Sasha Lewis-Norelle: Empowering Communities: The Role of Environmental Legislation 

In a recent interview, we had the delightful experience of speaking with Sasha Lewis-Norelle, the Environmental Health and Justice Organizer with the local nonprofit Clean Water Action Minnesota He talked about various ways his organization has impacted the community– from education, advocacy, and legislative work, he’s done it all. From the very beginning of our conversation, we delved into the depth and significance of his role and explored the wide range of responsibilities it entails.

Community Outreach

When it comes to educating the community, much of Sasha’s work is teaching parents and caregivers about the toxic chemicals they may be unknowingly exposing their youth to. More often than not, lower-income communities have lead-based infrastructure, which places them at greater risk of health impacts. In addition to education, his organization is advocating for bills dedicated to funding lead pipe replacement. He stated, “We don’t want people to be choosing between their health and their wallet…so we did some work so that equity was included and the cost would be covered, and the neighborhoods would be given the resources they need.”

Due to a history of neglect and abuse, many community members do not trust the government, so to ensure people feel safe “answer[ing] the door to government officials”, his organization must engage with people outside of a political context. Sasha told us about his organization’s canvassing efforts for various programs, and dialogue with community members to ensure that trust is built. He supports activists by amplifying their voices and sharing their work with the community.

In addition, he has worked with East Phillip’s urban farming project for the past two years, both behind the scenes and on the front lines. He emphasized the importance of community outreach, the actions being made to improve community life, not just outsiders dictating where they believe the community should go. The East Phillips project has seen support from across the Twin Cities and beyond, building strong pressure on Minneapolis to allow the community to realize their vision of an indoor urban farm.

When we asked what he enjoys most about his work vs. what he feels he has to spend the most time on, Sasha told us that what he feels most passionate about has shifted over time. Two years ago, Sasha found the most enjoyment in community engagement, on the ground protesting and canvassing neighborhoods. Today, he’s more “interested in the nitty gritty legal details.” He is now looking at how we can change the systems, and write social justice into law. His work centers around communicating legislative work to people and amplifying the voices of the people to government officials. Sasha told us that “it’s easier when you’re doing a lot of broader protesting and broader messaging for the movement.” Although these days he hasn’t been able to do as much direct action, he feels there is an opportunity to create change through legislative work.

Legislative Work

Minnesota unexpectedly has a democratic-controlled senate, house, and executive branch in 2023. Sasha and his coworkers at Clean Water Action have embraced this opportunity to rally for ambitious and effective environmental legislation. With the legislative session in full swing, this work for Sasha, particularly on the Cumulative Impacts Bill, feels non-stop. Today, you will most likely find Sasha at the Capitol, working with allies to strategically build relationships with legislators. His lobbying work ranges from sitting outside a congressman’s office for hours on end to being woken up in the morning with a phone call from a senator. He laughed when he told us these stories and at the fact that he is a registered lobbyist in the state of Minnesota this year. All chuckles aside, these stories speak to Sasha’s admirable dedication to passing a Cumulative Impacts Bill.

As it turns out, Sasha helped shape much of the current Cumulative Impacts Bill. While interviewing him, it became clear to us that he knows what he is talking about. He explained that the bill looks at cumulative impacts in the regulatory process. This means that when granting a permit for a facility, the state will no longer just look at how much the singular facility is producing. Instead, they will expand, looking at existing facilities in the area, how vulnerable the local community is to pollution, and whether their collective emissions are beyond the regulatory threshold. As Sasha puts it, “This bill tries to add more context to environmental permitting, specifically within lower-income communities, communities of color, Indigenous communities, communities that have often been treated as sacrifice zones for pollution as they don’t have as much political capital or power to stop it.” “‘This bill tries to add more context to environmental permitting, specifically within lower-income communities, communities of color, Indigenous communities, communities that have often been treated as sacrifice zones for pollution as they don’t have as much political capital or power to stop it.'”

In our interview, Sasha reminded us of the importance of working with and knowing the right people throughout this bill-building process. Working side by side with lawyers, house researchers, and legislators, he quickly learned how consequential written words can be. Many interactions, concessions, and negotiations must take place to get the bill to go through and this, unfortunately, includes having to leave some progressive aspects of the bill out. Sasha explained that in an ideal world, the Cumulative Impacts bill would cover all of Minnesota. However, because of the many negotiations, it will likely prevail in the seven-county metro area, travel areas, and some other major cities like Rochester and Duluth. Sasha explained this disconnect not in frustration but rather as something we must consider when moving forward with governmental environmental policy. He is hopeful that the bill will get passed as standing and is looking forward to working with more rural communities and passing similar legislation for them.

Sasha emphasized the importance of community voices in decision-making, regardless of the community’s stance on environmental issues. Thus, another part of the Cumulative Impacts Bill is, if a community has a robust desire for a facility to be built despite emissions, their voices will be heard because of the guarantee for community involvement. This addendum reflects Sasha’s commitment to community members first. At the same time, Sasha wants to bridge the gap between environmentalism and labor, saying, “How do we address some of the tension between the environmental movement and labor? In theory, we should be on the same side, but in practice, it is not always that way.” Despite this current conflict, it is clear that Sasha is up for the challenge and is the perfect candidate for bridging the gap.

Moving Forward

Although his Macalester degree did not completely prepare him for his current role, he does credit his peers, classes, and professors for helping him to develop critical thinking skills. He states, “I was able to understand the way these things work because I was more familiar with these intricate conversations… being surrounded by people who are really smart and really detail oriented that want to dissect these sorts of issues was very helpful.” For Sasha, the learning curve involved seeking various professionals who would help him develop a deeper understanding of the law, lobbying government officials, and connecting with the community where it intersects with environmental justice.

Sasha’s work will continue beyond the Cumulative Impacts Bill of the 2023 legislative session. He believes that zero waste will be the next environmental effort that will catch the attention of Minnesotans. In the next few years, he plans to become involved in this effort, more specifically, the shutting down of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, better known as HERC, a garbage incinerator in downtown Minneapolis. His focus here will again be working with communities,  seeking affordable, grassroots-centric options for lower-income individuals.

When we asked Sasha where he sees himself in the next ten years, he expressed his unwavering commitment to environmental causes. He finds it difficult to imagine himself not being involved in some form of environmental work, and he plans to continue his activism for the foreseeable future. Sasha also mentioned how he wants to do more ecological restoration work and, more broadly, work with nature as he misses that part of who he is. We were glad to learn about and were inspired by Sasha’s commitment. As aspiring activists, we asked if he had any advice for us and others who want to get involved in Environmental Justice. Sasha encouraged us to get into the environmental justice movement: “there are so many different things one can do within environmental activism, including art, storytelling, planning protests, poetry, and more.” Once again, he emphasized the importance of relationship and community building. He recommended using our time at Macalester to test the waters with established groups like the Sunrise Movement. This initial involvement allows young activists to learn from student leaders and build essential relationships within the movement. He stressed the importance of following your passions: “One way to avoid burnout is to play to your passions and play to your strengths.”