Environmental Justice Analysis FOR THE MINNESOTA STATEWIDE FREIGHT - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Environmental Justice Analysis

FOR THE MINNESOTA STATEWIDE FREIGHT SYSTEM PLAN

Presentation Overview

 Minnesota Freight Plan Summary  Environmental Justice (EJ) Background  Freight Plan EJ Analysis Methodology and Results

 How results will be used  Limitations of current approach  Opportunities for improvement

Minnesota Freight Plan

Minnesota’s Family of Plans

Minnesota Freight Plan

 Federal Requirements of MAP-21 and FAST Act  Importance of Freight to Minnesota  Identification of Minnesota Principal Freight Network  Freight Action Agenda

 Plan proposes 30 specific actions

 Freight Plan Implementation  Role of the Minnesota Freight Advisory Committee

Environmental Justice and Title VI Policy Background

 Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI  Environmental Justice Executive Order (EO 12898)  USDOT Order 5610.2(a) Actions to Address Environmental Justice in

Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

 Definition of “Low-Income” and “Minority”  Definition of “disproportionately high and adverse effect”

 Overlap between Title VI and EJ

 Title VI requirements broader, do not include low-income

Existing Guidance and Best Practices

 DOTs, MPOs, and Transit Agencies have used variety of approaches  NCHRP Report 532: Effective Methods for Environmental Justice

Assessment

 Threshold Analysis Method  Spatial Interpolation Method

 Other Guidance

 FTA Title VI and Environmental Justice Circulars  GDOT Report on Impact of EJ Analysis on Transportation Planning  FHWA EJ Guidance

EJ Analysis: Statewide Demographic Overview

 Population Groups

 Minority

 Black or African American  American Indian and Alaskan Native  Asian  Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander  Hispanic or Latino

 Low-Income

 DHHS Poverty Thresholds

 Additional Groups

 Senior (65 and Older); Youth (17 and Younger); Limited English Proficiency; Zero-

Vehicle Households  Threshold Maps

EJ Analysis Methodology and Results

EJ Analysis: Freight Network Buffer Analysis

 Identification of Principal Freight Network (PFN)  Defining adverse impacts

 Noise, Air Pollution, Vibration  ¼-Mile Impact Distance

 Census Data Preparation

 Allocating Block Group Data to Blocks

 Identifying Blocks within Impact Distance

 Polygon Within  Polygon Intersect  Centroid Within  Areal Interpolation

EJ Analysis: Highway Buffer Results

Population Category Statewide Population Population in Buffer Percentage in Buffer Comparison Index Total Population 5,383,661 3,456,101 64%

• White

4,585,781 2,946,368 64% 1.00 Black or African American 290,545 186,207 64% 1.00 American Indian and Alaska Native 56,490 36,366 64% 1.00 Asian 230,798 143,691 62% 0.97 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Island 2,166 1,412 65% 1.02 Some Other Race 78,863 53,198 67% 1.05 Two or More Races 139,018 88,859 64% 1.00 Hispanic or Latino 264,265 173,885 66% 1.02 Age 65 and Older 730,382 484,302 66% 1.03 Age 17 and Under 1,280,022 812,530 63% 0.99 Low-Income 605,761 408,440 67% 1.05 Limited English Speaking Individuals 217,737 142,351 65% 1.02 Zero-Vehicle Households 153,366 109,084 71% 1.11

EJ Analysis: Rail Corridor Buffer Results

Population Category Statewide Population Population in Buffer Percentage in Buffer Comparison Index Total Population 5,383,661 1,309,874 24%

• White

4,585,781 1,127,401 25% 1.01 Black or African American 290,545 64,001 22% 0.91 American Indian and Alaska Native 56,490 13,121 23% 0.95 Asian 230,798 52,104 23% 0.93 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Island 2,166 491 23% 0.93 Some Other Race 78,863 19,501 25% 1.02 Two or More Races 139,018 33,255 24% 0.98 Hispanic or Latino 264,265 65,804 25% 1.02 Age 65 and Older 730,382 180,907 25% 1.02 Age 17 and Under 1,280,022 306,731 24% 0.98 Low-Income 605,761 167,726 28% 1.14 Limited English Speaking Individuals 217,737 50,910 23% 0.96 Zero-Vehicle Households 153,366 40,872 27% 1.10

EJ Analysis: Rail Facility Buffer Results

Population Category Statewide Population Population in Buffer Percentage in Buffer Comparison Index Total Population 5,383,661 51,525 0.96%

• White

4,585,781 40,161 0.88% 0.92 Black or African American 290,545 4,941 1.70% 1.78 American Indian and Alaska Native 56,490 787 1.39% 1.46 Asian 230,798 2,326 1.01% 1.05 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Island 2,166 20 0.92% 0.96 Some Other Race 78,863 1,079 1.37% 1.43 Two or More Races 139,018 2,211 1.59% 1.66 Hispanic or Latino 264,265 3,070 1.16% 1.21 Age 65 and Older 730,382 5,072 0.69% 0.73 Age 17 and Under 1,280,022 10,658 0.83% 0.87 Low-Income 605,761 9,681 1.60% 1.67 Limited English Speaking Individuals 217,737 2,563 1.18% 1.23 Zero-Vehicle Households 153,366 2,319 1.51% 1.58

What’s the Point?

 Establishes strong knowledge base of potential EJ issues  Provides policy framework for additional review of individual

projects and programs

 If disproportionate adverse impacts are found for projects or programs,

steps should be taken to avoid, minimize, or mitigate those impacts

 Public Participation will be key for project and program reviews

Limitations and Lessons Learned

 Methodology will be sensitive to inputs

 Buffer Distance  Census Area Selection  Reference Population

 Intensity of Impacts are not incorporated

 Heavy Commercial ADT or daily train counts could be proxy measures  Different Modes will have different impacts

Chris Ryan, PE SRF Consulting Group cryan@srfconsulting.com John Tompkins Minnesota Department of Transportation john.tompkins@state.mn.us For more information on the Minnesota Statewide Freight System Plan:

https://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/freightplan