Environmental Justice Overview. Topics Policy background; relationship to NEPA Overview of EJ processes & analysis –Define the Study Area –Methods for

Environmental JusticeOverview

Topics• Policy background; relationship to NEPA

• Overview of EJ processes & analysis– Define the Study Area – Methods for identifying protected populations

and community characteristics– Analyzing Impacts

Policy Background

Relationship to NEPA

Housing Act of 1949, Title I: Urban Renewal

Intended to redevelop

communities

The RESULTS• Massive Business/Residental Dislocation• Older, working-class neighborhoods

targeted for urban renewal• Thousands of minority families relocated to

other neighborhoods or public housing

Highway builders found the low-rent districts; 20% of the 41,000 miles in, through, & around

urban areas

Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956National System of Interstate &

Defense Highways

“Striving for Equity”• First Black student,

University of Mississippi, 1962

• March on Washington, 1963: “I Have a Dream” speech

• University of Alabama integrated, 1963

• Abolition of Poll Tax, 24th Amendment, 1964

• Violence in Selma, 1965 • Voting Rights Act, 1965• Fair Housing Act, 1968

Civil Rights Act of 1964Title VI

No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be: excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination

under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Protests in Warren County NC, are impetus for General Accounting Office (GAO) Report, 1983

United Church of Christ Report, 1987

Protesting Injustice

Environmental Injustice in Site Selection of Hazardous Waste

Facilities

Environmental Justice Executive Order 12898

• Reaffirms that each Federal agency must make environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies and activities on minority and low-income populations.

Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, 1994

Relationship to NEPA

NEPA Requirements

• Evaluating effects– EJ adds: Consideration of distributive effects

• Providing opportunities for public involvement.– EJ adds: Consideration of barriers and

cultural differences

Distinctions Between NEPA Requirements and E.O. 12898

• NEPA establishes general requirements concerning the evaluation of effects and the involvement of the public. It does not establish specific rights or standards of protection for specific resources or population groups.

• NEPA is a procedural statute. It does not require or prohibit specific outcomes, nor does it require findings to be made in order to authorize impacts on a particular resource or population group (e.g., a finding of no practicable alternative).

Applies to all classes of action

CEs, EAs, EISs

Overview of EJ Processes

Basic categories of information required.

Basic questions asked.

Three Basic Steps

• Identify the Affected Population

• Estimate the Nature and Extent of Effects

• Assess Whether the Effects are Equitable

Environmental Justice E.O. Addresses Which Groups?

• Minority - a person who is:– Black/African-American– Hispanic– Asian American– American Indian and Alaskan Native

• Low-Income – a person whose:– Median household income is at or

below the poverty guidelines level -- $20,000 for a family of four (2006)

Protected Population Groups

Minorities Title VI; EO 12898

Low-Income EO 12898; Stafford Act

Limited English Proficiency

EO 13166

Elderly Age Discrimination Act

Disabled ADA, Rehabilitation Act

Women Federal Highway Act

Children EO 13045

National Origin Title VI

Sex, Religion, Familial Status and others

Fair Housing Act (Title VIII CVA 1968); FAHA

Identification of Populations

• DOT/FHWA Orders: “readily identifiable group of low-income persons who live in geographic proximity, and, if circumstances warrant, geographically dispersed/transient persons”

• Most use threshold level for percentage of minority or low-income

• CEQ Guidance: – Minority population of affected area exceeds 50%– Minority population percentage exceeds the

percentages in the general population or other appropriate unit of geographic analysis

Definition of Effect

• Adverse effect - totality of significant individual or cumulative human health or environmental effects

• Disproportionately high and adverse - an effect that:1) is predominately borne by a minority and/or low-

income population; or2) will be suffered by the minority and/or low-income

population appreciably more severe or greater in magnitude than the adverse effect that will be suffered by the non minority and/or non low-income population.

Adverse Effects Include:

“Interrelated social and economic effects, which may include, but are not limited to: bodily impairment, infirmity, illness or death; air, noise, and water pollution and soil contamination; destruction or disruption of man-made or natural resources; destruction or diminution of aesthetic values; destruction or disruption of community cohesion or a community’s economic vitality; destruction or disruption of the availability of public and private facilities and services; vibration;. . .

1 of 2

As well as:

. . . adverse employment effects; displacement of persons, businesses, farms, or nonprofit organizations; increased traffic congestion, isolation, exclusion or separation of minority or low-income individuals within a given community or from the broader community; and the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of, benefits of DOT programs, policies, or activities.”

(Appendix of U.S. DOT Order) 2 of 2

Choosing Effects to Consider for Analysis

Planning• Agency policy• Resource distribution• Meet long-term needs

of all populations?

Project Development• EA/EIS categories• Applicable laws and

regulations• Type of Project

Standards for approving actions with disproportionate effects

Title VI (minority)

• Substantial overall need exists, and

• “Alternatives with less adverse effects on protected populations either:

– Would have other adverse SEE impacts that are more severe, or

– Would involve increased costs of extraordinary magnitude.”

E.O. (low income and minority)

• Avoidance alternatives “are not practicable”; and

• Additional mitigation measures also “are not practicable.”– Taking into account:

– SEE effects of avoiding or mitigating the adverse effects

Identifying Protected Populations

Methods

Questions to Ask

• Who’s here?

• Where do they live? (residence)

• Where do they circulate? (activity spaces)

Methods

• Local Knowledge

• Threshold Analysis – Large Area Data

• Spatial Interpolation – Small Area Data

• Field Survey/Customer Surveys

Local Knowledge

• When to Use:– Initial evaluation and continued quality

assurance

• What to do:– Interviews– Surveys– Focus Groups– Feedback from outreach efforts

Threshold Analysis – Large Scale

• When to use:– Need demographic patterns for large areas– Regional Plans, STIP/TIP, systems analysis

• What to do:– Define Study Area– Select analysis units (County, tract)– Get data, compute demographic stats– Determine Threshold levels– Identify protected populations

Define Study Area

• Select an area that encompasses all affected areas and populations– Transportation Investment Plan? Statewide.– MPO Long Range Plan? Multi-County.

Threshold AnalysisThreshold AnalysisWhat to do:What to do:

Define Study AreaDefine Study AreaSelect analysis units (tract, block, TAZ)Select analysis units (tract, block, TAZ)Get data, compute demographic statsGet data, compute demographic statsDetermine Threshold levelsDetermine Threshold levelsIdentify protected populationsIdentify protected populations

Select Analysis Units

• States

• Counties

• Tracts

• Block Groups

• TAZ

• Blocks



Large-area data

Small-area data

Compute Demographic

Statistics

• Census Bureau http://www.census.gov– Summary Files 1 & 3, yr 2000 (compare, yr ’90)

• Block (1) & Block group (3) level

– Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP)

• TAZ level

– Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER)



http://www.census.gov/

Data/Sources for GIS Analysis

• Demographic • U.S. Census Bureau, local planning departments (for updates and detailed forecasts)

• Topographic • U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), metropolitan planning organizations, state departments of natural resources, local planning departments

• Street network • TIGER/Line Census files (available from U.S. Census Bureau), local planning/engineering departments, commercial GIS data vendors

Data/Sources for GIS Analysis

• Land use • Local planning departments, city public works departments

• Accessibility points of interest (local landmarks/activity centers) • Local planning departments, neighborhood organizations, geocoded yellow pages

• Activity centers (major employers, schools, houses of worship, shopping, and public services) • Digitally geocoded yellow pages, local (or regional) economic development or planning departments

DetermineThresholds

• Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) – Areas where percent minority (or low income)

population for a census tract exceeds the average percent minority for the metropolitan area as a whole.

• GDOT (Statewide plan)– One standard deviation above the mean

percent minority population or population in poverty



Threshold examples

• The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) describes the income level of communities by quintile, so that impacts can be compared for the lowest 20 percent of incomes with other income groups.– Quartiles can also be used

Threshold examples

• The Maryland DOT compares the percent minority or low-income in a census tract or blockto the study area as a whole.

• Tracts or blocks with a “meaningfully greater” percentage are flagged. – “Meaningfully greater” is defined and documented on

a study-by-study basis.

• Additional data sources are recommended for more detailed investigation.

Threshold examples

• The Atlanta Regional Commission defines EJ communities at the census tract level using the following criteria:

1) those with 20 percent or more of population aged 60 years and older;

2) those with 20 percent or more of the population in the lowest income category (less than $20,000 per year),

3) those with non-white population of 50 percent or more; and

4) those areas with 20 percent or more of households without autos.

Threshold examples

• The Punta Gorda, FL MPO defines an environmental justice community as meeting one of three categories:

1. Areas consisting of 20 percent or greater minority composition;

2. Areas in which 20 percent or more of households have an annual income below $10,000; or

3. Areas that have a concentration of single family housing structures valued under $25,000.

Threshold examples• The Metropolitan Transportation

Commission (MTC) in Oakland, CA • Using “exceeds the regional average”

resulted in selecting half of the zones as “minority”

• Based on discussions with stakeholders– 70 percent or more minority as indicative of

“meaningfully greater” – low-income – 200 percent of the federally defined poverty

level to reflect the relatively high cost of living in the Bay Area.

• “communities of concern” were defined as those zones where at least 30 percent of the total population was below the low-income threshold.

Identify Populations

• Evaluation Unit with levels greater than threshold? Higher potential for effects/concern.



Area Percent Minority

Percent Low-income

Level of Concern

Threshold value - State of TX

47.6 17.0 ----

Brazoria Co. 34.6 12.5 Lower

Waller Co. 50.1 20.0 Higher

Limitations of Large Scale Threshold Analysis

• Populations not distributed uniformly– Variability increases with size of census unit– Statistical studies will yield different results

depending on unit analyzed

• Large-area data less useful when high degree of resolution needed

• Undercounting of protected populations

Spatial Interpolation – Small scale

• When to use:– Need demographic patterns for small areas – Corridors, Projects– impacts will be localized

• What to do:– Define Study Area– Select analysis units (Block, Block Group, TAZ)– Overlay demographic data with area of effects– Estimate Demographic characteristics– Compare to threshold levels - Identify protected

populations

Define Study Area

• Will vary with impact type– Air-Quality? 1 mile buffer– Visual Impacts? Viewshed– Noise? Contours & Receptors

• Simplified Approach– Buffer distance that encompasses geographic

extent of effects

Spatial InterpolationSpatial InterpolationWhat to do:What to do:

Define Study AreaDefine Study AreaSelect analysis units (Block, Block Group, TAZ)Select analysis units (Block, Block Group, TAZ)Overlay demographic data with area of effectsOverlay demographic data with area of effectsEstimate Demographic characteristicsEstimate Demographic characteristicsCompare to threshold levels – Compare to threshold levels –

Identify protected populationsIdentify protected populations

Select Analysis Units & Overlay

w/ APE

• Blocks and Block Groups: to assess spatial demographic patterns– Combination. Not all data reported at block

level

• TAZ: If transportation user demographics required

• Identify census units that fall within APE


Define Study AreaDefine Study AreaSelect analysis units (Block, Block Group, Select analysis units (Block, Block Group,

TAZ)TAZ)Overlay demographic data with area of effectsOverlay demographic data with area of effectsEstimate Demographic characteristicsEstimate Demographic characteristicsCompare to threshold levels – Compare to threshold levels –


Demographic Characteristics

& Threshold Comparison

• Same as for large-area data• May report values for individual census

units• Complex and data intensive• Analysis requires spreadsheet, database,

GIS software knowledge


Define Study AreaDefine Study AreaSelect analysis units (Block, Block Group, TAZ)Select analysis units (Block, Block Group, TAZ)Overlay demographic data with area of Overlay demographic data with area of

effectseffectsEstimate Demographic characteristicsEstimate Demographic characteristicsCompare to threshold levels – Compare to threshold levels –


Using Non-Census Data to Identify Populations and Needs

Charlotte County-Punta Gorda MPO’s

Long-Range Transportation Plan Used:

• Geographic Community Data

• Property Appraiser’s Data

• Transportation Disadvantaged Client Data

Housing Values in Punta Gorda, FL

• http://www.hud.gov/apps/section8/index.cfm– HUD apartment complexes that take Section 8

vouchers by county and city

• http://egis.hud.gov/egis– Public and Indian Housing

Maps with locations and information about all HUD apartment complexes

US DHUD Section 8 Housing

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD projectsHUD projects

Multifamily, Elderly/Disabled and IRS Low Income PropertiesU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Public Housing Agencyhttp://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/pha/contacts/

index.cfm

USDA Food Stampswww.fns.usda.gov/cga/Contacts/FieldOffices/

The Black Church Page

http://www.theblackchurchpage.com/locator.php

But mostly . . .

• Just push yourself away from your desk and get out there . . .

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• Meet with representatives of – the county adult and community education

agency– English as a Second Language agency– Social Services agency– Employment Security agency representatives

Suggested ContactsSuggested Contacts

Analyzing Impacts

General thrust:• Compare all factors to non-minority and middle

and high income population, as appropriate.• Where data can be displayed quantitatively and

visually, on maps, it will be most useful. • GIS will be helpful. • Analysis of the factors should show the effects

of the transportation plan on the affected communities; differentiating, where possible between the effects on the minority vs. non-minority community, and low income vs middle-high income communities.

Regional/Planning-Level Concerns• Long-term patterns of transportation

investment. • Length of time to travel to and from jobs. • Coordination of the transportation planning

effort with interrelated efforts such as human services transportation, training and employment agencies.

• Effects of welfare reform, welfare-to-work, access to jobs demands for transportation.

Questions to Ask

• Does the transportation net provide the ability to move people who need jobs to where the jobs are, and then home again, at the appropriate times and without undue time-in-transit?

• Is the public transit system available at non-standard work hours? (Many lower-skilled and entry jobs require evening, night, and weekend work.)

Questions, cont.

• Is adequate funding being devoted to maintain older areas with high minority populations or is the bulk of funding is being devoted to new projects in newly developing areas?

• Rates of travel, auto ownership, transit dependency. Who uses which modes? Which modes are more subsidized?

• What is the efficiency and ease of inter-modal connections? Is the transportation net fragmented, or divided by jurisdictional boundaries which create obstacles to, for example, transfers?

Distribution of Households With No Cars

Off-Peak Transit Travel Time to Nearest Hospital

TIP Project Mapping

Mobility Analysis

Air Quality

• Certain ailments have higher incident rate in minority and low-income populations

• Sensitive populations, including children and elderly, of special concern

• Emotional impacts of poor visibility, dust, odors, exhaust

• Cumulative Exposure, multiple sources

AQ Basics

• States/Locals monitor AQ to determine compliance with NAAQS

• Concentrations of any of five criteria pollutants violate NAAQS?– Attainment status lost

• Non-attainment areas must prepare SIP• Transportation Conformity – TIPs must be

consistent with SIPs

State of the Practice

• Identify specific sites (“hot spots”) and regions where standards may be exceeded– Regional: incorporate travel demand information

and emissions factors to calculate total regional emissions

– Localized: estimate CO concentrations at discrete receptors near worst-case intersections

• MOBILE6 - EPA model estimates emission factors for vehicles

• CAL3QHC – air dispersion model estimates CO

General AQ Review

Use when:

• Need an initial analysis?

• Minimal effects expected?

• Attainment area?

• Maintenance area not requiring detailed micro-scale analysis?

• No triggers for conformity determination?

What to do

• Document regional & local air quality

• Document protected populations in the area

• Evaluate potential for unequal distributive effects– Map – significant point and mobile sources– Overlay protected population groups– Identify spatial clustering of pollution sources

and proximity of protected groups

Evaluation

• Any areas of potentially greater concern?

• Will the project affect local air quality in these area of concern?– If so, consider more detailed study– If not, can probably conclude that the project

would have no distributive adverse AQ effect

Micro-Scale Analysis

When to use:

• Regionally significant transportation project in a non-attainment or maintenance area

• Required by local guidance, rules

• Controversial project; public scrutiny due to AQ concerns

What to do

• Evaluate where project intersections are relative to protected populations– Number of intersections with a high level of EJ

concern?– 50% or more in the study area? Proportion of

them higher than comparison area?

• Screen, rank & choose multiple intersections (by LOS, volume, and EJ concern)

• Model top-ranking intersections

Evaluation

• Where are “EJ Concern” intersections in relation to “Worst Case” intersections?– 50% or more in the study area? Proportion of

them higher than comparison area? (Substantially borne by?. . . Suffered in greater magnitude?)

• Violation/ exceedances at any?

• Evaluate effects on sensitive receptors

Hazardous Materials

• Define the pattern of known or potential contamination; Correlate pattern with underlying demographic pattern

Corridor and Project Assessments• Historically done to address impacts to

construction costs, schedule, routing, worker exposure & liability

• Phase I ESA– Site reconnaissance– Records and regulatory database review– Property history/interviews

• Based on findings, may do more soil/water investigations

• May pursue clean-up options: Opportunity for offsetting EJ BENEFITS

Construction and Operation

• Review use and control of hazardous materials during construction

• Siting and establishing:– Construction and demolition debris landfills– Maintenance facilities– Construction staging areas

Tiered approach

• 1. Desktop assessment: Phase I ESA + distributive effects analysis (demographic overlay).– Potential for concern?

• 2. Computer-based Assessment: GIS, statistical analysis (Validate or Reject subjective impressions from desktop analysis)– e.g. chi-square – is there a probability that the

presence of hazardous materials is dependent on EJ variables?

Transport: Spills and Releases

• Screening Method– Identify hazmat routes– Analyze census data for blocks in proximity to

roadway (zones of immediate and significant impact – varies by material and conditions)

• Probability Modeling– Uses material flow survey data (empirical

technique: stop trucks, examine shipping papers)

Water Quality

• Generally, improvements to water quality and drainage will be BENEFICIAL

• Potential, however, for adverse effects if:– EJ pop. is predominant user of the resource,

or uses it differently than others– Impacted areas or mitigation areas (e.g.

detention ponds) are distributed unequally– Water quality improvements affect aesthetics

Safety

• What would your intuition suggest about low income and minority populations and safety issues?

• Supporting Studies– Low income children more likely to be struck by

vehicles b/c lack of playgrounds encourages them to play in street (Appleyard 1981)

– Children living near high volume, high speed roads far more like to be injured/killed by motor vehicles (Roberts, et al. 1995)

Pedestrian Street Crossings

• LOS rating

• Intersection performance most important– Ped./vehicle conflict most likely there

• Pedestrian Delay . . . Too long, and pedestrians will not comply with signals or yield to traffic.

• Reduce delays at intersections, then:– Will encourage more short trips on foot– Greater safety for those crossing

Pedestrian Road Crossing LOSValues are average delays in seconds per pedestrian crossing

LOS Signalized

Intersection

Unsignalized Intersection

Non-compliance likelihood

A <10 <5 Low

B 10-20 5-10 Low - Mod

C 20-30 10-20 Mod

D 30-40 20-30 Mod - High

E 40-60 35-40 High

F > 60 > 45 Very High

Public Involvement Public Involvement

One Size DOESN’T

Fit All

Why doesn’t one size fit all?Because the PUBLIC is composed

of many different segments • Upper-income, middle-income and low-

income• Non-minority and minority• Young, middle-aged and elderly• Educated and uneducated• Transportation independent and dependent• 1st shift and 2nd/3rd shift workers• English speaking and non-English speaking

Accommodate Diversity

• In age, work-schedules, culture, language, incomes

• In interest level and ability to participate

• In comfort level & style of communication

• In values and perspectives

Ethnomed

http://www.ethnomed.org/ethnomed/index.html

What’s wrong with what we currently do?

It is designed for people “like us” and generally doesn’t reach the EJ (low-income and minority) populations

Information is provided by websites, newspapers and

newsletters

•Websites assume access to a computer

•Websites and newspapers assume a disposable income

•Websites, newspapers and newsletters assume the ability to read and speak English

Information is requested by telephone, fax, e-mail or mail

•Is a long distance phone call required?

•Many in the EJ populations don’t have access to fax or e-mail

Meetings are held on Tuesday and Thursday nights

•Many in the EJ populations work two jobs or work 2nd/3rd shift jobs

•Many in the EJ populations are single mothers with children who would need child care

•Many may be elderly and don’t go out after dark

Meetings are held in locations that are inaccessible or unsafe

for EJ populations

•The meeting location may be in our neighborhoods

•The meeting location may not be near EJ neighborhoods

Documents

Environmental Justice Overview. Topics Policy background; relationship to NEPA Overview of EJ processes & analysis –Define the Study Area –Methods for