The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and OEHHA (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)’s statewide screening tool, CalEnviroScreen has been updated to a 3.0 version. CalEPA and OEHHA conducted several workshops and webinars over the course of Summer and Fall 2016 throughout the state in order gather input from stakeholders. A press release was published this month to announce the draft had been finalized. Among major changes to the update, most notable include the addition of two new indicators which measure housing costs and cardiovascular health. The housing indicator, as a social economic indicator, measures census tract’s low-income households that pay over half of their income for housing. The cardiovascular health indicator collects data on emergency room department visits for heart related attacks. The 3.0 version is also set to have refined data including new information on census tracts. The newest version of CalEnviroScreen will also examine pollution data along the Unites States and Mexico border, in order to better understand how border communities are affected from outside pollutants. Stakeholder feedback also resulted in the addition of an age indicator as opposed to the entire removal of children and elders as an age indicator. During the public comment period, the Partnership submitted a comment letter to CalEPA and OEHHA supporting an update, opposing an age indicator removal as well as asking the agencies to provide additional resources for local jurisdictions that help identity the best ways utilize CalEnviroScreen for their communities. CalEnviroScreen is an important tool that helps identify environmental justice communities and helps advocate access data that is critical to understanding hazards within the built environment. CalEnviroScreen is also a tool that is used to qualify for disadvantage community designation within statewide grant programs like the Active Transportation Program. To read more about the finalized draft, please visit the OEHHA website for press release information here.
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