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Environmental Mapping Tool Will 'Empower Communities' With More Data

State environmental regulators say the new community mapping system is a first for North Carolina. It will include all permitted facilities in the state, including coal ash sites like the Belews Creek plant. NCDEQ says it will enhance transparency and sharing of information to empower communities, local governments, and other stakeholders in their discussions. KERI BROWN/WFDD

North Carolina environmental regulators are launching an online resource to give more information about pollution and health in the state.

The state Department of Environmental Quality will go live with the North Carolina Community Mapping System on Thursday.

"It will give them a picture of what their current community looks like in terms of permitted facilities,"  says NCDEQ Secretary Michael Regan.

Users will be able to look at any permitted facility in the state. You can play around with the system to find out about things like water and air quality, demographics, and health information in the area.

Regan says it will also include an environmental justice screening tool that community leaders and residents can access when discussing an industry.

“This tool creates an opportunity for a level playing field in terms of to access to data, so that both parties can discuss the future of their community and what they want their community to look like,” says Regan.

The mapping tool is part of a legal settlement over a federal civil rights complaint. It was filed by environmental groups alleging that the agency's permitting process for swine farms disproportionately impacted people of color in low-income communities.

*You can follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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