Overview

EJScreen is the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) environmental justice mapping and screening tool. It provides the EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and approach for combining environmental and demographic socioeconomic indicators. EJScreen users choose a geographic area; the tool then provides demographic socioeconomic and environmental information for that area. All of the EJScreen indicators are publicly-available data. EJScreen simply provides a way to display this information and includes a method for combining environmental and demographic indicators into EJ indexes:

• 12 environmental indicators
• 7 socioeconomic indicators
• 12 EJ indexes
• 12 supplemental indexes

Each EJ and supplemental index combines socioeconomic indicators with a single environmental indicator. The tool provides a number of capabilities including:

• Color coded mapping
• The ability to generate a standard report for a selected area
• Comparisons showing how a selected area compares to the state, EPA region or the nation

EPA uses EJScreen as a preliminary step when considering environmental justice in certain situations. The agency uses it to screen for areas that may be candidates for additional consideration, analysis or outreach as EPA develops programs, policies and activities that may affect communities. In the past, the agency employed EJ screening tools in a wide variety of circumstances. A few examples of what EJScreen supports across the agency include:

• Informing outreach and engagement practices
• Implementing aspects of the following programs:
  • Permitting
  • Enforcement
  • Compliance
  • Voluntary
• Developing retrospective reports of EPA work
• Enhancing geographically based initiatives

Audience

EJScreen allows users to access high-resolution environmental and demographic information for locations in the United States, and compare their selected locations to the rest of the state, EPA region, or the nation. It can also support a wide range of research and policy goals. The public has used EJScreen in many different locations and in many different ways.

The tool may help users identify areas with:

• People of color and/or low-income populations
• Potential environmental quality issues
• A combination of environmental and demographic indicators that is greater than usual
• Other factors that may be of interest

EJScreen may also be used to support:

• Educational programs
• Grant writing
• Community awareness efforts
• Other purposes

EPA is sharing EJScreen with the public:

• To be more transparent about how we consider environmental justice in our work,
• To assist our stakeholders in making informed decisions about pursuing environmental justice and
• To create a common starting point between the agency and the public when looking at issues related to environmental justice