Supporting Overburdened Communities Mapping Tool
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has created the resulting map providing multiple opportunities to serve communities, utilizing environmental justice grants and emission reduction projects.
Our overburdened communities are those with a combination of poorer health outcomes, more air pollution sources, and whose residents face socio-economic barriers to participation in clean air decisions and solutions. To identify our overburdened communities, they combined information from multiple trusted sources, including their own Community Air Tool, Washington State’s Environmental Health Disparities Map, Washington State Department of Ecology’s Overburdened Communities, and EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool.
Energy Justice Mapping Tool
The mapping tool highlights census tracts that the Department of Energy consider disadvantaged. Disadvantaged communities were identified using 36 indicators related to fossil fuel dependence, energy burden, environmental and climate hazards, and socio-economic vulnerabilities.
EPA EJ Screen
The screening tool uses public data to visualize environmental and demographic indicators on a color coded map. The tool includes 13 environmental indicators, seven socioeconomic indicators, 13 environmental justice indexes, and 13 supplemental indexes.
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
The screening tool visualizes census tracts that are overburdened and underserved across the United States. Overburdened and undeserved communities were identified using climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, waste and wastewater, and workforce development indicators. The dataset is available for download.