Virginia’s Environmental Justice Act defines environment justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of every person, regardless of race, color, national origin, income, faith, or disability, regarding the development, implementation, or enforcement of any environmental law, regulation, or policy.”
This presentation focuses on the history of environmental justice in the Commonwealth of Virginia and how those legacies impact current policies. As Virginia worked to implement new policies and strategies to combat the effects of climate change in floodplain management, they focused on prioritizing vulnerable populations. One of those regions of the state was the southwest corner where several counties had high levels of social vulnerability. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) focused efforts to engage and educate the public about their flood risks. VDEM also worked with the localities to reduce barriers to assistance in the equitable delivery of disaster relief and emergency management. These efforts are ongoing, there is still much to do, but striving to delivery their programs as equitably as possible, VDEM hopes to strengthen the entire commonwealth and make all communities more resilient after disasters.
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