Featuring Michael Wenstrom, Environmental Justice Program,
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental justice is not a concept most people consider for their career or for their purpose. But Michael Wenstrom is not like most people. His purpose has been to bring effective policy and practices to address environmental concerns.
Michael has been working in the arena of public policy for more than thirty years. For the past eighteen years, he has worked in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 Environmental Justice Program.
Michael’s work has been focused on a range of environmental concerns in many areas of the United States. He assisted EPA Enforcement staff to negotiate Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) which direct money to communities to remedy past environmental ills. He is also working with the people of Pueblo in the state of Colorado and the US Army to give the community a greater voice in the destruction of 780,000 rounds of chemical weapons. He is also working with local partners to address environmental health issues in Salt Lake City to improve children’s health. He also is working with community members in assessing risks from industrial facilities located near residential areas.
Michael also piloted work in EJ communities to reduce the threat of radon and partnered with the State of Colorado to retrofit school buses in school districts serving low income communities. Michael also assists the EPA Urban Waters Program in applying environmental justice principles in the remediation of America’s urban waterways.
Recently, Michael spent a year working with EPA Headquarters staff and the EPA Region 5 Environmental Justice program to develop strategies to more fully engage the residents of Flint, Michigan in coping with the city-wide water crisis. Flint is considerable among the most egregious of environmental concerns with high concentrations of lead throughout the city’s water systems, resulting in many health concerns for community members.
Throughout his work and career, Michael’s dedication to pursuing environmental protections especially for vulnerable communities has helped to ensure environmental justice for all.