our projects have on these populations." “For each census block group within the Metropolitan Planning Area, 2022 ACS Five-Year data was used to compare the rate* of a specific EJ population within the block group to the rate of that population in the overall region. The map identifies which EJ populations for each block group exceed the regional rate for that population. Because the IMPO is federally mandated to consider the benefits to and burdens of minoritized people and low-income households, those categories are specifically highlighted in the map and considered to be Environmental Justice Areas of Attention (EJAs). The map also identifies five other EJ populations including people with limited English proficiency, low educational attainment, households with no automobiles available, people over the age of 65, and households with disabilities. These groups are not federally mandated for consideration but are indicated here by the IMPO because they can also be disproportionately impacted by transportation projects."

PennEnviroScreen provides an annually updated snapshot of undue environmental burden on vulnerable communities. This dataset is the result of a model which combines Pollution Burden and Population Characteristics data in order to identify Environmental Justice (EJ) Areas in accordance with the EJ Policy and is based upon the US Census Bureau's Census Block Group Delineations. To query if a block group is an EJ area, field EJAREA = yesMore information can be found at the PennEnviroScreen interactive mapping application: https://gis.dep.pa.gov/PennEnviroScreen/

The Environmental Justice Communities Map (“EJ Communities Map”) describes areas of San Francisco that have higher pollution and are predominately low-income. This map is based on CalEnviroScreen, a tool created by CalEPA & OEHHA that maps California communities that are most affected by pollution and other health risks. This EJ Communities Map includes additional local data on pollution and demographics, and was refined during the community engagement process based on public feedback. “EJ Communities” are defined as the areas facing the top one-third of cumulative environmental and socioeconomic burdens across the City. The EJ Communities include areas of Bayview Hunters Point, Chinatown, Excelsior, Japantown, Mission, Ocean View-Merced Heights-Ingleside, Outer Mission, Potrero Hill, SoMa, Tenderloin, Treasure Island, Visitacion Valley, and Western Addition.

"EJ Communities” are defined as the areas facing the top one-third of cumulative environmental and socioeconomic burdens across the City, with scores 21-30.

Further information is available here: https://sfplanning.org/project/environmental-justice-framework-and-general-plan-policies#ej-communities

Environmental Justice 2024 Set is comprised of two layers: Environmental Justice Block Groups 2024 and Environmental Justice Distressed Municipality 2024. All Census and ACS data used in the creation of these data are the latest available from the Census at time of calculation. Environmental Justice Block Groups 2024 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2024 Block Group TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2023 ACS 5-year estimate. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcPro. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2024 was created from the Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2024 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions). From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2024 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2024 TIGER/Line files. In the resulting layer, the tribal lands were deleted so only the distressed municipalities remained. Maintenance – This layer will be updated

This is a dataset of the Environmental Justice (EJ) areas in the SCAG region. The data was created using the base year 2016 data at the level of SCAG Tier 2 TAZs. EJ Area TAZs were identified if they had a higher concentration of minority population or households in poverty than is seen in the greater SCAG region

Environmental Justice 2024 Set is comprised of two layers: Environmental Justice Block Groups 2024 and Environmental Justice Distressed Municipality 2024. All Census and ACS data used in the creation of these data are the latest available from the Census at time of calculation. Environmental Justice Block Groups 2024 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2024 Block Group TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2023 ACS 5-year estimate. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcPro. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2024 was created from the Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2024 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions). From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2024 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2024 TIGER/Line files. In the resulting layer, the tribal lands were deleted so only the distressed municipalities remained. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually when the DECD produces its new list of distressed municipalities.Note: A distressed municipality, as designated by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, includes municipalities that no longer meet the threshold requirements but are still in an eligibility grace period. (See definition at CGS Sec. 32-9p(b).) Fitting into that grace period, nine towns continue to be eligible for distressed municipality benefits. Those are Bristol, East Haven, Groton, Killingly, New Haven, North Stonington, Preston, Stratford, Voluntown.

EJSCREEN is an environmental justice (EJ) screening and mapping tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and methodology for calculating "EJ indexes," which can be used for highlighting places that may be candidates for further review, analysis, or outreach as the agency develops programs, policies and other activities. The tool provides both summary and detailed information at the Census block group level or a user-defined area for both demographic and environmental indicators. The summary information is in the form of EJ Indexes which combine demographic information with a single environmental indicator (such as proximity to traffic) that can help identify communities living in areas with greater potential for environmental and health impacts. The tool also provides additional detailed demographic and environmental information to supplement screening analyses. EJSCREEN displays this information in color-coded maps, bar charts, and standard reports. Users should keep in mind that screening tools are subject to substantial uncertainty in their demographic and environmental data, particularly when looking at small geographic areas, such as Census block groups. Data on the full range of environmental impacts and demographic factors in any given location are almost certainly not available directly through this tool, and its initial results should be supplemented with additional information and local knowledge before making any judgments about potential areas of EJ concern. Download data: ftp://newftp.epa.gov/EJSCREEN

Environmental Justice Block Groups 2021 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2019 TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2019 ACS 5-year estimate- Table C17002. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcMap. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2021 was created from Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2019 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions). From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2021 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2019 TIGER/Line files. In the resulting layer, the tribal lands were deleted so only the distressed municipalities remained. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually when the DECD produces its new list of distressed municipalities (around August/September).