RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) – Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 292 reestablished an Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and the state is looking for public feedback to help make a plan.

“Environmental justice means equal access to a healthy environment for all,” said Dr. Virginia Guidry, the council co-chair and Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch head at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. “Equal access requires meaningful involvement in decision making that affects our health, well-being and environment.”

The order aims to make a mapping tool to give information on environmental justice issues and help the public see areas that need attention.

“The Governor’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council, pursuit to Executive Order 292, is committed to helping state agencies leverage spatial analytic tools and data-driven strategies and tactics to reduce exposures to life-threatening environmental contaminants and the over-concentration of noxious facilities and locally unwanted land-uses in the state’s historically marginalized communities,” said Dr. Jim Johnson, the council co-chair and the William R. Kenan Jr. distinguished professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, and director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center.

A statewide virtual meeting will be held online via GoToWebinar at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1. In-person meetings will be held on Aug. 8 in Asheville, Aug. 15 in Warren County and Duplin County on Aug. 22. You can find more information about those meetings here.

You can also give input online via a survey anytime through the next couple months.

Copyright 2024 WECT. All rights reserved.