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NAEP Webinar: Health Impact Analysis for Environmental Planners: A Case Study
Wednesday, December 02, 2020, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM PDT
Category: Webinars

Health Impact Analysis for Environmental Planners: A Case Study

Presented by Greg Wolffe, CPP

December 2, 2020 | 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM (PT) | 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM (ET)
New Date: TBD

This event has been postponed.

Pricing 

NAEP/ACRA Members: $75 | NAEP Student Members: Free
Chapter Members: $125 | Non-members: $140

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) has become an important mechanism for understanding the whole impact of a project as it relates to affected communities and demographics. The use of HIA is an emerging practice intended to increase the understanding of the human health consequences in the evaluation of public policy and decision-making by stakeholders.  

Los Angeles County (County) initiated the Green Zones Program (Program) in 2015 to enhance public health and land use compatibility in unincorporated communities. The Program intends to regulate the development of industrial uses such as recycling and solid waste facilities near sensitive uses. The County developed the Program with an emphasis on environmental justice, State policies and legislation concerning recycling and solid waste programs, coordination among regulatory agencies, support for businesses to become better neighbors, and helping mitigate current and prevent future environmental impacts. The Program establishes new development standards for specific industrial, recycling, or vehicle-related uses and more stringent standards if the property is located within 500 feet (152 meters) of a sensitive land use. In all, the HIA found that the Program would lower the environmental scores for all eleven (11) communities that were evaluated through a reduction in odor, noise, hazardous air emissions, and improved aesthetics.

Tune into this case-study-based webinar to learn the details about the decisions subject to HIA,  what was evaluated, the data used, and how the HIA incorporates quality of life and health parameters, such as background air quality, access to recreation and open space, general mobility, and other factors, particularly for vulnerable subgroups and communities within the affected population. 

Additional Info:

The Green Zones HIA evaluated the existing (baseline) health disparities that disproportionately affect minority and low-income populations compared to the health outcomes associated with the proposed Program ordinance. The evaluation used a wide range of publicly available environmental data, as well as developed site-specific criteria used to identify health risk impacts at the neighborhood level. Publicly available data used in the Green Zones HIA included the Environmental Justice Screening Method (EJSM), United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) emissions and air toxics exposures, and Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study (MATES) monitoring ambient air data for toxic air pollutants. Site-specific emissions were quantified for use in a Health Risk Assessment (HRA), which assessed specific, quantifiable exposure risks to air toxics emitted from a facility subject to the Program ordinance. The HIA incorporates quality of life and health parameters, such as background air quality, access to recreation and open space, general mobility, and other factors, particularly for vulnerable subgroups and communities within the affected population. In all, the HIA found that the Program would lower the environmental scores for all eleven (11) communities that were evaluated through a reduction in odor, noise, improved aesthetics, and hazardous air emissions.


Moderator

Information Coming Soon!


Speaker

Greg Wolffe headshotGreg Wolffe, CPP

Greg Wolffe is a Principal Engineer at Yorke, with over 25 years working in environmental research and consulting services.  Mr. Wolffe has supported government and commercial organizations in assessing air quality impacts for large multi-year new facility construction projects and Major and Minor Source facility modifications, optimized projects for Emission Reduction Credits (ERCs) with permitting agencies, conducted air dispersion modeling analysis to evaluate potential impacts on state and federal ambient air quality standards, evaluated toxic air contaminant emissions for health risk assessment, and proposed project mitigation.  These analyses were performed in support of environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), permitting and/or licensing of capital projects, and pre‑project feasibility planning. 

Mr. Wolffe has specific recent experience managing the consistency of air quality and climate change analyses prepared pursuant to CEQA with permitting for large-scale power projects.  He has worked with a range of California plants performing Title V air permitting, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) compliance auditing, regulatory applicability analysis (federal and local), and semi‑annual Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) reporting.  He has performed dozens of air quality and mobile source emissions evaluations in California for projects located in the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD), Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD), and San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDAPCD).  Mr. Wolffe is a Certified Permitting Professional (C.P.P.) with the SCAQMD, a certified ISO 14001 lead auditor, and a recognized individual in the air quality field in Southern California.


Pricing

NAEP Members: $75
NAEP Student Members: Free
Chapter Members: $125
Non-members: $140

ACRA Members: $75