The New World of Environmental Justice in Air Permitting

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

1:30pm - 3:30pm ET

Location: Florida A

Panel Chair(s)

Sergio Guerra, PhD

Chair
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado

Panel Co-Chair(s)

Nicholas Dummer, PE

Title V Supervisor
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado

Panelist(s)

Michael Ogletree

Director, Air Pollution Control Division
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado
Frank Steitz, M.E.

Director
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, NJ

PDF
Chris Whitehead, QEP, CESM

Air Practice Leader
Enviro-Sciences, NJ

There is a new lens on Environmental Justice considerations related to air permitting. The US EPA Office of External Civil Rights Compliance (OECRC) will be reviewing whether state agencies are implementing the procedural safeguards that all recipients of federal assistance must have in place, in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 7, to comply with their general nondiscrimination obligations. These obligations also include specific policies and procedures to ensure meaningful access to CDPHE’s services, programs, and activities for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) and individuals with disabilities, and a public participation policy and process that is consistent, including as implemented, with the federal civil rights laws. This panel will explore the different ways in which Title VI considerations are impacting the air permitting process.