Epsilon recently helped our client secure the first Comprehensive Plan Approval issued under the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s (MassDEP) new Cumulative Impact Analysis (CIA) regulations. As first project to move through the process, it provided valuable insight into how the regulations are implemented in practice and what future applicants can expect.
WHAT ARE THE CIA RULES AND WHO DO THEY APPLY TO?
The CIA regulations require certain facilities seeking approvals in or near Environmental Justice (EJ) communities to evaluate existing environmental and public health conditions as part of the permitting process.
A CIA is generally required when a facility:
- Is located within one mile of a mapped EJ community
- Requires a Comprehensive Plan Approval (CPA).
- Meets applicable emissions thresholds or modification criteria
Compared to a traditional CPA application, the CIA process adds several new requirements, including:
- Enhanced public outreach
- Evaluation of existing environmental and public health conditions using 33 indicators
- Air quality modeling in situations where it may not otherwise be required
- Analysis of cumulative air toxics risk
These additional requirements expand both the technical and public engagement components of the permitting process.
A NEW PROCESS CREATES UNCERTAINTY
Because the regulations are new, many project owners have approached the CIA processes cautiously, with concerns about permitting schedules, public engagement requirements, and the absence of established precedent. As a result, some facilities have explored alternative permitting pathways or adjusted projects to avoid triggering CIA requirements.
For our project, the process took just over a year from the initial l outreach to MassDEP through permit issuance. As regulatory expectations become more established and additional permits move through the process, future applications should benefit from this growing experience.
THE PUBLIC OUTREACH PROCESS BUILDS ONTO EXISTING MASSACHUSETTS ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (MEPA) EXPERIENCE
The outreach requirements associated with the CIA process are familiar to anyone who has worked on projects subject to enhanced EJ under MEPA. Coordination with the Massachusetts Office of Environmental Justice and Equity (OEJE) and engagement with affected communities closely mirrors the approaches that have been used in MEPA for years. Our extensive experience conducting EJ analysis and public outreach for MEPA projects provided a strong foundation for navigating this aspect of the CIA process.
COLLECTIVE DATA IS STRAIGHTFORWARD – EXPLAINING IT REQUIRES EXPERTISE
MassDEP’s online tools make it relatively easy to compile information on community health, nearby pollution sources, and other potential burdens are well-made and easy to use. The more challenging task is explaining what those conditions mean in the context of a proposed project.
Successful CIA evaluations require collaboration among engineers, air quality specialists, public health experts, and community engagement professionals. Interpreting the data and explaining the relationship between project impacts and existing community conditions is often where experience matters most. This analysis also provides an opportunity to clearly communicate the public benefits of a project alongside its environmental impacts.
AIR QUALITY MODELING PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE
MassDEP provides screening tools to evaluate acute and chronic air toxics impacts as part of the CIA process. While those tools can simplify certain analysis, project-specific air dispersion modeling is already needed to demonstrate compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
For our project, incorporating site-specific modeling results provided a more representative picture of potential impacts than relying solely on screening assumptions. The CIA process may also require consideration of emissions beyond facility operations, including traffic related impacts. Epsilon regularly evaluates traffic air quality impacts as part of the MEPA process.
For this project, impact decreased rapidly with distance from the facility and remained negligible at the nearby sensitive receptors.
SMALL SOURCES CAN REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT ATTENTION
One lesson from the first CIA approval was the importance of thoroughly documenting all facility emissions sources, including relatively small combustion units such as gas-fired heaters. While these sources did not drive overall project impacts, developing the level of detail necessary to satisfy regulatory review required considerable effort. Establishing precedent on how these sources are evaluated should help streamline future applications.
LOOKING AHEAD
Our client’s project ultimately received approval, allowing the company to expand operations, create jobs, and continue serving the local community. More broadly, the project demonstrated that Massachusetts’ new CIA permitting framework can be successfully navigated through thoughtful planning, proactive outreach, and rigorous technical analysis.
As additional projects move through the process, applicants will benefit from a growing body of precedent with a clearer understanding of regulatory expectations. For project owners considering facilities in or near EJ communities, early planning and a coordinated permitting strategy will be key to success.
About the Experts
Sonja Sax, Sc.D, is an environmental health scientist in Epsilon’s Air Quality Group. Dr. Sax specializes in evaluating exposure and health risk from environmental pollutants. She has over 20 years of experience in environmental regulatory assessment, health impact assessment and cost-benefit analyses. She has managed large multi-year projects advocating for clients involved in litigation or providing permitting support. She has performed indoor and outdoor air quality investigations evaluating exposures and health impacts of airborne gases and particles. She also served as a consultant to the US EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee for the particulate matter and ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards. More recently she has worked on projects of all sizes conducting Environmental Justice analyses, modeling of air quality impacts and providing guidance to clients on the best approaches for addressing new EJ regulations in multiple states, including Massachusetts and New Jersey.
AJ Jablonowski PE, Principal has experience with a variety of industries, including power production, surface coating, chemical production, waste treatment, metalworking, electronics, food processing, and groundwater treatment. His work includes environmental licensing, compliance and due diligence audits, air permit applications, pollution control studies, accidental release prevention, and regulatory applicability studies. He reviews operations at a variety of industrial and power facilities and recommends process changes for regulatory compliance. He uses strong technical engineering skills and an ability to grasp regulatory nuances as part of his problem-solving approach. He acts as a technical resource for air pollution capture and control options, emissions tracking, and air regulatory interpretations.