Dallas, TX, Cumulative Impact Assessment Pilot Project
About the Project
Beginning in the spring of 2023, EPA Region 6 began work on the Cumulative Impact Assessment Pilot Project in two areas of Dallas, Texas. The project focus is two communities in West Dallas and Joppa in South Dallas, investigating environmental contamination and hazards residents may encounter by living near Concrete Batch Plants (CBPs).
Over the past several years, the communities in West Dallas and Joppa have expressed public health and environmental concern regarding several of these facilities that are located directly next to residential neighborhoods. Plant operations release particulate materials and other air pollutants, which are subject to limited regulatory controls in the state of Texas.
The project includes air modeling. It evaluates if the Texas CBPs standard permit has enough enforceable air emission limitations to prevent violations of the Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The modeling will also how likely exceedances of permit limits are impacting public health and the environment in the communities.
EPA Region 6 is also considering how the operation of multiple CBPs within a concentrated area might impact communities when other environmental stressors are also considered. The project integrates environmental data gathered from soil, water and fish tissue sampling. It also considers the effects of non-chemical stressors. The goal of the project is to analyze how the combination of CBPs and nonregulated environmental stressors might cumulatively affect the communities.
EPA worked with the City of Dallas, residents and leaders in these communities to select sampling locations, and best approaches for keeping the public informed about progress. Monthly update meetings between EPA and community groups are on-going and will continue through project activity. Once the project is complete, EPA will draft a summary report, and discuss it during two community meetings.
Learn more about the project in our YouTube video:
What Are Cumulative Impacts?
In January 2021, President Biden signed Executive Orders (EO) 13985 and 14008 to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities and to address the climate crisis. These EOs provide a framework for stimulating action across the federal government to address health inequities in the U.S. caused by disproportionate exposures to pollution and environmental degradation that are exacerbated by racial, economic, and geographic factors and climate change.
In support of these Orders, EPA Administrator Regan issued an Agency-wide directive to take steps to better serve historically marginalized communities using cumulative impact assessment.
To fulfill its mission to protect human health and the environment, EPA must address cumulative impacts from exposure to multiple stressors. To do this, the Agency must strengthen the scientific foundation for assessing cumulative impacts, exposures, and risks. Recognizing the need to bolster the scientific basis for identifying actions that can improve community health and well-being, and to select, implement, and evaluate these actions, EPA has made cumulative impacts research a priority.
Learn more about cumulative impacts at our Cumulative Impacts Research Page.
Current Status
EPA has completed all air modeling and sampling for the project in Joppa and West Dallas, and is moving towards drafting the final summary report. EPA is working to finalize the report in early 2025. EPA is working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the City of Dallas and the following local community groups:
- Singleton Unidos/United
- West Dallas 1
- Joppa Freedmen’s Town Association
- Justice for Joppa
- Downwinders at Risk
Learn more about the water sampling event that took place at Little Lemon Lake, in Joppa in our YouTube video.
Documents Section
For more information about the projects, the below documents are available.
Dallas Cumulative Impact Assessment Pilot Project Fact Sheet (pdf)