Born as an offshoot from the National Center for Smart Growth's mapping activities, MD EJ SCREEN was initiated by Drs Sacoby Wilson (MIAEH), Devon Payne-Sturges (MIAEH), and Gerritt Knapp (NCSG) in collaboration with the Maryland Environmental Health Network.
Location:
University of Maryland Stamp Student Union
Prince George's Room
EPA Mid-Atlantic Region to present contract award to UMD School of Public Health
On Tuesday, November 30, 2021, the EPA Mid-Atlantic Region’s new administrator, Adam Ortiz, will visit the University of Maryland to present a $100,000 contract award to the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health. Accepting on behalf of the school is Dr. Sacoby Wilson, associate professor of applied environmental health and director of the Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health initiative.
The award will support the expansion of the The Maryland Environmental Justice Screen Tool (MD EJ SCREEN), developed by Dr. Wilson’s CEEJH team, the Maryland Environmental Health Network and the National Center for Smart Growth. Mapping software like the EJ Screen has become a crucial tool in identifying communities that are vulnerable, or currently threatened by, environmental hazards, pollution and health disparities. The MD EJ SCREEN tool was developed in 2017 to allow users to explore layers of environmental justice concern, determine the overall ‘EJ Score’ for census tracts in the state, and view additional context layers relevant to their area of concern or story they would like to tell.
The EPA contract award represents a significant investment in the state of Maryland’s existing Environmental Justice (EJ) Screen Tool, used to assess individual communities’ environmental and health needs. The focus of the contract is to enhance the EJ tool’s capabilities to quantify the issues that affect children and rural communities by adding indicators relevant to children’s health and environmental health for rural and agricultural communities. The tool has previously focused primarily on environmental hazards in urban areas.
Stakeholders for this contract award event will include Maryland communities impacted by environmental justice concerns, agricultural stakeholders, health agencies, state and local officials and other public or private industries who could benefit from learning about the enhancements to the existing EJ Mapping Tool in Maryland.
Members of the media are invited to attend the event or to watch the event announcement livestream.
Location:
University of Maryland Stamp Student Union
3972 Campus Dr, College Park, MD 20742
Parking in Union Lane Garage (adjacent to the Stamp Student Union)
Interviews with Dr. Sacoby Wilson may be requested by contacting Kelly Blake and interviews with Adam Ortiz, EPA Region 3 administrator may be requested by contacting the EPA Mid-Atlantic Region’s Office of Public Affairs at 215-814-2921 or email R3_Public_Affairs@epa.gov.