9.12.2006

A letter to Shirley Augurson of US EPA Region 6
September 11, 2006

Shirley Augurson
U.S. EPA, Region 6 (6RA-D)
Office of Environmental Justice & Tribal Affairs
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202-2733

Dear Ms. Augurson,

The Louisiana Environmental Justice Community Organizations Coalition (LEJCOC) is a state-wide coalition formed to investigate and address the needs and concerns of Louisiana’s Environmental Justice Communities, be they environmental, social, economic or political. We do this by building collaborations among grassroots communities, stakeholders, technical assistance organizations, and academic institutions. The collaborations then identify, investigate and develop and implement solutions for community concerns.

As a coalition of 14 grassroots community organizations, LEJCOC has its ear to the ground and proudly represents the voice of Environmental Justice Communities. On behalf of Environmental Justice Communities in Plaquemines, Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Iberville, Orleans, Jefferson, Assumption, Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Caddo, and St. Charles Parish, LEJCOC would like to submit these comments and suggestions regarding the EJ/AIR Conference 2007 proposed to be held in San Francisco, California.

LEJCOC was formed because many grassroots Environmental Justice Community Organizations in Louisiana realized the interconnectedness of the environmental problems throughout the Region. Air quality concerns are one of the major environmental problems that many of the LEJCOC communities deal with on a daily basis. Below are listed some of the important items that LEJCOC feels need to be addressed during this conference:
o Technical assistance- training and workshops for impacted communities
Example Training Topics
o What does the air program do and how can they help us
o Regulation updates-what are the laws and how do regulation changes affect EJ communities
o Training for air monitoring- basic information on how to understand air data
o Funding for training and workshops for communities
o How to build trust and increase communication with the EPA Air Division as well as state and local agencies and industry.
o Air quality and its relation to exposure and possible health effects.
o Taking cumulative risk into consideration during the air permitting process

We appreciate your efforts to keep communities involved in the planning process and look forward to continuing working with you.

From inside the struggle,

Albertha Hasten
President, Advocacy Commissioner
LEJCOC

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