Environmental Justice Evaluation: Wilmington Bypass, Wilmington, North Carolina

Abstract

Among the common mandates of agency guidelines implementing Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, is the determination of whether the subject action or project will cause disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority or low-income populations. This determination is often troublesome because it requires the analyst to know or define disproportionate impacts. A method is provided for defining disproportionate within the context of an environmental justice evaluation that was conducted for the Wilmington Bypass environmental impact statement. In response to strong local opposition to one of the alignment alternatives of the Wilmington Bypass and to address the perception that this community’s residents were not involved in the planning process, the Wilmington Bypass public involvement program was augmented to include a citizens’ informational workshop, project development meetings, and community liaison meetings. A brief history is provided of the Wilmington Bypass project, highlighting the public involvement surrounding the environmental justice evaluation. Discussions of the scoping process and delineation of the study area are followed by discussions of the reference population development for the minority and low-income populations. Particular emphasis is given to the use of available census demographic and socioeconomic data and graphical display of these data with the use of a geographic information system. Impact evaluations and mitigative responses for issues determined relevant for the environmental justice analysis conclude the discussion. Conclusions and recommendations for further study are provided.