Connecticut’s EJ Mapping Tool

In July 2023, Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, in conjunction with the University of Connecticut, unveiled a new environmental justice mapping tool. The mapping tool incorporates more than 50 different data sets to show which census tracts in the state are most at risk from pollution exposure, socioeconomic impacts and health disparities. The main map presents an environmental justice index for the entire state. Clicking on an individual tract gives its ranking between 1 and 10, with 10 being the most highly impacted based on the cumulative effect of a host of factors.

In 2021, the Governor’s Council on Climate Change called for the development of the tool, which it said could be used in existing state programs, including the distribution of grant and bond funding.

At the time of this writing, the mapping tool is open for public comment.