Agency of Natural Resources urges lawmakers to bolster funds for environmental justice bill by ReTime.org April 27, 2022 MONTPELIER State lawmakers and environmental leaders are rallying around an environmental justice bill, but members of Gov. Phil Scotts administration have expressed concerns that not enough money is allocated for its implementation. Earlier this legislative session, the bill included $3 million, part of which would have funded more than a dozen full-time positions at the Agency of Natural Resources, the Natural Resources Board which oversees Act 250, the states landmark land use and development law and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Then, late last month, the Senate passed a version of the bill that would reduce the amount to $700,000. The administration is committed to the important work of environmental justice, Julie Moore, secretary of the states Agency of Natural Resources, told VTDigger. But we also have to be realistic about what we can accomplish, and I am concerned that there’s a mismatch between the significant multi-year efforts as envisioned in the bill and the resources that are provided. Moore said the Agency of Natural Resources needs time and resources to build trust with people in areas which, by the very definition of underserved communities, are places we don’t have relationships. I appreciate that the desire for really rigorous timelines is one born out of frustration for how long it’s taken us to get to this point and desire to see this work done, Moore said. And yet, there’s certain kinds of work that simply can’t be rushed or accelerated by resources alone. Another version of S.148, which passed out of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife Wednesday morning, appears to address some of Moores concerns. While it maintains the same amount of funding $700,000 it expands timelines, bumps one existing position in the agency from half-time to full-time, and includes two positions that would be dedicated to implementing the environmental justice work. Rep. Amy Sheldon, D-Middlebury, told VTDigger on Wednesday the House Committee on Appropriations, where the bill is headed next, will decide whether the two positions created by the bill would be new, or whether theyd require the agency to pluck staff members from other programs. She hopes the committee designates new, permanent positions, she said. While Moore said she hadnt been able to review the latest iteration, a final version of the bill would need to provide new, multi-year resources for the work, rather than reassigning existing positions within the agency, for the administration to support it. Otherwise, the structure of the bill would not provide the resources the agency needs to fulfill its existing obligations and the new obligations created by the environmental justice bill, she said. No exception If the bill passes, Vermont would be one of the last states in the country to establish an environmental justice policy. Researchers, advocates and lawmakers say its sorely needed. Across the country, people of color, people with low incomes, those with disabilities, those who dont speak English fluently and others are disproportionately impacted by environmental burdens and have restricted access to environmental benefits. Studies have shown that Vermont is no exception. For example, in 2020, the Center for American Progress found that 76% of Vermonters who are Black, Indigenous or people of color live in nature deprived census tracts with a higher proportion of natural areas lost to human activities than the Vermont median, according to the findings section of the bill. In contrast, 27% of white individuals live in these areas. While mobile homes represent around 7% of Vermonts housing stock, they made up 40% of the affected sites during Tropical Storm Irene, according to the bill. As passed by the Senate, S.148 states that no segment of the population of the State should, because of its racial, cultural, or economic makeup, bear a disproportionate share of environmental burdens or be denied an equitable share of environmental benefits. It is further the policy of the State of Vermont to provide the opportunity for the meaningful participation of all individuals, with particular attention to environmental justice populations, in the development, implementation, or enforcement of any law, regulation, or policy, the bill states. To accomplish that charge, the bill would establish a new mapping tool that would use Census data to identify communities where environmental burdens, such as pollution and impacts of climate change, have an outsized impact on Vermonters particularly those with low incomes and those who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. Lawmakers and members of environmental organizations gathered at the Statehouse Tuesday morning to express support for the bill and urge its passage, calling it an important first step. When we set out, we had an ambitious goal for what we could fund and what would be necessary, Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden, who introduced the bill, told reporters. Everyone had ambitious goals for what needs to be funded this year. The bill would also stand up an Advisory Council on Environmental Justice and an Interagency Environmental Justice Committee, which would guide state agencies toward investing more in and hearing more from impacted communities. testified before the House Natural Resources Committee earlier this month about the merits of the proposed policy from a racial equity perspective. While Davis said her office supports the bill, she strongly, strongly urged the committee to consider, what is the amount of work that were asking for, and how are we resourcing it? We dont just want to say on paper, We want to make every effort to support historically marginalized or underserved communities, she said. Those communities arent underserved by any inherent measure of their own. Theyre underserved because someone is not serving us. Don’t miss a thing. 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