On
Executive Order 12898 was created to bring federal attention to the environmental and human health conditions in low-income and minority communities with the goal of achieving EJ. The goal of Environmental Justice is to ensure that any adverse human health or environmental effects of any government activities do not disproportionately affect minority or low-income populations. EJ does not intend to provide preferential treatment to these populations, but rather fair treatment to all populations. Specific to transportation, Executive Order 12898 has been issued in order to ensure that all Federally-funded transportation-related programs, policies, and activities that have the potential to cause adverse affects, specifically consider the effects on minority and low-income populations. EJ is a public policy objective that has the potential to improve the quality of life for those whose interests have traditionally been overlooked.
CDTC's Civil Rights and Environmental Justice objective is to assure equitable access to, consideration within and effects of the planning agenda, planning products and program of federally-assisted transportation projects in the Capital District.
Within the context of the Transportation Improvement Program development, CDTC looks to the following to assist with full Civil Rights and Environmental Justice compliance:
1. CDTC's
2. CDTC's
3. Project solicitation requests go out to all eligible parties, including not-for-profit corporations.
4. Merit evaluation processes include a GIS-based identification of location to ensure equitable treatment of both positive and negative project effects on EJ populations as well as on non-EJ populations. All candidate projects were identified in terms of the project's location in a minority area, in a low income area, in a minority and low income area, or in neither a minority area nor low income area.
5. Merit evaluation processes include articulation of the project's expected land use compatibility; community or economic development impacts; environmental issues; and business or housing dislocations.
As a result, the needs of minority and low income areas are
reasonably well represented in the outcome of the