Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has updated an online tool that maps which communities may be most susceptible to adverse effects from pollution. The state first released MiEJScreen as a draft in 2022, but released an updated version last week after requesting public comment on the tool.
The state hopes it will make it easier for everyone — advocates, residents and government officials — to understand how environmental contamination affects different populations in their community. It combines data about health, socioeconomic and environmental factors to determine which communities are at higher risk of adverse effects from pollution.
Those data reflect what residents have known for a while, Regina Strong said. She’s the Environmental Justice Public Advocate for Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
“It really puts voice to and data to the stories and anecdotal information about communities that community members have shared for many, many years,” she said. She said the information isn’t new or groundbreaking — but it is more accessible.
The state sought input from the Michigan Advisory Council for Environmental Justice, the Interagency Environmental Justice Response Team, members of the public and academics.
“It's a lot of information, and we want to make sure we're presenting it in a way that is usable,” Strong said. The state has a detailed user guide and video tutorials demonstrating how to use the many layers of data available.
Juan Jhong Chung, the executive director of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, said the tool needs to do more than inform.
“A tool like the one that EGLE has been working on can be really helpful, if it goes beyond just the informational,” they said. Residents affected by pollution often already know it, Jhong Chung said.
“If you walk around neighborhoods in Detroit and you talk to everyday people, they know what they're going through in terms of health disparities,” they said. “There are so many issues related to clean air, clean water, access to those things.”
“Now, how can we actually translate that into policies that will effectively address those issues?” Jhong Chung said.
Strong said the tool is meant to help users “better understand what communities face and why,” not influence how the state makes decisions.
“It is not, in and of itself, a decision-making tool,” she said. “It is one of the many ways you can look at a community where a decision may be pending or where folks are looking to do [environmental justice] work.”
But that’s what advocates like Jhong Chung want to see from the state. Lawmakers and government officials have expressed interest in learning more about environmental justice issues, they said.
“What we’re still waiting to see is more action,” Jhong Chung said. Increased investment in Michigan from the Inflation Reduction Act is encouraging, they said.
“But there is always more to be done,” Jhong-Chung said.
The state welcomes continued feedback from the public and intends to keep updating the tool, Strong said. But it is unclear what other actions, if any, the state will take in the near future.
Strong emphasized that MiEJScreen is the first step of many.
“We want folks to actually go to the communities, talk to people, hear about [their] lived experiences,” Strong said. “This is a tool in our toolbox to better address what we hear are ongoing concerns or things people share with our office that they want, you know, a deeper dive into.”
