WERA's Community-Owned and Managed Research (COMR) model: Funding equity and management parity in community-university partnerships

WERA was organized (1994) to address health disparities due to a planned 119-bypass through African American communities settled by former slaves in late 1860's. Slave descendants are still denied full access to basic public health amenities: safe drinking water, municipal sewer service, and paved streets. In 1999, WERA filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice and the US EPA, placing a moratorium on highway construction. WERA used grants from the EPA to perform community-driven research in order to collect drinking and surface water samples to document contamination from backyard septic system with 50 to 100% failure. WERA then designed the community-owned and managed research (COMR) model in order to validate E. coli and fecal coliform data in streams, ditches and Mebane's municipal water supply. WERA led studies following the COMR approach with community monitors, government agencies, UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Public Health & Department of City and Regional Planning, and legal counsel (2000-2007). In 2007, WERA established a community-university partnership with faculty at the University of South Carolina to continue its community-driven environmental justice (EJ) and health research. As result of this research, block grants were obtained that funded installation of sewer for 94 out of 500 homes. In 2007, EPA selected O.R. Wilson to serve as a member of National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. In 2009, Mr. Wilson incorporated COMR principles in the “Community-Facilitated Strategy” section of the EPA Goods Movement Policy Recommendations in order to reduce air/water/soil pollution related to air/highway/rail/marine corridors and ports in EJ areas.