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A Daily News Service of the North Carolina Coastal Federation

EJ Committee Public Listening Session Set

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The public will have an opportunity to share feedback for the environmental justice and inclusion subcommittee of the Andrea Harris Social, Economic, Environmental, and Health Equity Task Force.

Feeback may be submitted during a public listening session at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Task Force Chair North Carolina Department of Administration Secretary Machelle Sanders will be joined by members of the subcommittee to hear comments on the draft goals, which include dedicated environmental justice, equity and inclusion resources in key state agencies, to develop a framework to inventory the environmental impacts in aging public buildings and housing, and evaluate needed changes to state law to better address environmental justice, equity and inclusion concerns.

Michael Regan

“We recognize the need for legislative changes to adequately address environmental justice concerns and the need for improved coordination efforts across state agencies to ensure communities of color are treated equitably,” said subcommittee Chair, state Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Michael S. Regan. “Public input is important and subcommittee members want to hear directly from the people of North Carolina as we finalize these goals for the task force.”

Members of the public can sign up for a two-minute time slot. After signing up, speakers will receive a link to log on and participate in the session or submit written comments using this form.

The listening session can be streamed live on the N.C. Department of Administration’s YouTube channel.

Established under Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order No. 143, the task force is made up of five subcommittees targeting core areas including Access to Healthcare, Economic Opportunities and Business Development, Educational Opportunity, Environmental Justice and Inclusion, and Patient Engagement.

The task force is named after the late civil rights activist Andrea Harris, who dedicated her life to eliminating disparities in North Carolina, co-founding the nonprofit Institute of Minority Economic Development in Durham and serving on the state’s advisory council for Historically Underutilized Businesses.

About Staff Report

The story was compiled by staff members of Coastal Review.

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