BRIEF Public Health: Sustainability and the Community Right to Know Act in Houston and Harris County June 2020 I. Sustainable Development – 1987 • Development which meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own needs • Development must be conducted with a balance between Economic Interests, Social Needs, and Environmental Impacts. • International Sustainable Development Goals - 2015 o 11.5 By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water - related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations o 11.6 By 2030, reduce the advers e per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management o 12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, i n accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment o 17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public - private and civil society partnerships , building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships. Data, monitoring and accountability II. Emergency Planning & Community Right - to - Know Act (EPCRA) – 1986 • Authorized by Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). • Designed to help local communities protect public health, safety , and the environment from chemical hazards. • The intent of EPCRA is to have the Local Emergency Planning Committees (emergency personnel and planners), identify vulnerable areas around hazardous facilities and to develop protective community strategies in the event there is a chemical release (Harris County 2019). Panel Discussants: • Latrice Babin, PhD, Director Harris County Pollution C o ntrol Services Department • Denise Chatam Walker, PhD , Greater Houston Local Emergency Planning Committee • Adrian Garcia, Harris County Commissioner Precinct 2 • Stephen Linder, PhD , Institute for Health Policy, U niversity of T exas S chool of P ublic H ealth Moderator: David Abraham, PhD, Rice University Lecturer in Sustainability Reporting and Planning Steering Committee: Center For Houston’s Future Graduate Engagement committee: Paul Allison; Amanda Duda; Laura Goldberg; Vincent R. Nathan, PhD , MPH; Susan Osterberg, EdD ; Sharon Pepper, EdD; Russell Richard PROBLEM S & SOLUTIONS Problems 1. It is currently difficult for even emergency first responders to get access to reliable data on locations of dangerous chemicals across the county. For the general public it is almost impossible to gain access to the locations of dangerous chemicals. 2. We do not have community level impact analys e s or response plans in the event of chemical hazards across different communities in Harris County. 3. In a risk analysis conducted in 2019, using only the Homeland Security Infrastructure Protection pipelines data from 2015, it was found that 1,700,000 people li ve within one half mile proximity of the pipelines. 338 schools, 38 hospitals are also within half mile of these pipelines. 615 chemical facilities were identified as within one quarter mile from the pipelines (Harris County 2019). 4. Harris County Multi - Haza rd Mitigation Plan does not include risk assessment or mitigation initiatives for Chemical Hazards or Pandemics Solutions 1. We need (1) Harris County Chemical Hazard Analysis and Response Plan and (2) Community Level C hemical Hazard Analysis and Response Plans ( Harris County 2019) : a. County level Pipeline Hazard Analysis with community level risk precision i. Map and record e ach chemical pipeline of concern , the potential releases possible, and any mitigating systems in place. ii. Proximity modeling would need to be conducted to determine the impacts of the released chemical and predict and interpret local impacts. iii. The potential threat zones would need to be mapped to identify the populations at risk iv. The critical infrastructure that may be impacted in the event there was a release of the product. b. County level Operations and Storage Facilities Hazard Analysis with community level risk precision i. Map and record e ach product of concern, including the size of the containers, the potential releas es possible, and any mitigating systems in place. ii. Dispersion modeling would need to be conducted to determine the behavior of the released chemical and predict and interpret down - wind movement and estimated concentrations. iii. The potential threat zones woul d need to be mapped to identify the populations at risk iv. The critical infrastructure that may be impacted in the event there was a release of the product. 2. Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HCOHSEM), should lead the development of the County level Chemical Hazard and Response Plan and the Community Level Chemical Hazard and Response Plans 3. Greater Houston Local Emergency Planning Committee (GHLEPC) and other similar LEPCs across the county should implement and maintain the Community Level Hazard Analysis and Response Plans References 1. COH 2020. Memo to Turner from Joint committee hearing PS&HS - RNA Committees . Houston, TX. 2. Harris County 2019. Harris County Multi - Agency Coordinating Group Gap Analysis . Harris County, TX. 3. HPM 2020. I Spent A Month Trying To Find Out What Chemicals Are Stored Near My Home. I Still Don’t Know. houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy - environment/2020/03 /16/363840/i - spent - a - month - trying - to - find - out - what - chemicals - are - stored - near - my - home - i - still - dont - know/ 4. Abraham, D., Iyer, S, (Eds) 2020. Sustainable Development Goals in North American Cities: Best Practices in Sustainability Planning at the Local Level. In Press. Springer Publishing. New York. NY