New Features Part of EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening Tool

The EPA on Friday rolled out a series of improvements to its mapping tool used to pinpoint disadvantaged communities suffering from legacy environmental pollution.

Broadly, the new version of the software, known as EJScreen 2.0, is designed to help government agencies make more accurate permitting, enforcement, compliance, and outreach decisions, consistent with President Joe Biden’s goal of addressing environmental justice.

Among the changes are new data showing communities with gaps in food availability, medical services, and broadband internet, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Health inequity data has also been updated to show metrics on life expectancy, asthma, and heart ...