Residents press council to create EJ‑designation process and to improve language access for utility assistance

During the public‑comment portion of an online Environmental Justice Council meeting, residents urged the council to create a clear process for Environmental Justice (EJ) designations and to expand language access and consumer protections for communities facing rising energy costs.

Marian Bavinsky of Westfield told the council her community had lost EJ designation after the COVID period and that no process exists to address such cases. "We still have no process available for us to move forward," Bavinsky said, asking the council to add a dedicated discussion of EJ designation to the February agenda. Council members and the moderator acknowledged the request and agreed to include the topic for the next meeting.

Another resident introduced as Baulián Kwang described Mandarin‑speaking residents in Boston who face scams and difficulty accessing subsidies and services because of language barriers. "The language barrier really makes things hard for us," he said, and asked what state programs can do to improve outreach and protections. The presenter responding to public comments noted existing discount and efficiency programs (including Mass Save) and described enforcement actions and proposed legislative reforms to address deceptive marketing and to provide restitution to harmed customers.

The council did not adopt a formal EJ designation rule during the session; members asked staff to return with a plan for discussing the EJ petition process and for resilience planning at the Feb. 12 meeting in Roxbury. The requests were recorded as referrals for future agenda work.