Over the last ten years, we have seen how environmental burdens can impact communities with low-incomes and communities of colour, as well rural and other vulnerable communities.
Oregonians have suffered a continuous pandemic, severe wildfires, and a unprecedented heat wave in the last two years. More than 100 people died. These events add to the already hazardous environmental risks of lead exposure, air pollution, and unsafe working conditions.
Truth is, although many people have been affected, it’s often people with disabilities, rural communities, low income communities, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color who feel it most.
The extraordinary foresight of then-Sen. Avel Gorodly allowed him to champion Senate Bill 420 in 2007, establishing Oregon’s Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF). The task force was responsible for advising the governor, natural resource agencies, and providing guidance to increase public participation and reduce disproportionate environmental harm.
As two members of the task force, we reflect on this moment and consider our roles in the state’s legacy of environmental justice leadership. Ben Duncan, a founding member, was the former chair and is currently the liaison to Oregon Commission on Black Affairs. Joel Iboa was the youngest of the appointees, currently chair and executive director at the Oregon Just Transition Alliance.
We represent two generations that are indebted and grateful to those who helped us get there and provided training and learning opportunities for future environmental justice leaders.
Our pedigree is identical: both graduates of the University of Oregon as well as former members of the Coalition Against Environmental Racism., Robin Morris Collin, founding chair of the Environmental Justice Task Force and her husband Robert (current taskforce vice chair), founded the student group while they were still professors at Oregon.
The task force currently has three generations of environmental justice leaders. We are witnessing remarkable progress in this movement and its work. This is the culmination of decades worth of hard work, capacity building, and continued action and imagination from each generation.
This year House Bill 4077The Environmental Justice for All Bill, also known as the Environmental Justice for All Bill, seeks to continue the 2007 legislation’s foundation for Oregon residents to have a healthy and safe environment. It builds trust and transparency in agency processes, ensuring they will consider the environmental consequences of their policies and practices.
Two things are really important for Oregon with HB4077. First, it solidifies and provides resources for an Environmental Justice Council – an enhanced version of the task force. This shift, which builds on the national-recognized, collaborative approach to state agencies, will provide state investments and sustainability to meet the moment we are in and ensure that the voices of those most affected by environmental hazards have an increase in influence in decisions.
Second, the bill will allow for the development of an environment mapping tool that will assess environmental, socioeconomic and health disparities.
It would be available to legislators, community organizations, as well as the general public. It would allow state agencies to understand the lives and potential impacts of those who have suffered the effects of environmental disparities for too long.
We are thrilled that Oregon has the chance to make a bold move forward in the spirit and racial, environmental justice. We owe Oregon’s next generation a more resilient, sustainable, and healthier state.