The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide - Democrats Against UN ...

The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide
has generated among residents have encouraged other neighborhoods in the South Zone to also create their own community
development plans. Furthermore, women, youth, and children have continued with their groups and have greatly changed the spirit
of the neighborhood.
Contact
Ms. Gioconda Benavides Vinueza
Jefe de Desarrollo Comunitario
Administración Zona Sur
Teniente Hugo Ortiz y Ayapamba junto al
Mercalo Mayorista, Quito, Ecuador
Tel.: +593 2/678276,82
Fax: +593 2/677456
3.3.3 CASE #7
GREENPOINT/WILLIAMSBURG, NEW YORK CITY, USA
PARTICIPATORY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Program Name
The Greenpoint/Williamsburg Environmental Benefits Program (EBP)—GIS and Auditing Tools
Background
The Greenpoint/Williamsburg Environmental Benefits Program was created by the City of New York to assess and remediate
pollution problems in an impoverished, heavily industrialized and contaminated inner-city neighborhood. The three-year program
(1991-94) was the result of a court agreement that aimed to address emissions violations by a municipal sewage treatment facility,
and to engage “environmentally disadvantaged” residents in decision making in order to improve environmental quality and public
health in their community.
The Greenpoint/Williamsburg neighborhood is a heavily industrialized and densely populated area in Brooklyn, New York City. It
contains the city’s largest sewage treatment plant, several solid waste transfer stations where garbage is stored before transport to
landfill, the only radioactive waste storage facility in New York City, a decades-old solid waste incinerator, 30 facilities that store
extremely hazardous waste, 17 petroleum and natural gas facilities and 96 above-ground storage tanks that have contaminated the
underlying soil with 14.5 million gallons of oil.
Citizen outrage about pollution problems in their neighborhood played a role in the creation and design of the EBP. The mostly lowincome
and racial-minority residents claim that the neighborhood has a multitude of environmental and health problems related to
the many sources of pollution in their community. There was a perception among residents that enforcement of existing regulations
was inadequate and that the existence of so many polluting facilities in their neighborhood was unjust.
Program Description
The Greenpoint/Williamsburg Program demonstrates how local governments can work in cooperation with communities within their
jurisdiction to address environmental inequities. The overall goal of the program was to engage the public in environmental decision
making, monitoring, and enforcement related to cross-media pollution—an acute problem in heavily polluted areas. This goal
required that residents be given access to information and management tools that could be used for effective participation in
environmental decision making, as well as local enforcement and monitoring. This case study highlights two environmental
assessment tools that were used to build local capacity for participation in decision making: Cumulative Environmental Impact
Assessment and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). These tools provide the community with access to information and the
ability to independently assess pollution risks and environmental compliance by local firms and facilities.
A Citizens’Advisory Committee (CAC) was first established by New York City’s Community Environmental Development Group
as a forum for citizen participation. This Committee consisted of Greenpoint/Williamsburg residents, environmental advocates, local
business people, elected officials, and representatives of the local Community Board. Total participation in the CAC exceeded 300;
http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/ (76 of 180)18/10/2010 12:47:23 AM