HEAL Act dashboards

Overview

The HEAL Act was passed to ensure that all communities, especially those that have experienced the greatest environmental and health burdens, benefit from environmental policies and investments. This dashboard was developed to provide a transparent, accessible tool for tracking how state agencies are implementing the requirements of the HEAL Act.

Why is this important?

By making detailed data available to the public, communities are empowered to hold state agencies accountable for their commitments to environmental justice. These dashboards serve as a resource for ensuring that investments are made where they are most needed. They also serves to identify areas where more additional focus or resources are needed. Ultimately, it helps to ensure that the benefits of environmental policies are shared equitably, promoting healthier and more sustainable communities for all Washingtonians.

What’s shown on the dashboard?

The dashboard shows fiscal data for projects funded in the 2023-25 biennium, and expenditures in FY 2024 that create environmental benefit. It includes data from each of the seven state agencies covered under the HEAL Act.

The dashboard shows all activities (awards, contracts and programs) by HEAL agencies that create environmental benefits. Within that, the data also shows whether the project is:

• Expected to benefit a vulnerable population in an overburdened community; and
• Awarded to a Tribe.

The dashboard shows expenditure data for FY 2024 only.

What do the percentages mean?

The percentages of award/allotment and expenditures indicate: of all activities that create environmental benefits, what is the portion that was invested to benefit a vulnerable population in an overburdened community.

How was the data collected?

To collect the data, OFM asked each HEAL Act agency to submit information on each project and funding program that creates environmental benefit or reduces environmental harm. Within that, agencies identified which of the projects and programs were reasonably expected to benefit a vulnerable population in an overburdened community. Agencies also submitted data on the amount of funding that had been awarded versus expended.

To increase consistency amongst how agencies conducted their analyses, OFM instructed agencies to use the 2024-25 biennium  uniform approach for identifying overburdened communities for HEAL and CCA investments.

Key terminology

Award /allotment – Total amount awarded or allotted by a HEAL agency for the 2023–25 Biennium (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2025).

Contract  –  An agreement with a state or non-state entity to perform a service.

Direct agency expenditure – Agency staff cost for providing a service or technical assistance.

Does the project benefit vulnerable populations? – Vulnerable populations are defined by the HEAL Act as:

1. A population group of racial or ethnic minorities;
2. A low-income population;
3. A population disproportionately impacted by environmental harms;
4. A population of workers experiencing environmental harms;
5. Vulnerable populations identified through other qualifiers, detailed in RCW 70A.02.010 (14).

Does the project or program create environmental benefits? – A project or program creates environmental benefits under the HEAL Act when it:

1. Prevent or mitigate impacts to overburdened communities or vulnerable populations from, or support community response to, the impacts of environmental harm;
2. Meets a community need formally identified to a covered agency by an overburdened community or vulnerable population that is consistent with the intent of the HEAL Act

FY24 Expenditures – Total amount spent/disbursed by a HEAL agency in fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024).

Grant – Awards of financial assistance, including cooperative agreements, in the form of money to an eligible grantee

Is the project in an overburdened community?  –  Overburdened communities are geographic areas identified following the state’s Uniform approach for identifying overburdened communities and vulnerable populations to direct and track investments under the HEAL and Climate Commitment Acts. The Overburdened Communities dataset merges currently available data sources to identify census tracts where vulnerable populations face cumulative environmental and health impacts. It includes:

1. 2010 census tracts ranked 9 or 10 by the Washington Environmental Health Disparities (EHD) Map,
2. Census tracts identified as “disadvantaged” by the federal Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST),
3. Census tracts overlapping with Tribal reservations (as recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs).

A project is in an overburdened community when the investment occurs in a geographic area identified on the overburdened communities mapping tool on OFM’s website.

NOTE: In a few specific cases, grant programs that benefit low- and moderate-income individuals and households occurred in communities not defined as overburdened using the mapping tool.  Because these programs were designed to create environmental benefit for low- and moderate-income communities, they were considered as benefiting vulnerable populations in overburdened communities.  

Loan – Awards of money that are required to be paid back.

Program appropriation – Total amount appropriated, awarded or offered through program for the 2023–25 Biennium (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2025). If there are multiple awards for the program this amount will be the same for each item that make up the program.

Urban Areas – Identifies the 2020 U.S. Census urban areas.  For the 2020 Census, an urban area will comprise a densely settled core of census blocks that meet minimum housing unit density and/or population density requirements. This includes adjacent territory containing non-residential urban land uses. To qualify as an urban area, the territory identified according to criteria must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or have a population of at least 5,000.