Flexible Recovery Funds Offer States a Tool to Advance Environmental Justice
End Notes
[1] This report reflects data collected by CBPP on state uses of Fiscal Recovery Funds. It relies in part on extensive Fiscal Recovery Fund tracking conducted by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
[2] This total includes FRF weatherization investments, which CBPP also categorized under housing repairs, but excludes $9.8 billion in water and sewer infrastructure spending for all states, D.C., and the U.S. Territories.
[3] Hurricanes Ida and Sandy represent two examples of the danger and fiscal costs that severe storms, which are expected to become more common due to climate change, pose to communities. Hurricane Sandy caused an estimated $70 billion in damage. Nathan Rott, “Climate Change’s Impact On Hurricane Sandy Has A Price: $8 Billion,” National Public Radio, May 18, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/05/18/997666304/climate-changes-impact-on-hurricane-sandy-has-a-price-8-billion.
[4] S. Nazrul Islam and John Winkel, “Climate Change and Social Inequality,” United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Working Paper No. 152, October 2017, https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2017/wp152_2017.pdf.
[5] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Understanding the Connections Between Climate Change and Human Health,” https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/understanding-connections-between-climate-change-and-human-health.
[6] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Greater Impact: How Disasters Affect People of Low Socioeconomic Status,” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, July 2017, https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/dtac/srb-low-ses_2.pdf.
[7] Elli Ntakou, F. Selin Yanikara, and Jeff Schlegelmilch, “U.S. Cities and Climate Change: Status and Roadmap for the Future,” IEEE Smart Cities, September 2021, https://smartcities.ieee.org/newsletter/september-2021/us-cities-and-climate-change-status-and-roadmap-for-the-future.
[8] Lesley Fleishman and Marcus Franklin, “Fumes Across the Fence-Line: The Health Impacts of Air Pollution from Oil and Gas Facilities on African American Communities,” National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, November 2017, http://www.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CATF_Pub_FumesAcrossTheFenceLine.pdf.
[9] Anya Groner, “Louisiana Chemical Plants Are Thriving Off Slavery,” The Atlantic, May 7, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/05/louisiana-chemical-plants-thriving-off-slavery/618769/.
[10] U.S. Department of Energy, “Weatherization Assistance Program,” Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, January 2021, https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021/01/f82/WAP-fact-sheet_2021_0.pdf.
[11] DC Green Bank offers innovative financing solutions that prioritize making the clean economy inclusive and affordable for all D.C. residents, businesses, and community institutions.
[12] Under the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act of 2018, Title III established the District’s Building Energy Performance Standard Program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by 50 percent by 2032. D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, Building Energy Performance Standards, https://doee.dc.gov/service/building-energy-performance-standards-beps.
[13] Maryland Energy Administration, “Strategic Energy Investment Fund 2019 Highlights,” January 30, 2020, https://news.maryland.gov/mea/2020/01/30/strategic-investment-fund-2019-highlights/.
[14] Eversource is helping pilot a geothermal program in Framingham, Massachusetts, to determine viable options for affordable heating and cooling for homes and businesses. Construction is scheduled to begin mid-2022. See https://www.eversource.com/content/ema-c/business/save-money-energy/clean-energy-options/geothermal-pilot-program.
[15] The Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry Urban and Community Forestry crews, hired within local communities, will plant trees in neighborhoods with lower tree canopy, older housing stock, higher wind speeds, and a larger renter population. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, “Greening the Gateway Cities Program,” https://www.mass.gov/service-details/greening-the-gateway-cities-program.
[16] Florida Department of Environmental Protection, “Petroleum Cleanup Programs,” February 14, 2022, https://floridadep.gov/waste/petroleum-restoration/content/petroleum-cleanup-programs.
[17] Craig Pittman, “High-risk underground fuel tanks in Florida await cleanup as state spends millions on easy fixes,” Tampa Bay Times, January 6, 2018, https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/High-risk-underground-fuel-tanks-in-Florida-await-cleanup-as-state-spends-millions-on-easy-fixes_164169197/.
[18] New Mexico Voices, “Orphaned Wells and Inadequate Bonds: How the Oil and Gas Industry Could Soon Become a Financial Burden,” February 2021, https://www.nmvoices.org/archives/15157.
[19] Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, “Brownfields Program: Helping Transform Vermont’s Underutilized Developed Properties,” https://dec.vermont.gov/waste-management/contaminated-sites/brownfields.
[20] Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, “Vermont Brownfields Program,” https://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/wmp/Sites/2018.Outreach.Vermont.Brownfields.Program.pdf.
[21] Hawai’i Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement, https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/docare/.
[22] Alex Brown, “Offshore Wind Takes Off at Last. States Have Been Counting on It,” Pew Charitable Trusts, February 7, 2022, https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/02/07/offshore-wind-takes-off-at-last-states-have-been-counting-on-it?.
[23] U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, “Top 10 Things You Didn‘t Know About Offshore Wind Energy,” August, 30, 2021, https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/top-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-offshore-wind-energy.
[24] New Hampshire Department of Energy, “Deployment of Offshore Wind in the Gulf of Maine: New Hampshire Impact Assessment Consultant,” October 22, 2021, https://www.energy.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt551/files/inline-documents/sonh/rfp-2021-020-offshore-wind-gulf-of-maine-consultant.pdf.
[25] Texas General Land Office, “Coastal Texas Study Overview,” https://coastalstudy.texas.gov/about-the-study/overview/index.html.