I appreciate DEQ's commitment to environmental justice, and urge the agency to ensure that all public participation is accessible, inclusive and meaningful in order to ensure environmental justice for all Virginians. 

This includes:

-Hold meetings at times that community members can attend, in places that are accessible to people without cars, and in all relevant languages.

-Tracking and making public demographic information about the community residents impacted by any proposed decisions and the people who have participated in the public comment process. The communities who will be affected should also be notified through meaningful outreach processes in advance of regulatory changes.

-Clear and transparent information about how community input will be weighed

-DEQ should meaningfully invest in public outreach, including through a community engagement hub that provides community education and engagement opportunities that meet communities where they are, with a priority to engage with communities likely to be affected by decisions and those who are considered environmental justice communities

These actions would all enable the DEQ to continue to act on environmental justice