Pollution and Pandemics: COVID-19’s Disproportionate Impact on Environmental Justice Communities
Two members of the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum – WE ACT for Environmental Justice and West End Revitalization Association – submitted a Letter for the Record in response to the House Committee on Energy & Commerce hearing titled, “Pollution and Pandemics: COVID-19’s Disproportionate Impact on Environmental Justice Communities.”
The letters raised concerns about:
- A lack of guidelines for management and disposal of health and medical waste being produced by the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Impact of biosolids – human sewage sludge, animal manure, pharmaceutical chemicals, proprietary industrial chemicals, solvents and manufacturing metals – on air, soil and water quality during this time;
- Congressional oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency in response to enforcement suspension;
- Support for funding renewable energy, energy assistance, and weatherization programs; and
- Replacing gas stoves in public housing with pollution-free solutions.
Read the letters: WE ACT for EJ – letter for the record 06.09.2020 & WERA – Omega Wilson – Letter for the Record 06.09.2020.