Title VI and environmental justice are about fairness. Fairness means no group bears more than its share of negative environmental, social, or economic effects; and no group receives more than its share of benefits.
Environmental justice is not a new concept or program. It has its roots in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and bars intentional discrimination as well as disparate impact discrimination (i.e., a neutral policy or practice that has a disparate impact on protected groups). Title VI states, “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
In 1994, President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 12898, directing all Federal agencies to implement environmental justice. The Environmental Justice Order further amplifies Title VI by providing that each Federal agency shall make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations.
OahuMPO Policy Statement for Title VI and EJ
The following OahuMPO Policy Statement for Title VI & Environmental
Justice was recommended for approval by the Technical Advisory Committee on July 11, 2001
and approved by the Policy Committee on July 19, 2001:
It is the policy of the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OahuMPO) to adhere to the following Federal regulations:
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Environmental Justice (Executive Order 12898)
• Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987
• Age Discrimination Act of 1975
OahuMPO will fully comply with the above statutes and their implementing regulations and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, age, or low-income. OahuMPO will not exclude anyone from participation in, deny the benefits of, or otherwise discriminate under any of its programs or activities.
Environmental Justice in the OahuMPO Planning Process
In October 2001, the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OahuMPO)
published its report, Environmental Justice in the OahuMPO Planning Process. The
report documented how OahuMPO evaluated the effectiveness of the metropolitan planning
process in meeting Title VI and environmental justice requirements; and implemented a
process to analyze the distribution of benefits and disproportionate impacts of planned
investments.
Since 2001, OahuMPO has re-evaluated the EJ-designated block groups. The update is based on the release of the 2000 Census income data and geography, a revised methodology based on the settlement patterns of federally-defined minority groups, and local knowledge. This report supersedes Chapter 2 in the Environmental Justice in the OahuMPO Planning Process report.
The published report is available online. Printed copies of the report are available upon request for the cost of printing and postage.
Posted June 10, 2004
An update to the Environmental Justice in the OahuMPO Planning Process report is now available for download in PDF format:
This report supersedes Chapter 2, "Environmental Justice Populations" of the Environmental Justice in the OahuMPO Planning Process report.
Posted November 16, 2001
The OahuMPO Policy Committee approved the Environmental
Justice in the OahuMPO Planning Process report on Friday September 7, 2001.
Links to pdf report files:
- Figure 1: Minority Population Distribution, 1990, Oahu (no link; see pp. 2-2)
- Figure 2: Minority Population Level in 1990 Census Block Groups
- Figure 3: Number of Persons Living in Households with Incomes at/or Below the Poverty Level in 1990 Census Block Groups
- Figure 4: Low Income Persons Living in Households with Incomes at/or Below the Poverty Level in 1990 Census Block Groups
- Table 1: EJ Populations Selected for Oahu (no link; see pp. 2-7)
- Figure 5: EJ Neighborhoods: Minority OR Low-Income - 1990
- Figure 6: EJ Neighborhoods: Minority AND Low-Income - 1990
- Figure 7: Composite Map with 2000 Minority and 1990 Low-Income
- Figure 8: ORTP Project Location Map (2000-2025)
- Figure 8: Legend: Projected Estimated Cost (Year 2000 $)
- Figure 9: AM Peak Travel Time Differences Between the Future Case with ORTP Vs. Without ORTP Improvements
- Figure 10: Distribution of ORTP Dollars Programmed for Safety Improvements by Census Block Group
- Figure 11: Crash Rate (1995-1999) by Census Block Group
- Figure 12: ORTP Betwork-Based Project Costs by Census Block Group
- Figure 13: ORTP Spot Project Costs by Census Block Group
- Figure 14: ORTP Project Costs for Network-Based and Spot Projects by Census Block Group
- Figure 15: Islandwide Population for the Year 2010 by Development Plan Areas
- Figure 16: Percent of ORTP Dollars Programmed by Development Plan Areas
- Figure 17: TIP Project Location Map (2000 - 2002)
- Figure 17: Legend: TIP Legend Projected Estimated Cost (Year 2000 $)
- Figure 18: Distribution of FY 2000-2002 TIP Dollars Programmed for Safety Improvements by Census Block Group
- Figure 19: Percent of FY 2000-2002 TIP Dollars Programmed for Right-of-Way Improvements for EJ and Non-EJ Census Block Group
- Figure 20: Distribution of FY 2000-2002 TIP Dollars Programmed by Census Block Group
- Figure 21: Percent of FY 2000-2002 TIP Dollars Programmed by Development Plan Areas
Appendices:
