January 20, 2011

MEMORANDUM 

To: Commercial and Institutional Waste Incinerators (CISWI) Rule Docket 

From: OAR OAQPS 

Subject: Addendum to Docket: “Preliminary Review of the Environmental Justice Impacts 

for the Following Proposed: Standards of Performance for New Stationary 

Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and 

Industrial Solid Waste Incineration (CISWI) Units; National Emission Standards 

for Hazardous Air Pollutants or Area Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and 

institutional Boilers; National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 

for Industrial/Commercial/Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters; Identification 

of Non-hazardous Secondary Materials (NHSM) that are Solid Waste (April 28, 

2010).”

1.0 INTRODUCTION 

 This addendum transmits the results of the reassessment of the environmental 

justice (EJ) demographics of those populations located in the vicinity of CISWI units. Based on 

data amendments and corrections that were incorporated following public comment on the 

proposed rule, EPA revised its estimates of the number of units covered by this rule downward 

from 176 units to 100 units, including incinerators, cement kilns, and energy recovery units 

(ERU). As a result of the reduction in the number of units in the source category, it was 

determined that a re-evaluation of the EJ demographics was appropriate. 

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) establishes Federal executive 

policy on EJ. Its main provision directs Federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and 

addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 

effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income 

populations in the United States. 

In addition to the Executive Order, EPA defines “Environmental Justice” to include 

meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with 

respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, 

regulations, and polices. To promote meaningful involvement, EPA has developed a 

communication and outreach strategy to ensure that interested communities have access to a 

proposed rule, are aware of its content, and have an opportunity to comment during the comment 

period. EPA implemented this strategy during the comment period for the proposed CISWI rule. 

EPA publicized the rulemaking via EJ newsletters, Tribal newsletters, EJ listservs, and the 

internet, including the Office of Policy’s (OP) Rulemaking Gateway website 

(http://yosemite.epa.gov/opei/RuleGate.nsf/). EPA also provided general rulemaking fact sheets 
(e.g., why is this important for my community) for EJ community groups and conducted 

conference calls with interested communities. In the final rule, state and federal permitting 

requirements will provide state and local governments and members of affected communities 

with the opportunity to provide comments on the permit conditions associated with permitting 

the sources affected by this rulemaking. 

2.0 DEMOGRAPHICS

The following analysis uses the amended data set of sources and “proximity-to-a-source” 

to identify those populations considered to be living near affected sources, such that they have 

notable exposures to current emissions from these sources. The demographic data for this 

analysis came from census block level population data provided to the EPA by the US Census 

Bureau, based on the 2000 census. The socio-demographic parameters used in the analysis 

included the following: White, African American, Native American, Other or Multiracial, 

Hispanic or Latino, Minority (All Non-White), the numbers of people less than or equal to 18 

years of age; the number of people greater than or equal to 65 years of age, and the number of 

people below the poverty line. 

As with the original report contained in the docket, this proximity analysis determined the 

demographic composition of those census blocks whose centriods lay within a circular distance 

of 3 miles (approximately 5 km) of the affected sources. This study area radius has been used 

often in other demographic analyses focused on areas around industrial sources. Also, beyond 

three miles the air emission influence of an individual source is generally considered to be small, 

both in absolute terms and relative to the influence of other sources (assuming there are other 

sources in the area, as is typical in urban areas. The results of the analysis are contained in Table 

2.1 (see below): 

Table 2.1 Summary of CISWI Demographic Proximity Analysis 

PARAMETER 

STUDY 

POPULATION WHITE 

AFRICAN 

AMERICAN

NATIVE 

AMERICAN

OTHER OR 

MULTIRACIAL 

ORIGINAL 

CISWI 

UNIVERSE 

(176 units) 2,095,561 1,480,539 346,191 21,128 247,703 

REVISED 

CISWI 

UNIVERSE 

(100 units) 1,644,267 1,126,910 221,037 19,432 276,888 

 

% ORIGINAL 

CISWI 

UNIVERSE 71% 17% 1% 12% 

% REVISED 

CISWI 

UNIVERSE 69% 13% 1% 17% 

 

NATIONAL 

AVERAGE (%) 75% 12% 1% 12% 
Table 2.1 Summary of Demographic Proximity Analysis (continued) 

PARAMETER 

HISPANIC 

OR LATINO 

MINORITY 

(ALL 

NONWHITE) AGE 0-18 AGE 65+ 

BELOW 

POVERTY 

LINE 

ORIGINAL 

CISWI 

UNIVERSE 

TOTAL (176 

units) 273,943 615,022 569,708 260,929 295,197 

REVISED CISWI 

UNIVERSE (100 

units) 247,521 517,357 443,397 197,067 226,071 

 

% ORIGINAL 

CISWI 

UNIVERSE 13% 29% 27% 12% 14% 

% REVISED 

CISWI 

UNIVERSE 15% 31% 27% 12% 14% 

 

NATIONAL 

AVERAGE (%) 14% 25% 27% 12% 13% 

Notes: 

1. The “Minorities” population is the overall population (in the first column) minus white population (in 

the second column). (Another way to calculate the same number is to add the fourth column -African 

American, the fifth column - Native American, and the sixth column – Other and Multiracial.) Ethnicity is 

not added separately to this minority assessment. 

2. The Census Bureau defines “Hispanic or Latino” as an ethnicity rather than as a racial category, 

Hispanics or Latinos may belong to any race. 

This EPA analysis revises the demographic data presented in “Exhibit 1 – Populations 

Within Three-Mile Proximity to Major Source Boilers and CISWI Units” as contained in the 

report referenced as the subject of this memorandum. When compared to the original 

demographic analysis, the results of this re-analysis indicate that the total number of people in 

proximity to, and potentially impacted by, this source category have declined by approximately 

22%. This decrease in the total population has resulted in corresponding changes in the 

percentage composition of the demographics in the study areas. The percentage of White and 

African American both decreased by 2% and 4% respectively from the previous study, while the 

percentage of Native Americans, the number of people less than or equal to age 18, the number 

of people greater than or equal to age 65, and the number below the poverty line remained 

relatively unchanged. The demographic variables Other or Multiracial, Hispanics, and Minority 

(All Non-White) also decreased in total numbers, but their percentage composition in this reanalysis increased by approximately 5%, 2%, and 2% respectively. 
When compared to the national averages of these demographics, EPA’s re-analysis shows 

that the study areas tend to have lower proportions of Whites. The proportions of Native 

Americans, people with ages less than or equal to 18, and those with ages greater than or equal to 

65 are similar to their respective national averages. However, the proportions of African 

American, Hispanics, Other or Multiracial, the number of people below the poverty line, and 

Minority (All Non-White) are higher than their respective national averages with the greatest 

change occurring in the category Minority (All Non-White). 

Based on the fact that the final rule does not allow emission increases from this source 

category, EPA has determined that the rule will not have disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects on minority or other subpopulatons. However, to the 

extent that any minority subpopulation is disproportionately impacted by the current emissions as 

a result of the proximity of their homes to these sources, that subpopulation also stands to see 

increased environmental and health benefits from the reductions called for by this rule.