SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: March 9, 2026
Subject: RECEIVE REPORT on proposed updates to CalEnviroScreen, and PROVIDE DIRECTION
Submitted For: John Kopchik || Director | DCD
Department: DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT
Presenter: Jody London || Sustainability Coordinator | DCD
Contact: Jody London | (925) 655-2815
Referral History:
In 2012, the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) released the CalEnviroScreen mapping tool, which provides an analysis of the impact of both pollution and socioeconomic factors at the census tract level. One of the primary purposes of the data is to identify "disadvantaged communities" (DACs) that are disproportionately burdened by pollution and other hazards that can lead to negative health effects, exposure, or environmental degradation. The current Disadvantaged Community designation includes census tracts that meet one of the following four categories:
* Census tracts receiving the highest 25 percent of overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 (1,984 tracts).
* Census tracts lacking overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 due to data gaps but receiving the highest 5 percent of CalEnviroScreen 4.0 cumulative pollution burden scores (19 tracts).
* Census tracts identified in the 2017 DAC designation as disadvantaged, regardless of their scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 (307 tracts).
* Lands under the control of federally recognized Tribes.
Because Contra Costa County is home to four refineries, two power plants, and other large industrial facilities, many census tracts qualify as disadvantaged under CalEnviroScreen 4.0. The Contra Costa County General Plan and Climate Action and Adaptation Plan identify "Impacted Communities" using CalEnviroScreen 4.0 data with a cumulative CalEnviroScreen score of 72 or higher.
Since CalEnviroScreen was first adopted in 2012, it has been updated three times. In 2016, as CalEPA was considering CalEnviroScreen 3.0, the Board of Supervisors sent a letter t...
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