Section 24-4-109 - State engagement of disproportionately impacted communities - definitions(1)Goal. The goal of outreach to and engagement of disproportionately impacted communities is to build trust and transparency, provide meaningful opportunities to influence public policy, and modify proposed state action in response to received public input to decrease environmental burdens or increase environmental benefits for each disproportionately impacted community.(2)Definitions.(a)(I)(A) All statewide agencies shall use the definition of disproportionately impacted community set forth in subsection (2)(b)(II) of this section.(B) In applying the definition of disproportionately impacted community, a statewide agency may prioritize or target certain criteria of the definition of disproportionately impacted community or certain subsets of communities that meet the definition of disproportionately impacted community if the statewide agency makes a determination by rule or other public decision-making process that the prioritization or targeting is warranted and reasonably tailored to the category of statewide agency action involved. A statewide agency with rulemaking authority shall make the determination by rule.(C) A determination of the public utilities commission that it will prioritize or target certain criteria of the definition of disproportionately impacted community or subsets of communities that meet the definition of disproportionately impacted community does not constitute any prejudice or disadvantage or any unreasonable difference as set forth in section 40-3-106 (1)(a).(II) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2023.)(b) As used in this section and sections 25-1-134 and 25-7-105 (1)(e), unless the context otherwise requires: (I) "Agency" means the air quality control commission created in section 25-7-104 and, as used in this section and section 25-1-134, the water quality control commission created in section 25-8-201 (1)(a). The portions of this subsection (2)(b)(I) that apply to the water quality control commission are effective on July 1, 2023, except for the portions requiring the water quality control commission to effectuate the requirements of subsections (3)(b)(I), (3)(b)(II), (3)(b)(IV), and (3)(b)(V) of this section, which apply to any rule-making proceedings of the commission concerning the classifications and numeric standards for the South Platte river basin, Laramie river basin, Republican river basin, and Smoky Hill river basin that occur after June 8, 2022.(II) "Disproportionately impacted community" means a community that is described in subsection (2)(b)(II)(G) or (2)(b)(II)(H) of this section or that is in a census block group, as determined in accordance with the most recent five year United States bureau of the census American community survey and meets one or more of the following criteria:(A) The proportion of the population living in households that are below two hundred percent of the federal poverty level is greater than forty percent;(B) The proportion of households that spend more than thirty percent of household income on housing is greater than fifty percent;(C) The proportion of the population that identifies as people of color is greater than forty percent;(D) The proportion of the population that is linguistically isolated is greater than twenty percent;(E) A statewide agency determines, after a community presents evidence of being and requests to be classified as a disproportionately impacted community, that the population is disproportionately impacted based on evidence, presented in a relevant statewide agency decision-making process, that a census block group is disproportionately impacted because it has a history of environmental racism perpetuated through redlining or through anti-indigenous, anti-immigrant, anti-Latino, or anti-Black laws, policies, or practices and that present-day demographic factors and data demonstrate that the community currently faces environmental health disparities;(F) The community is identified by a statewide agency as being one where multiple factors, including socioeconomic stressors, vulnerable populations, disproportionate environmental burdens, vulnerability to environmental degradation or climate change, and lack of public participation may act cumulatively to affect health and the environment and may contribute to persistent disparities;(G) The community is a mobile home park, as defined in section 38-12-201.5 (6), regardless of whether the mobile home park is a census block group; or(H) The community is located on the Southern Ute or Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservation, regardless of whether the community is a census block group;(III) "Proposed state action" means: (A) Rule-making proceedings held pursuant to section 24-4-103;(B) Licensing proceedings, including the issuance and renewal of permits, held pursuant to section 24-4-104; and(C) Adjudicatory hearings held pursuant to section 24-4-105.(IV) "Statewide agency" means any board, bureau, commission, department, institution, division, section, or officer of the state. "Statewide agency" does not include: (A) The legislative branch;(C) State educational institutions administered pursuant to title 23, except part 1 of article 8, parts 2 and 3 of article 21, and parts 2 to 4 of article 31 of title 23; or(D) The adjutant general of the National Guard, whose powers and duties are set forth in section 28-3-106.(3)Engagement.(a) To promote the goal of state engagement of disproportionately impacted communities, an agency shall strive to create new ways to gather input from communities across the state, using multiple languages and multiple formats and transparently sharing information about adverse environmental effects from its proposed state action.(b) When conducting outreach to and engagement of disproportionately impacted communities regarding a proposed state action, the agency shall:(I) Schedule variable times of day and days of the week for opportunities for public input on the proposed state action, including at least one weekend time, one evening time, and one morning time for public input;(II) Provide notice at least thirty days before any public input opportunity or before the start of any public comment period;(III) Utilize several different methods of outreach and ways to publicize the proposed state action, including disseminating information through schools, clinics, social media, social and activity clubs, local governments, tribal governments, libraries, religious organizations, civic associations, community-based environmental justice organizations, or other local services;(IV) Provide several methods for the public to give input, such as in-person meetings, virtual and online meetings, online comment portals or e-mail, and call-in meetings;(V) Consider using a variety of locations for public input on the proposed state action, including meeting locations in urban centers, in neighborhoods whose populations are predominantly Black, Indigenous, or people of color and have an average income below the state's average, and in rural locations in various regions of the state; and(VI) Create outreach materials concerning the proposed state action in layperson's terms, translated into the top two languages spoken in a community, that inform people of opportunities to provide input on the proposed state action, their rights, the possible outcomes, and the upcoming public input process.(4) The division of parks and wildlife created in section 33-9-104 shall, in conducting public outreach regarding the keep Colorado wild pass pursuant to section 33-12-108 (7): (a) Include outreach to and engagement of disproportionately impacted communities with a goal to build trust and transparency, provide meaningful opportunities to influence public policy, and modify proposed state action in response to public input received to decrease environmental burdens or increase environmental benefits for each disproportionately impacted community; and(b) Engage disproportionately impacted communities in accordance with the procedures set forth in subsection (3) of this section.(5)(a)(I) The division of administration in the Colorado department of public health and environment shall administer the Colorado EnviroScreen tool so that a census block group that scores above the eightieth percentile in the Colorado EnviroScreen tool is presumed to be a disproportionately impacted community under subsection (2)(b)(II)(F) of this section. A statewide agency determining whether a community is a disproportionately impacted community under subsection (2)(b)(II)(F) of this section shall apply the most recent version of the Colorado EnviroScreen tool available at the time the statewide agency makes the determination.(II) As used in this subsection (5)(a), "Colorado EnviroScreen tool" means the environmental justice mapping tool developed and administered by the department of public health and environment and Colorado state university, or any successor tool.(b) A census block group that is within a census tract that qualifies as disadvantaged as determined under the climate and economic justice screening tool developed by the council on environmental quality in the office of the president of the Unites States is presumed to be a disproportionately impacted community under subsection (2)(b)(II)(F) of this section. A statewide agency determining whether a community is a disproportionately impacted community under subsection (2)(b)(II)(F) of this section shall apply the most recent version of the climate and economic justice screening tool available when it is determining whether a community is a disproportionately impacted community.(6) The provisions of subsection (2)(b)(II) of this section are severable, and if any provision of subsection (2)(b)(II) of this section is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions are valid, unless: (a) It appears to the court that the valid provisions are so essentially and inseparably connected with, and so dependent on, the unconstitutional provision that it cannot be presumed that the legislature would have enacted the valid provisions without the unconstitutional one; or(b) The court determines that the valid provisions, standing alone, are incomplete and are incapable of being executed in accordance with the legislative intent.Amended by 2024 Ch. 259,§ 5, eff. 5/28/2024.Amended by 2023 Ch. 245,§ 14, eff. 5/23/2023.Amended by 2022 Ch. 460, § 1, eff. 6/8/2022.Amended by 2021 Ch. 273, § 2, eff. 9/7/2021.Added by 2021 Ch. 411, § 3, eff. 7/2/2021.(1) Section 24 of chapter 411 (HB 21-1266), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act adding this section applies to conduct occuring on or after July 2, 2021.
(2) Section 11(3) of chapter 273 (SB 21-249), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act adding subsection (4) of this section applies to conduct occuring on or after September 7, 2021.
For the short title ("Environmental Justice Act") and the legislative declaration in HB 21-1266, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 411, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.