Agency narratives describing expenditures benefiting an overburdened community not shaded on current map

Department of Health

The Department of Health provided grants and contracted with vendors that may not be located within the current OBC map but do serve vulnerable populations. The grants were from the Drinking Water Revolving Fund and the contracted vendors supported the Workplace Safety and Community Budgeting programs. Below are descriptions of these expenditures including links for additional information.

Drinking Water Revolving Fund

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) uses the Disadvantaged Community (DAC) definition WAC 246-296-020 (8)) to comply with the federal regulations as part of the federal grant requirements. This differs slightly from the Overburdened Community (OBC) definition set by state in some respects, but 73% of OBC meet the DWSRF DAC criteria.

The grants that use the provision guidance for identifying OBC criteria support technical assistance statewide. Below are additional details regarding the specific expenditures identified in the dashboard:

DWSRF – Set Asides Technical Assistance – Evergreen Rural Water of Washington

In fiscal year 2025, the contractor was assigned to provide services to seven communities.  Of those communities, one is mapped as an OBC and another meets the DAC definition.  The remaining communities met DOH’s definition of a “small and disadvantaged” water system under the Safe Drinking Water Act, either serving fewer than 500 people or being unable to incur sufficient debt to finance necessary water system infrastructure improvements.

DWSRF – Set Asides Technical Assistance – Rural Community Assistance Corp (RCAC)

In fiscal year 2025, the contractor was assigned to provide services to four communities.  Of those communities, two are mapped as OBCs and one additional one meets the DAC definition.  The remaining community meets DOH’s definition of a “small and disadvantaged” water system under the Safe Drinking Water Act, either serving fewer than 500 people or unable to incur sufficient debt to finance water system necessary infrastructure improvements.

Workplace Safety for Workers Affected by Climate Change

The contracted vendor is Squaxin Island Museum. While the museum itself is not located in an area identified as an OBC, this grant was awarded to a Tribal organization supporting and benefiting Tribal outdoor workers, who do live and work in an identified OBC.

Community Budgeting for Decarbonization and Resilience

The contracted vendor is Seva Workshop. While the vendor is not located in an OBC, the project was informed by youth living in OBCs and will continue to inform future funding distributions that do provide direct benefits to OBCs and vulnerable populations across Washington.

Department of Natural Resources

Wildfire

Wildfire preparedness programming at DNR is benefiting OBCs across the state by reducing wildfire risk to adjacent communities, improving access to safety resources, and strengthening local resilience. Strengthening wildfire preparedness reduces risk to those most vulnerable to harmful smoke exposure – like neighbors and agricultural workers, property loss, and evacuation challenges.

Correctional camps

Correctional camp funding and programming provide an opportunity for incarcerated individuals to participate in on-the-job training by learning skills that prepare them for jobs as firefighters once they complete their sentences.

Access to recreation

Expanding recreational access to OBCs across Washington aims to reduce long standing barriers to nature, improving health outcomes, and wellbeing. DNR programing is strengthening equitable outcomes for OBCs across the state while balancing tribal sovereignty and access to usual and accustomed tribal lands.

Puget Sound Partnership

Puget Sound Partnership’s HEAL report will look different this year (2025) because we developed a more robust and rigorous reporting framework.  The framework provides clearer definitions, stronger criteria, and consistent methods for classifying expenditures.  Furthermore, the data that we submitted reflects adjustments to our organizational programs and structures, which are detailed in the “Operational Level Program Changes” section below. Together, these improvements enhance accuracy and accountability, but they also mean that some of the data presented in this submission will not align directly with our prior report. These changes reflect our commitment to transparency and continuous improvement in meeting HEAL Act requirements.

New approach to HEAL reporting

The Puget Sound Partnership’s EJ Matrix team developed a more robust and rigorous framework for making reporting decisions by introducing standardized definitions, consistent criteria, and clear expenditure categories. This framework provides detailed guidance on how to classify different types of expenditures, such as:

• Contracts
• Grants
• Staff salaries and benefits
• Community-related expenditures

The guidance in our framework ensures that each expenditure is aligned with HEAL Act requirements. By building in precise definitions and examples, the team created a common language that reduces ambiguity, improves accountability, and supports consistent decision-making across Partnership programs. This system not only helps determine whether agency expenditures are considered direct or indirect but also clarifies when expenditures can be linked to benefiting Overburdened Communities and Vulnerable Populations, thereby strengthening both our compliance and transparency in environmental justice reporting.

Organizational level program changes

• The “Equity and EJ Program” was decentralized in FY2024 and reorganized into the current EJ Matrix Team comprised of the Tribal Affairs Manager, Director of Implementation, Community Engagement Coordinator, and the Compliance & Reporting Specialist.
• The “Implementation Program” was created in FY2025.
• Both the “Science and Evaluation” and “Science and Evaluation- Vital Signs” programs are considered one program going forward.
• The program reported as the “Integrated Planning Salmon Recovery” is now “Salmon Recovery” going forward.
• Some programs that were included in last year’s submission may not be in the new submission. This is resulting from changes in how we’re making applicability determinations* and associated changes to reporting.

HEAL reporting framework

• Focus analysis on three main types of agency expenditures:
  • Agreement-related expenditures (contracts & grants)
  • Staff-related expenditures (salary & benefits)
  • Other direct expenditures (community compensation payments)

• Assign each contract/agreement expenditure a HEAL reporting category:
  • Direct Expenditure: expenditures that are specifically targeted and traceable to a program/project that creates measurable environmental benefits or mitigates environmental harm in overburdened communities or vulnerable populations.
    • These expenditures are considered covered, applicable, and can be linked to benefiting an Overburdened Community and/or Vulnerable Population.
    • Criteria to consider for this determination: 1) whether the expenditure is identifiable to a distinct activity (i.e., installing school air-filtration systems in overburdened communities); and/or 2) there are more immediate environmental health outcomes anticipated (i.e., reduced particulate matter; improved water quality; soil remediation).
  • Indirect Expenditure: expenditures that support broader programs, benefit multiple initiatives, or enable conditions for environmental gains or harm reduction- but are not tied to a single identifiable intervention.
    • These expenditures are considered covered and applicable, though cannot be linked to benefiting an Overburdened Community and/or Vulnerable Population.
    • Criteria to consider for this determination: 1) the expenditure has a common/joint purpose (i.e., benefits more than one program/location); 2) the expenditure enables or supports direct efforts and essential for execution (i.e., science investigations; planning; policy development; staff training); and/or 3) the anticipated cause-effect is less immediate (i.e., outcomes are delayed, broader, or cumulative).
  • Not Applicable Expenditure: expenditures with no known environmental nexus, not applicable under the HEAL Act, and not reported.

• Determine Overburdened Community (OBC) Designation:
  • Using the Overburdened Communities of Washington State map, locate the address of the expenditure recipient on the map.
  • If located in blue shaded area, the expenditure can be determined to benefit an OBC.
  • If not located in a blue shaded area, refer to the IAWG’s Supplemental Guidance to determine if the expenditure recipient meets OBC designation criteria:
    • Using the Environmental Health Disparities Map, locate the address of the expenditure recipient on the map.
    • Click on its respective census tract to identify census tract level-related indicators.
    • If the census tract meets any of the following criteria, the expenditure will be determined to benefit an OBC:
      • A cumulative ranking of 9 or 10* for overall “Socioeconomic Factors” topic
      • A ranking of 9 or 10* for at least one of the following Socioeconomic Factors indicators:
        • People of Color
        • Population Living in Poverty
        • Primary Language other than English

• Determine Vulnerable Population (VP) Designation:
  • Using the Environmental Health Disparities Map, locate the address of the expenditure recipient on the map.
  • Click on its respective census tract to identify census tract level-related indicators.
  • If the census tract meets any of the following criteria, the expenditure will be determined to benefit a VP:
    • A cumulative ranking of 9 or 10* for overall “Socioeconomic Factors” topic
    • A ranking of 9 or 10* for at least one of the following Socioeconomic Factors indicators:
      • People of Color
      • Population Living in Poverty
      • Primary Language other than English

• Assign each staff-related expenditure the in-direct HEAL reporting category:
  • Staff to include:
    • EJ Matrix Team
    • Significant Agency Action/EJ Assessment Leads
    • Other staff with large EJ nexus (example Social Science Coordinator)

• Assign each community compensation expenditure the direct HEAL reporting category:
  • Staff to include:
    • CAC members
    • Other compensated community members?

*The Environmental Health Disparities Map displays a census tract’s overall environmental health disparity rank between 1 (least burdened) and 10 (most burdened). EHD rankings reflect a cumulative impact score which combines environmental hazards and exposures plus vulnerabilities and social factors. Each rank from 1-10 represents 10% of communities; making those census tracts ranked 9 or 10 among the top ~20% of tracts statewide with the highest environmental health burdens.

Department of Transportation

The headquarters of the Squaxin Island Tribe is not located in any census tract designated as an overburdened community. However, the grantee (and the service in the grant benefits) is the Squaxin Island Tribe. For tracking purposes, investments to Tribes are considered investments to overburdened communities.