Interagency Environmental Justice Working Group

In 2020, the Interagency Environmental Justice Working Group was established by the 2020 budget amendment Item 372 #1c (SNR), accompanying SB406 and HB704. The Working Group was tasked with assessing and providing recommendations regarding agency improvements to meaningfully engage environmental justice communities in decision-making processes for agency activities that affect them. The group is comprised of 10 environmental justice coordinators representing each of the Governor's Secretaries, with additional representatives from the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice. The Working Group's responsibilities include ensuring that environmental justice is meaningfully considered in the administration of agency regulations, consistently identifying environmental justice communities, and developing robust public participation plans for residents of these communities.