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NYenviroScreen: An Open Source Data Driven Method for Identifying Potential Environmental Justice Communities in New York State
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  • Michael Petroni,
  • Sarah Howard,
  • I Brielle Howell,
  • Mary Collins
Michael Petroni
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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Sarah Howard
SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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I Brielle Howell
SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry
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Mary Collins
SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry
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Abstract

In 2003, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation began designating Potential Environmental Justice Areas (PEJA) for the purpose of providing additional public participation opportunities to disadvantaged populations during permitting deliberations. We developed NYenviroScreen to help stakeholders understand, review, and provide input for how future PEJA designation might be updated and improved, including for identifying disadvantaged communities under the newly enacted Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). We present and compare three potential update methods and provide an interactive web application for investigating model components and composition. The three methods are: (i) three factor clustering using the Jenks natural breaks algorithm, (ii) a cumulative impact model adapted from CalEPA’s CalEnviroScreen, and (iii) a hybrid approach that utilizes both methods and incorporates Native American land areas. NYenviroScreen brings together federal and state data sources related to population health, sociodemographics, environmental risk factors, and potential pollution exposures for 15,463 census block groups. We find that a hybrid approach provides the most robust coverage for both rural and urban areas of New York State. By innovating new approaches to such designations and making them publicly accessible, we contribute to the pursuit of environmental justice in New York by generating actionable science.
Oct 2021Published in Environmental Science & Policy volume 124 on pages 348-358. 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.07.004