eLearning Tool for FEMA Grant Applicants
Section I: Environmental Justice
- I.1: Determine if there are low income or minority populations in your project area
- I.2: Determining if your project has disproportionate adverse effects
- I.3: How to address adverse effects
- I.4: How to provide relevant and helpful support documentation
I.3: How to address adverse effects
If the project will cause disproportionate adverse effects to a minority or low-income population, you should take efforts to reduce the impact to people in the project area, using creativity and common sense to determine acceptable measures. The measures should be tailored to the activities and interests of the impacted populations. For example, if the project is occurring in a residential neighborhood, construction activities should occur during the daytime hours to reduce the disruption to residents, who are often away during the day and sleeping at night. Other measures can include spaying water on excavated areas and dirt roads to reduce dust, timing material deliveries to avoid rush hour, informing residents when utilities will not be available, and creating a community areas on land that is reclaimed.
If you anticipate that your project will have disproportionate adverse effects to a low- income or minority population, then you should consider ways to avoid those effects, minimize the effects, and if necessary, compensate for the effects. When possible, all projects should be designed to avoid disproportionate adverse effects to minority and low-income populations. If adverse effects cannot be avoided, develop appropriate treatment measures into the scope of work so adverse effects are reduced and minimized. Listed below are some of the possible adverse effects that your project may have, together with possible treatment measures that you may include in your project to avoid, reduce or minimize, or compensate for adverse effects. The list is illustrative, and does not include all adverse effects that a project may have or all of the ways to potentially treat those effects.
Adverse Effects (Disproportional to minority or low-income)
- Adverse health effects
- Bodily impairment, infirmity, illness, or death
- Air, noise, soil, or water pollution or contamination Treatment measures
Treatment Measures
- Avoid or minimize adverse effects by considering project alternatives.
- Install safety fencing and signage.
- Maintain a clean construction site.
- Involve the public.
- Implement mitigation to minimize temporary effects such as noise or reduced air quality.
- Remediate construction site of hazardous materials and conditions once project is finished.
Adverse Effects (Disproportional to minority or low-income)
- Adverse economic effects
- Displacement or removal of persons, businesses, farms, or non-profit organizations
- Adverse employment effects
- Increased traffic congestion, isolation, or exclusion
Treatment measures
- Provide for relocation of businesses, non-profit organizations, and residents within the community.
- Utilize local work force.
- Develop a route for business access and use signage to increase the visibility of business and retail entrances.
- Implement traffic control plans so roadways are maintained.
- Include crosswalks and transit stops in the project design.
- Consider alternate project location.
Adverse Effects (Disproportional tominority or low-income)
- Adverse social effects
- Loss of recreation or community gathering areas
- Destruction or disruption of man-made or natural resources
- Destruction or diminution of aesthetic values
- Destruction or disruption of community cohesion
- Increased traffic congestion, isolation, or exclusion
- Destruction or disruption of the availability of public and private facilities and services
- Displacement of persons or businesses
Treatment measures
- Provide for temporary recreation or community gathering areas.
- Rebuild recreation or community gathering areas in other accessible locations.
- Acquire adjacent land and designate park land.
- Landscape the project area once construction activities are concluded.
- Incorporate comments from the public in to the design or implementation of the project.
- Develop a route for business access and use signage to increase the visibility of business and retail entrances.
- Include crosswalks and transit stops in the project design.
- Provide for relocation of businesses, non-profit organizations, and residents within the community.
- Consider project alternatives.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 16-Aug-2006 09:44:41 EDT