Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States: Technology, Policy, and Societal Dimensions (2024)
Chapter: Appendix G: Disadvantaged Community as Defined by Implementers of Justice40 Covered Programs
APPENDIX G
Disadvantaged Community as Defined by Implementers of Justice40 Covered Programs
Table G-1 displays the various definitions for “disadvantaged community” used across federal agencies with Justice40 covered programs and compares screening tool metrics with those of the Council for Economic Quality’s (CEQ’s) Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST).
TABLE G-1 Definitions for Disadvantaged Community for Federal Agencies with Justice40 Covered Programs, Comparing Screening Tool Metrics with CEQ’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
| Actor | Disadvantaged Community Definition | Metrics That Overlap with CEJST | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEQ |
Definition: A community that is marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution and has other socioeconomic burdens. Screening Methodology: 30 metrics are grouped into eight burden categories (the parentheses show the number of metrics per category):
CEJSTa identifies 27,251 census tracts as disadvantaged (33% of the U.S. population) and an additional 1,063 of census tracts are partially disadvantaged communities (White House 2022). |
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| Department of Transportation (DOT) |
Definition: A historically disadvantaged community is (1) a qualifying census tract; (2) tribal land; or (3) any territory or possession of the United States. Screening Methodology: 40 metrics are grouped into five categories of transportation disadvantage (the parentheses show the number of metrics per category):
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| Actor | Disadvantaged Community Definition | Metrics That Overlap with CEJST | |
|---|---|---|---|
The Equitable Transportation Communityb Explorer identifies 35% of census tracts as transportation disadvantaged communities (DOT 2023). |
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| Department of Energy (DOE) |
Definition: As defined by Young et al. (2021), a disadvantaged community is either (1) a group of individuals living in geographic proximity, such as a census tract, or (2) a geographically dispersed set of individuals who experience common conditions, such as migrant workers or Indigenous people. Screening Methodology: 36 burden metrics are grouped into four categories (the parentheses show the number of metrics per category):
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| The Disadvantaged Communities Reporterc mapping tool identifies 13,581 census tracts as disadvantaged communities (DOE 2023). | |||
| Department of the Interior (DOI) | Definition: A community may be considered disadvantaged based on a combination of burden indicators or based on the community’s inclusion in the CEJST (DOI 2022). |
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| Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works Program | Definition: USACE uses the CEQ definition of a disadvantaged community and CEJST to implement Justice40 covered programs (Connor 2022). Additional tools will be used for further support, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) EJScreen Tool; the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool; New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Mapping, Assessment, and Protection Tool; Maryland’s Environmental Justice Screen Tool; and North Carolina’s Community Mapping System.d | See indicator list for CEQ above. | |
| Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Definition: EPA is developing benefit methodologies to track and report the benefits going toward disadvantaged communities (EPA 2022). | Unknown. | |
a See CEQ (2023).
b See DOT (2023).
c See Argonne National Laboratory (2022).
d See North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (n.d.).
REFERENCES
Argonne National Laboratory. 2022. “Energy Justice Mapping Tool—Disadvantaged Communities Reporter.” https://energyjustice.egs.anl.gov/. Accessed September 1, 2023.
CEQ (White House Council on Environmental Quality). 2023. “Methodology.” https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/methodology#3/33.47/-97.5.
Connor, M.L. 2022. Implementation of Environmental Justice and the Justice40 Initiative. Edited by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2022/03/22/6ab6eb44/final-interim-implementation-guidance-on-environmental-justice-1.pdf.
DOE (Department of Energy). 2023. “Justice40 Initiative.” https://www.energy.gov/diversity/justice40-initiative.
DOI (Department of the Interior). 2022. Guidance on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Abandoned Mine Land Grant Implementation. https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/bil-aml-guidance.pdf.
DOT (Department of Transportation). 2023. “US DOT Equitable Transportation Community Explorer Methodology.” https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/0920984aa80a4362b8778d779b090723/page/Methodology.
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). 2022. “Justice40 at EPA.” https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40-epa.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. n.d. “Community Mapping System Version 1.0.” https://ncdenr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1eb0fbe2bcfb4cccb3cc212af8a0b8c8. Accessed September 1, 2023.
White House. 2022. “Biden-Harris Administration Launches Version 1.0 of Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, Key Step in Implementing President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative.” Press release. https://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/news-updates/2022/11/22/biden-harris-administration-launches-version-1-0-of-climate-and-economic-justice-screening-tool-key-step-in-implementing-president-bidens-justice40-initiative.
White House. 2023. Building a Clean Energy Economy: A Guidebook to the Inflation Reduction Act’s Investments in Clean Energy and Climate Action. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Inflation-Reduction-Act-Guidebook.pdf.
Young, S.D., B. Mallory, and G. McCarthy. 2021. “Interim Implementation Guidance for the Justice40 Initiative.” Memorandum for the Heads of Departments and Agencies. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/M-21-28.pdf.
