By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The White House launched a beta version Friday of a tool to help determine the best places to put federal dollars in order to provide clean energy and infrastructure for disadvantaged areas. This is a crucial step towards fulfilling a Biden Administration promise to prioritise environmental justice.

Council on Environmental Quality has unveiled Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tools. This tool is used to identify and map communities most in dire need of investments by using income levels and more than two dozen socioeconomic, environmental, and health indicators.

Since early last year, the software was under development with the White House’s environmental justice advisory council. This input is key to President Joe Biden’s “Justice40 Initiative,” which he established early in his presidency in order to make sure that at least 40% of federal clean energy investments go to overburdened communities.

“The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool will help federal agencies ensure that the benefits of the nation’s climate, clean energy, and environmental programs are finally reaching the communities that have been left out and left behind for far too long,” CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory said.

The web-based program uses census tract data to identify communities that are disadvantaged when they have incomes above 65th percentile and 90th percentiles for 25 indicators, which can include traffic, asthma and proximity to unemployment.

Race is a notable indicator, however. Reporters were told by a Biden administration official that the tool is “race neutral” in order to resist potential legal challenges.

Some environmental justice advocates were disappointed by the omission.

Sacoby, who is an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, helped to develop a Maryland-level screening tool. Wilson said that it was politically decided not to use race for this purpose.

Science is clear. According to him, race is the most important predictor for environmental hazard.”

“We are missing an opportunity by exlcuding race in the tool,” said Anthony Rogers-Wright, director of environmental justice at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. The tool does not tell the whole story about a community.

Friday’s launch by the Enviromental Protection Agency included a revamping of EJSCREEN its screening tool that could be used for guidance in environmental rulemaking. [L1N2M11WM]

CEQ welcomes public feedback on the tool within 60 days.