Environmental Justice (EJ) is driving environmental policy across the country. EJ is defined as the equal protection and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies and the equitable distribution of environmental benefits. A new federal executive order directs federal agencies to make achieving EJ part of their missions by developing programs, policies, and activities to address disproportionate impact to disadvantaged communities. At the same time, many states are in the process of developing their own programs. The state programs all take different approaches and use different terminology and metrics that the regulated community will need to navigate. Many of the evolving state regulations contain new requirements for air permitting projects including enhanced public involvement and cumulative impact analyses. This presentation will provide an overview of the state rulemaking efforts, program strategies, and considerations for conducting cumulative impact analyses as part of the air permitting process. We will look at available web-based mapping tools containing environmental, demographic, and public health data and how this information may be used in EJ analyses. Attendees will gain an understanding of the regulatory initiatives across the country and different approaches to evaluating EJ impacts.
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