Environmental
Justice
Environmental Justice
Community Outreach
Impact Environmental offers professional community outreach services to support companies operating within overburdened communities (OBCs) identified by the USEPA EJScreen tool. We understand that each community has unique needs and communication preferences, so we tailor our approach accordingly. Whether driven by regulatory mandates or a commitment to sustainability and environmental justice, our services are designed with a community-centric focus to ensure effective engagement.
Community Participation Plans
Meaningfully involve community stakeholders through unique participation opportunities. With years of experience hosting communities, we’re experts in community event scheduling, notifications, and presentations.
Impact Environmental is dedicated to elevating your community engagement activities with customized communication strategies tailored to your unique community’s needs. Our in-house team handles everything from concept design to commercial print and mail services. We create stakeholder-friendly materials in English and Spanish, including postcards, reports, flyers, and posters, ensuring your message reaches residents within a 1- or 2-mile radius of your property.
Our experience spans across print and digital media, including website hosting, design, and communication capabilities. Let us manage the logistics, so you can focus on your project’s success, confident that your community engagement is in capable hands.
In addition to communications, we offer best practices for meeting scheduling and strategies to foster effective community involvement. Our untraditional meeting format encourages meaningful discussions with community members, ensuring their input is heard in important planning decisions. Our innovative meeting formats and educational outreach minimize project disruptions and improve stakeholder relations.
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At the former DuPont facility in East Chicago, Indiana, Impact Environmental was contracted to create an accessible learning space for the community. In addition to our cleanup services at the site, the residents are invited to the annual Community Participation Symposium for the opportunity to ask questions and engage with the activities at the property. Our team constructed fully custom 3-dimensional dioramas to visually display the remediation process at the site using 1/50th scale models, making complex information accessible and understandable.
Hosted in a familiar space less than a mile from the site, the feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. Each year, our relationship with the community strengthens thanks to our effective educational strategies that increase transparency and trust. This ongoing engagement ensures that the residents of East Chicago are well-informed and confident in the safety and progress of the remediation efforts at the former DuPont facility.
The introduction of the Community Participation Symposium has set a new standard for community engagement in East Chicago and beyond. This initiative has been so successful that Impact Environmental is honored to receive the 2024 National Environmental Excellence Award for Public and Involvement and Education for our work at the former DuPont facility in East Chicago.
Environmental Justice Impact Statements
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Impact Environmental completes Environmental Justice Impact Statements (EJIS) to assess the potential environmental and public health effects of a proposed project, plan, or facility on overburdened communities (OBCs). Regulatory bodies often mandate EJIS for projects that might impact overburdened communities, or companies proposing new developments, infrastructure projects, or industrial facilities may need EJIS to comply with environmental regulations.
Using nationally consistent data including EJScreen and Social Vulnerability Index, our approach combines environmental and demographic indicators in maps and reports. We identify affected communities to map environmental and demographic indicators, evaluate the project’s impact on air and water quality, land use, health, and socio-economic factors, and recommend measures to minimize negative impacts and enhance positive outcomes.
Professional Permitting Guidance
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Environmental justice laws and public hearings pose challenges to operations. Let us guide you through mandatory permitting processes with peace of mind.
Navigating the complexities of the environmental justice processes can be especially difficult in states with stringent regulations like New Jersey and New York. Impact Environmental offers expert permitting guidance to ensure your project, plan, or facility meets all EJ requirements. Our services include comprehensive impact assessments, stakeholder engagement, and preparation for public hearings. We use state-specific tools like EJScreen and tailor our approach to comply with local laws, ensuring your project proceeds smoothly while addressing community concerns and minimizing environmental impacts. Trust us to handle the regulatory intricacies so you can focus on your project’s success.