This story was updated at 4:53 p.m. EST.
EPA on Thursday unveiled a long awaited how-to guide for assessing pollution’s total effects on communities that debuts to a clouded future with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
The guide, released in draft form, spells out a series of principles for EPA staff to follow for consideration of “cumulative impacts” of exposure to a variety of pollutants from different sources. Among them: Accounting for communities’ “lived experience” and centering cumulative impacts work on improving “human health, quality of life and the environment in all communities.”
Included are concrete case studies. The guide also offers support for state and local regulators, who shoulder the bulk of day-to-day permitting and enforcement work, for developing their own approaches to assessing cumulative impacts.
