The EJ community definitions apply to the residential population, as well as to workers (including seasonal workers), students, patients, and other individuals who are part of the community that would be affected by a given plan, program, policy, or...

FTA encourages the use of a locally developed threshold, such as that used for FTA’s grant program, or a percentage of median income for the area, provided that the threshold is at least as inclusive as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...

Yes. EJ requirements apply regardless of the size of the community. There are no situations where EJ considerations do not apply based on population size.

If mitigation is not possible, FTA encourages grantees to involve the EJ community in identifying acceptable alternatives, such as betterments or enhancements of a project.

Determinations of benefits and burdens are based on the totality of the circumstances, both the burdens of the proposed action (e.g., short-term construction impacts) and its benefits (e.g., increased transportation options). One of the best ways to...

Whether an adverse effect is “disproportionately high” on minority and low-income populations depends on whether that effect is (1) predominantly borne by an EJ population, or (2) will be suffered by the EJ population and is appreciably more severe or...

Census data provides mean information on household characteristics such as income and race at a variety of geographic levels: census tract, block group, and block level. The decennial census is published every ten years. The American Community Survey...

The unit of geographic analysis is the area impacted by the proposed action. Depending on the nature of the proposed action, the unit of geographic analysis may be a governing body’s jurisdiction, a transit provider’s service area, a neighborhood,...

Yes. There are a number of tools available across the federal agencies that FTA encourages grantees to consider. Links are available on FTA’s EJ webpage. The EPA EJ View took is available on the...

FTA encourages the use of a wide variety of tools to engage the public. Social media should not replace traditional public meetings, but can be a very useful supplement that provides greater opportunity to engage the public. Be sure to establish a...