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An
Overview of Transportation and Environmental Justice
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is also available - ej2000.pdf - 483KB
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May 2000
Safety and mobility
are two of the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT's) top priorities.
Achieving environmental justice is another undeniable mission of the agency.
A 1994 Presidential
Executive Order directed every Federal agency to make environmental justice
part of its mission by identifying and addressing the effects of all programs,
policies, and activities on "minority populations and low-income
populations." The DOT's environmental justice initiatives accomplish
this goal by involving the potentially affected public in developing transportation
projects that fit harmoniously within their communities without sacrificing
safety or mobility.
Environmental justice
and Title VI are not new concerns. Today, because of the evolution of
the transportation planning process, they are receiving greater emphasis.
Effective transportation decision making depends upon understanding and
properly addressing the unique needs of different socioeconomic groups.
This is more than a desktop exercise; it requires involving the public.
The U.S. DOT is committed to this more comprehensive, inclusive approach.
These changes make sure that every transportation project nationwide considers
the human environment. Use the information in this brochure to learn how
to promote environmental justice and ensure nondiscrimination in your
community.
Context-Sensitive Design: Harlem Gateway Corridor, New York. Transportation
Enhancement Program funds help the Harlem community participate in
a design process that improves the public streetscape through new
lighting, tree planting, pedestrian-friendly design, and murals celebrating
the community's cultural heritage. |
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE?
There are three fundamental environmental justice principles:
- To avoid, minimize,
or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental
effects, including social and economic effects, on minority populations
and low-income populations.
- To ensure the
full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities
in the transportation decision-making process.
- To prevent the
denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of benefits
by minority and low-income populations.
IS
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE A NEW REQUIREMENT?
No. The recipients of Federal-aid have been required to certify and the
U.S. DOT must ensure nondiscrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 and many other laws, regulations, and policies. In 1997, the
Department issued its DOT Order to Address Environmental Justice in
Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations to summarize and expand
upon the requirements of Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice.
HOW
DOES ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION DECISION MAKING?
Environmental justice is more than a set of legal and regulatory obligations.
Properly implemented, environmental justice principles and procedures
improve all levels of transportation decision making. This approach will:
-
Make better transportation
decisions that meet the needs of all people.
-
Design transportation
facilities that fit more harmoniously into communities.
-
Enhance the public-involvement
process, strengthen community-based partnerships, and provide minority
and low-income populations with opportunities to learn about and improve
the quality and usefulness of transportation in their lives.
-
Improve data
collection, monitoring, and analysis tools that assess the needs of,
and analyze the potential impacts on minority and low-income populations.
-
Partner with
other public and private programs to leverage transportation-agency
resources to achieve a common vision for communities.
-
Avoid disproportionately
high and adverse impacts on minority and low-income populations.
-
Minimize and/
or mitigate unavoidable impacts by identifying concerns early in the
planning phase and providing offsetting initiatives and enhancement
measures to benefit affected communities and neighborhoods.
Successful Transit Partnership: El Paso, Texas. As part of
FTA's Livable Community Initiative, Sun Metro is undertaking a major
transit-oriented development to revitalize the El Paso empowerment
zone. Sun Metro is using TEA-21 flexible funding, HUD Community Development
Block Grants, and local-government and private-sector funding. |
TITLE VI AND ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE ADDRESS WHICH GROUPS?
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination
on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) issued Policy Directive 15, Revisions to the Standards
for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, in 1997, establishing
five minimum categories for data on race. Executive Order 12898 and the
DOT and FHWA Orders on Environmental Justice address persons belonging to
any of the following groups:
Black - a
person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Hispanic -
a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or
other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Asian - a
person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East,
Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent.
American Indian
and Alaskan Native - a person having origins in any of the original
people of North America and who maintains cultural identification through
tribal affiliation or community recognition.
Low-Income
- a person whose household income (or in the case of a community or group,
whose median household income) is at or below the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services poverty guidelines.
Note: OMB,
in its Bulletin No. 00-02, "Guidance on Aggregation and Allocation
of Data on Race for Use in Civil Rights Monitoring and Enforcement,"
issued March 9, 2000, provided guidance on the way Federal agencies collect
and use aggregate data on race. Added to the previous standard delineations
of race/ethnicity was the category of:
Native Hawaiian
or Other Pacific Islander - a person having origins in any of the
original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
DO TITLE VI AND
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE APPLY TO ALL TRANSPORTATION DECISIONS?
Yes. Concern for environmental justice should be integrated into every
transportation decision - from the first thought about a transportation
plan to post-construction operations and maintenance. The U.S. DOT
Order applies to all policies, programs, and other activities that
are undertaken, funded, or approved by the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), or other U.S. DOT components:
- Policy Decisions.
- Systems Planning.
- Metropolitan and
Statewide Planning.
- Project Development
and Environmental Review under NEPA.
- Preliminary Design.
- Final Design Engineering.
- Right-of-Way.
- Construction.
- Operations and
Maintenance.
HOW CAN TRANSPORTATION
PARTNERS AND THE PUBLIC SUPPORT TITLE VI AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE?
Federal agencies, State DOTs, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs),
and transit providers advance Title VI and environmental justice by involving
the public in transportation decisions. Effective public involvement programs
enable transportation professionals to develop systems, services, and
solutions that meet the needs of the public, including minority and low-income
communities. There are many excellent examples of transportation initiatives
that successfully integrate environmental justice principles. Partners
and stakeholders can use these successes to champion the opportunities
and responsibilities that Title VI and environmental justice present.
Tulalip Tribal Model Partnership Listening Session. In 1998,
FHWA held a nationwide series of community workshops - planned, coordinated,
and conducted by community organizations and environmental justice
groups - to address the transportation challenges facing minority
and low-income populations. |
Federal Agencies
- FHWA and FTA staff will continue to work with
State DOTs, MPOs, transit providers, and other local agencies to ensure
Title VI and environmental justice considerations are integral to all
surface transportation activities. In addition to making sure that Federal
transportation regulations and policies affirm and reinforce nondiscrimination,
Federal staff will take other important actions to:
- Ensure that Title
VI compliance and environmental justice principles are understood and
implemented in metropolitan and statewide planning activities and in
NEPA processes and documents.
- Identify effective
practices, potential models, and other technical assistance resources
to promote the integration of environmental justice into all planning,
development, and implementation activities.
State DOTs
- are at the heart of planning, design, construction, and operations and
maintenance projects across all travel modes. They allocate resources
from various Federal-aid programs. State DOTs successfully integrate Title
VI and environmental justice into their activities when they:
-
Develop the technical
capability to assess the benefits and adverse effects of transportation
activities among different population groups and use that capability
to develop appropriate procedures, goals, and performance measures
in all aspects of their mission.
-
Ensure that State
Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) findings of statewide planning
compliance and NEPA activities satisfy the letter and intent of Title
VI requirements and environmental justice principles.
-
Enhance their
public-involvement activities to ensure the meaningful participation
of minority and low-income populations.
-
Work with Federal,
State, local, and transit planning partners to create and enhance
intermodal systems, and support projects that can improve the natural
and human environments for low-income and minority communities.
MPOs - serve
as the primary forum where State DOTs, transit providers, local agencies,
and the public develop local transportation plans and programs that address
a metropolitan area's needs. MPOs can help local public officials understand
how Title VI and environmental justice requirements improve planning and
decision making. To certify compliance with Title VI and address environmental
justice, MPOs need to:
-
Enhance their
analytical capabilities to ensure that the long-range transportation
plan and the transportation improvement program (TIP) comply with
Title VI.
-
Identify residential,
employment, and transportation patterns of low-income and minority
populations so that their needs can be identified and addressed, and
the benefits and burdens of transportation investments can be fairly
distributed.
-
Evaluate and
- where necessary - improve their public involvement processes to
eliminate participation barriers and engage minority and low-income
populations in transportation decision making.
Innovative Mitigation Measures: Philadelphia, Chinatown. As
part of the Vine Street Expressway project, PennDOT, the FHWA Pennsylvania
Division, city government, and local planning and development agencies
designed innovative mitigation measures to preserve community cohesion
and economic vitality in a century-old community of ethnic Chinese.
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Transit Providers-
offer mobility for all citizens whether they own a vehicle
or not. They provide an essential service for many low-income and minority
populations who have no other way to get to work, shopping, child care,
medical appointments, recreation, or other destinations. Transit agencies
support Title VI and environmental justice principles when they:
-
Ensure that new
investments and changes in transit facilities, services, maintenance
and vehicle replacement deliver equitable levels of service and benefits
to minority and low-income populations.
-
Avoid, minimize
or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse effects on minority
and low-income populations.
-
Enhance public
involvement activities to identify and address the needs of minority
and low-income populations in making transportation decisions.
The Public
- Transportation agencies cannot fully meet community needs without the
active participation of well-informed, empowered individuals, community
groups, and other nongovernmental organizations such as businesses and
academic institutions. These individuals and groups advance the letter,
spirit, and intent of Title VI and environmental justice in transportation
when they:
-
Participate in
public involvement activities (meetings, hearings, advisory groups,
and task forces) to help responsible State and local agencies understand
community needs, perceptions, and goals.
-
Get involved
with State and local agencies to link TEA-21 programs with other Federal,
State, and local resources to fund projects that support community
goals.
WHERE DO I FIND
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND TRANSPORTATION?
For information on resources, technical assistance, publications, and
DOT contacts, explore this EJ web site:
Additional contact
information:
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Human Environment
400 Seventh Street, SW, HEPH-40
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: (202) 366-0106
Web Site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/index.htm
Federal Transit Administration
Office of Planning
400 Seventh Street, SW, TPL-10
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: (202) 366-6385
Web Site: http://www.fta.dot.gov/about/offices/hq/
A PDF file of the
printed version of this brochure is also available - ej2000.pdf (483KB)
This is an electronic
version of
Publication No. FHWA-EP-00-013
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