Environmental Justice: Assessing Social and Health Impacts On Vulnerable Populations

February 18, 2021

Speakers

Dr. Leticia Solaun
Charlie Webb, Jacobs
Greg Wolffe, Yorke

Moderator

Karalyn Lubold, BS, MS

Environmental health and justice are finally making their way to the forefront of environmental protection. In this webinar, our expert panel will give an overview of the latest analysis techniques and demonstrate their value through case studies.

Leticia (Leti) Solaun will provide an overview of environmental justice precepts, tools, and basis for social impact analyses.

Greg Wolffe will address a case study in Los Angeles County (County) initiated the Green Zones Program (Program) in 2015 to enhance public health and land use compatibility in unincorporated communities. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) which 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.

Charlie Webb will talk about the challenges for project-level NEPA practitioners of assessing issues that go beyond the scope of the project for which they are assessing impacts. Interstate construction in urban areas was very impactful to the environmental health of urban neighborhoods around the country in the 1960s and 1970s. As these freeways age and require reconstruction, project sponsors are being asked to acknowledge and in some cases address decades-old impacts that go beyond the footprint of the project or relate to program-level budget decisions.

Tune in to to learn the details about the basic principles and 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.

Need a full screen? Watch on Vimeo.

“Modernizing” the NEPA Process or Returning to the Stone Age? Integrating New Definitions for Key Language in the NEPA–Section 106 Process

November 19, 2020

Speakers

Matthew Adams, Partner, Kaplan Kirsch Rockwell
Heather Miller, Ph.D., Vice President, Business Development & Principal Historian, HRA
Michael D. Smith, Ph.D., Principal, WSP USA

Moderator
Marion Werkheiser, Chief Executive, Cultural Heritage Partners

This joint NAEP–ACRA webinar brings together cultural heritage and NEPA practitioners and attorneys to unpack the new NEPA definitions of Direct and Indirect Impacts, and Effects and discuss how these changes affect cultural resources review under Section 106 and NEPA. The panelists, Mathew Adams, Michael D. Smith Ph.D., and Heather Miller, Ph.D., along with moderator Marion Werkheiser, will highlight the recent James River transmission line court ruling (National Parks Conservation Association et al vs. Semonite) as a backdrop for the discussion. The panelists ask, “how would the James River court ruling be different under the new definitions?” The panelists will recap the court case, look at the new vs. old language and how it might have affected the ruling and its impact on future cases. They briefly present the history of the NEPA–106 process, assess traditional understandings of NHPA, and discuss how the new definition of effects will change consideration of cultural resources.

Marion Werkheiser ties it all together and outlines several caveats and teaching points for moving forward (or is it back?) with a “modernized” approach.

Need a full screen? Watch on Vimeo.