SAN FRANCISCO – The members of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) unanimously affirmed the regional utility's commitment to fair treatment of all communities and to addressing disproportionate negative impacts and environmental consequences from its operations and facilities in a historic Environmental Justice Policy adopted on October 13. The policy, adopted at a Special Meeting of the Commission in the Southeast community of San Francisco less than a block away from the City's Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant, sets a new standard for public agencies and utilities in confronting and addressing environmental justice issues.

"The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission affirms and commits to the goals of environmental justice to prevent, mitigate, and lessen disproportionate environmental impacts of its activities on communities in all SFPUC service areas and to ensure that public benefits are shared across all communities," states the resolution. "The SFPUC defines environmental justice as the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures and incomes, and believes that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences resulting from the operations, programs and/or policies of the SFPUC."

The historic resolution is the culmination of months of work with environmental justice advocates, Southeast community advocates and the SFPUC’s Citizens Advisory Committee to adopt a formal Environmental Justice Policy that builds on the organizations ongoing environmental justice work through the Sustainability Plan and current SFPUC projects.

"The SFPUC can be an example to other public agencies and utilities of how to integrate environmental justice issues and considerations into the culture of the organization," said SFPUC General Manager Ed Harrington. "Acknowledging the issues is the first step. But it's important that we also work together to continue our workforce development programs, consider community impacts in all our construction projects at the earliest stages and build strong community partnerships throughout our service area."

Special presentations on the topic of environmental justice were made at the workshop by Bernida Reagan, Former Director of Social Responsibility, Port of Oakland; Malik Looper, Executive Director, Literacy for Environmental Justice; and Karen Pierce, member, Southeast Digesters Task Force. Commissioners unanimously adopted the resolution after incorporating several proposed amendments suggested during Public Comment.

Significantly, the Environmental Justice Policy includes specific action items to hold SFPUC staff accountable for implementation of the resolution, including:

• Training SFPUC staff on environmental justice issues in conjunction with staff orientation and continuing education efforts.
• Recognizing community need for employment through continuation and expansion of workforce development strategies, including green job opportunities in communities historically and disproportionately burdened by pollution.
• Identifying new and continuing to implement existing initiatives to avoid or eliminate disproportionate impacts of SFPUC decisions and activities in all service areas.
• Developing diverse and culturally appropriate communication strategies to ensure that stakeholders can participate in decisions and actions that may impact their communities.
• Working with stakeholders, including the SFPUC's Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) and CAC Environmental Justice Subcommittee, to identify best practices, key SFPUC projects and new partnerships where the new policy can be applied.

"The adoption of the environmental justice policy shows a willingness by the SFPUC to confront environmental justice issues head-on," said Laurie Schoeman, Chair of the SFPUC Citizens Advisory Committee Environmental Justice Subcommittee. "This is especially important as we begin to address the disproportionate impacts of facilities like the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Bayview-Hunters Point community."