Identifying overburdened communities for HEAL & CCA investments
In This Section
Overview
Both the HEAL Act and CCA require that agencies invest to benefit overburdened communities, ensuring that those people most impacted by pollution experience a healthier environment. The HEAL and CCA Acts define “overburdened communities” as geographic areas where vulnerable populations face combined, multiple environmental harms and health impacts.
HEAL Act
The law requires that agencies covered under HEAL establish a goal of directing 40% of funds that create environmental benefits to vulnerable populations and overburdened communities.
Climate Commitment Act
The law requires a minimum of 35%, with a goal of 40%, of total CCA investments provide direct and meaningful benefit to vulnerable populations within overburdened communities. The law also requires that at least 10% of total investments are made to benefit Tribes.
Uniform approach for identifying overburdened communities for HEAL & CCA investments for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025
Following Executive Directive 24-11, the state has created a standard method for executive and small cabinet agencies to identify overburdened communities and vulnerable populations for HEAL and CCA investments. This ensures that investments from the HEAL and CCA acts are effectively targeted towards these groups, with benefits created and progress tracked consistently across state agencies.
This approach will be applied during the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, with plans for future updates, and highlights the importance of collaborating with agency Equity and HEAL Teams to align investments with equity objectives.
Overburdened Communities Mapping Tool
The Overburdened Communities mapping tool can be used to view where Overburdened Communities are located in Washington State. This tool was created using Washington’s Environmental Health Disparities Map, Climate Economic Justice Screening Tool and Tribal Data and uses several key indicators including health, income, and exposure to environmental hazards.
Implementation guide for identifying overburdened communities and vulnerable populations for HEAL investments
This guidance provides information for HEAL covered and opt in agencies on how to identify overburdened communities and vulnerable populations for the purposes of making and tracking covered expenditure.
For further detailed information on the requirements, please refer to the Executive Directive 24-11 and the uniform approach for the identifying overburdened communities and vulnerable populations.
Overburdened Communities Map
Use the Overburdened Communities Map for initial identification of overburdened communities when making and tracking HEAL expenditures for the 2023-2025 biennium.
The Overburdened Communities Map is a composite of several relevant data sources. Geographic areas identified as overburdened communities include census tracts ranked 9 or 10 on the Environmental Health Disparities (EHD) Map, geographic areas characterized as “disadvantaged” on the federal Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), and census tracts that are fully or partially on “Indian Country” as defined in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1151.
The Overburdened Communities Map represents data collected as of July 1, 2024. Agencies shall use this version of the map for the duration of the biennium. Subsequent versions of the map will incorporate changes in state and federal data and geographic boundaries.
Overburdened Communities Map (areas shaded blue)
Steps for tracking and reporting expenditures
When tracking and reporting expenditures for the HEAL Act, follow the procedures outlined below. For details and further information regarding HEAL Act tracking and reporting, please refer to the Governor’s Directive 24-11 and the full uniform approach and the instructions published by the Department of Ecology.
- Determine whether the expenditure is covered under HEAL. These are funding and expenditures related to programs that address or may cause environmental harm or provide environmental benefits towards overburdened communities and vulnerable populations.
An expenditure creates environmental benefits based on any of the following HEAL statutory criteria:
- Prevent or reduce existing environmental harms or associated risks that contribute significantly to cumulative environmental health impacts.
- Prevent or mitigate impacts to overburdened communities or vulnerable populations from, or support community response to, the impacts of environmental harm.
- Meet a community need formally identified to a covered agency by an overburdened community or vulnerable population that is consistent with the intent of this chapter (RCW 70A.02).
“Environmental harm” means the individual or cumulative environmental health impacts and risks to communities caused by historic, current, or projected:
- Exposure to pollution, conventional or toxic pollutants, environmental hazards, or other contamination in the air, water, and land;
- Adverse environmental effects, including exposure to contamination, hazardous substances, or pollution that increase the risk of adverse environmental health outcomes or create vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change;
- Loss or impairment of ecosystem functions or traditional food resources or loss of access to gather cultural resources or harvest traditional foods; or
- Health and economic impacts from climate change.
- Determine whether the expenditure is distributed in an overburdened community based on the Overburdened Communities map described above.
- Determine whether the expenditure benefits a vulnerable population based on one or more of the following “vulnerable populations” HEAL Act statutory criteria (RCW 70A.02.010).
- A population group of racial or ethnic minorities
- A low-income population
- A population disproportionately impacted by environmental harms
- A population of workers experiencing environmental harms
- Vulnerable populations identified through other qualifiers, detailed in the statutory definition.
Implementation guide for identifying overburdened communities and vulnerable populations for CCA investments
This guidance provides information for agencies on how to identify overburdened communities and vulnerable populations for the purposes of making and tracking covered expenditures.
For further detailed information on the CCA requirements, please refer to the Executive Directive 24-11 and the uniform approach for the identifying overburdened communities and vulnerable populations.
Overburdened Communities Map
Use the Overburdened Communities Map for initial identification of overburdened communities when making and tracking CCA expenditures for the 2023-2025 biennium.
The Overburdened Communities Map is a composite of several relevant data sources. Geographic areas identified as overburdened communities include census tracts ranked 9 or 10 on the Environmental Health Disparities (EHD) Map, geographic areas characterized as “disadvantaged” on the federal Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), and census tracts that are fully or partially on “Indian Country” as defined in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1151.
The Overburdened Communities Map represents data collected as of July 1, 2024. Agencies shall use this version of the map for the duration of the biennium. Subsequent versions of the map will incorporate changes in state and federal data and geographic boundaries.
Overburdened Communities Map (areas shaded blue)
Steps for Making Expenditures
When making or directing expenditures for CCA, follow the procedures outlined below. For details and further information regarding CCA requirements, please refer to the Governor’s Directive 24-11 and the full uniform approach.
- To identify if a benefit is direct and meaningful (RCW 70A.65.030), determine if it does any of the following:
- The direct reduction of environmental burdens in overburdened communities
- The reduction of disproportionate, cumulative risk from environmental burdens, including those associated with climate change
- The support of community led project development, planning, and participation costs
- Meeting a community need identified by the community that is consistent with the intent of the CCA or HEAL.
- To identify an overburdened community, there are two pathways:
- Map based identification of overburdened communities.
- Using the Overburdened Communities Map, determine whether the proposed expenditure is distributed in an overburdened community. If yes, then the expenditure is in an overburdened community for the purposes of CCA budget equity goals.
- Self-Identification for overburdened communities not identified on the map.
- The agency staff or external entity would provide data and/or narrative explanation to the agency through the procurement or application process on how this is “a community that faces combined, multiple environmental harms and health impacts.” Supporting information could include adverse socioeconomic factors and sensitivity factors defined in statute.
- Agency staff or an external entity (such as a grant applicant) may identify an overburdened community that is not identified on the Overburdened Communities Map.
- To identify a vulnerable population(s), use the demographic criteria outlined in statute to identify beneficiaries within the geographic area of an overburdened community. Per RCW 70A.02.010, these include:
- A population group that is racial or ethnic minorities
- A low-income population
- A population disproportionately impacted by environmental harms
- A population of workers experiencing environmental harms.
- Vulnerable populations identified through other qualifiers, i.e. adverse socioeconomic factors and sensitivity factors.
Please note that per statute, Tribes are included in the definition of overburdened communities.
Steps for tracking and reporting expenditures.
When tracking and reporting expenditures for CCA, follow the process outlined below. For details and further information, please refer to the Governor’s Directive 24-11 and the full uniform approach and the instructions published by the Department of Ecology.
- Whether the expenditure is distributed in an overburdened community based on the Overburdened Communities Map described above.
- Whether the expenditure benefits a vulnerable population based on one or more of the following “vulnerable populations” Heal Act/CCA statutory criteria (Per RCW 70A.0010)
- A population group of racial or ethnic minorities
- A low-income population
- A population disproportionately impacted by environmental harms
- A population of workers experiencing environmental harms
- Vulnerable populations identified through other qualifiers, detailed in the statutory definition.
- Whether the expenditure creates direct and meaningful benefits based on any of the following CCA statutory criteria:
- Direct reduction of environmental burdens in overburdened communities.
- Reduction of disproportionate, cumulative risk from environmental burdens, including those associated with climate change.
- Support of community led project development, planning, and participation costs.
- Meet a community need identified by the community that is consistent with the intent of the CCA or HEAL.