Environmental Justice Council pressed to act on communities that lost EJ designation

Maryan Lenski urged the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Council on record to address a problem she said has left some communities without environmental‑justice (EJ) designation after the COVID pandemic and asked the council to put a formal process on a future agenda.

Lenski told the council that affected neighborhoods have tried to petition the state for EJ designation but that no clear process exists to resolve those petitions. "certifica que hoje quase li é ped respeitosamente que conselho dej faz moção hoje para adiciona item para trata daquele processo ej," she said, asking the council to add the matter to the body’s agenda so staff can work toward a complete process for communities that petitioned the state.

Undersecretary Maria Power and other staff responded that the office would clarify how petitions and designations are handled and look into next steps. Staff noted overlapping responsibilities between state planning and municipal authorities and encouraged petitioning communities to provide documentation of their requests so the office can track and respond.

Council members discussed timing and administrative steps for adding the item; members agreed to consider inclusion on the Feb. 12 meeting agenda in Roxbury. No formal council vote on a new policy or rule occurred at the meeting; the request was recorded as public comment and assigned for staff follow‑up.

The council closed the item by asking staff to report back with options for a petition or review process that would address the communities Lenski described and to include that topic when the agenda is developed for the February meeting.