1. Dignity Rights and Environmental Justice Symposium Widener University Delaware Law School Wilmington, DE April 13, 2018

2. Environmental Justice and Cumulative Impacts
Nicky Sheats, Esq., Ph.D.
Director, Center for the Urban Environment, John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy of Thomas Edison State College and member of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

3. Environmental Justice, Cumulative Impacts and Dignity Rights
Nicky Sheats, Esq., Ph.D.
Director, Center for the Urban Environment, John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy of Thomas Edison State College and member of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

4. Game Plan Cumulative impacts, race and class;
Cumulative impacts and dignity rights;
NJ EJ Alliance cumulative impacts statewide policy;
NJ EJ Alliance statewide policy vs EJ bill from Sen. Booker’s office.

5. Cumulative Impacts:
How do we address multiple pollutants emitted by multiple sources of pollution in a community and their interaction with each other and social vulnerabilities?

7. A Preliminary Screening Method to Estimate Cumulative Environmental Impact
Presentation by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to the Environmental Justice Advisory Council
December 2, 2009

8. Indicators: NATA diesel (1999) NATA cancer risk
NJDEP benzene estimates
Traffic (all)
Traffic (trucks)
Density of major regulated sites
Density of known contaminated sites
Density of dry cleaners
Density of junkyards

9. Dignity Rights
What are the implications for dignity rights?

10. Problem: We attempt to regulate pollutant by pollutant
through individual standards.
But there can be detrimental health effects even if no individual standard is violated.

11. NJ EJ Alliance Cumulative Impacts Policy:
Municipal Policy: Model Ordinance
Statewide Policy: Integrating cumulative impacts into NJDEP and EPA permitting

12. Statewide Policy:
Identify EJ and overburdened communities

13. No net increase of pollution emissions in neighborhood.
New Permits:
No net increase of pollution emissions in neighborhood.
By either:
No emissions
Offsets in neighborhood > emissions

14. Permits Up For Renewal:
Net decrease in pollution emissions in neighborhood.
By either:
Reduced emissions
Offsets in neighborhood > emissions

15. Overburdened EJ Communities:
Eligible for incentives and resources that would:
Attract non-polluting industry
Attract the use and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency
Attract suppliers of fresh food
Increase open space
Increase environmental enforcement

16. Need To: Add goals and a timetable to policy.
Add detail to “net decrease in pollution” and “net decrease in pollution emissions”.
Define Overburdened

17. EJ Bill From Sen. Booker’s Office
If due to potential cumulative impacts there is not a reasonable certainty of no harm……

18. Color Scheme

19. END
Nicky Sheats, Esq., Ph.D.
ext. 4280