Congresswoman Barbara Lee and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson held a press conference today that was followed by a Town Hall, which was followed by an Environmental Justice Tour. The press conference was held at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and the Environmental Justice Town Hall was held at the Federal Building immediately following the press conference.Oakland is the 4th stop on the joint EPA-CBC Environmental Justice Tour, with leaders visiting several areas throughout the country to highlight environmental justice challenges faced by Americans in all communities. This tour and town hall are part of a nationwide Environmental Justice Tour series featuring Administrator Jackson and coordinated by the joint efforts of the EPA and the CBC. The EPA and the CBC have previously held similar Environmental Justice Tours and Town Halls in South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi and Georgia as part of an effort by the Obama Administration to assess environmental issues in underserved communities.
The Oakland stop on the national EPA-CBC Environmental Justice Tour was designed to highlight local efforts to address environmental issues that have impacted underserved communities in the city and to illustrate the extensive collaboration between the EPA, local government agencies, community groups and everyday citizens to confront these issues. The Environmental Justice Tour will be conducted on a very quiet zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell bus provided by AC Transit. AC Transit has received four to date of 12 next-generation fuel cell buses that were purchased with the support of $14 million in federal funding that Congresswoman Lee helped secure. (EPA, photos courtesy Mercury News)
