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 290,545 186,207 64% 1.00 American American Indian and 56,490 36,366 64% 1.00 Alaska Native Asian 230,798 143,691 62% 0.97 Native Hawaiian or 2,166 1,412 65% 1.02 Other Pacific Island 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 217,737 142,351 65% 1.02 Speaking Individuals Zero-Vehicle 153,366 109,084 71% 1.11 Households

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 290,545 64,001 22% 0.91 American American Indian and 56,490 13,121 23% 0.95 Alaska Native Asian 230,798 52,104 23% 0.93 Native Hawaiian or 2,166 491 23% 0.93 Other Pacific Island 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 217,737 50,910 23% 0.96 Speaking Individuals Zero-Vehicle 153,366 40,872 27% 1.10 Households

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 290,545 4,941 1.70% 1.78 American American Indian and 56,490 787 1.39% 1.46 Alaska Native Asian 230,798 2,326 1.01% 1.05 Native Hawaiian or 2,166 20 0.92% 0.96 Other Pacific Island 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 217,737 2,563 1.18% 1.23 Speaking Individuals Zero-Vehicle 153,366 2,319 1.51% 1.58 Households

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 John Tompkins SRF Consulting Group Minnesota Department of Transportation cryan@srfconsulting.com john.tompkins@state.mn.us For more information on the Minnesota Statewide Freight System Plan: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/freightplan