Environmental justice in air permitting

On this page:  Environmental Justice Summary requirements overview  |  How to submit a complete Environmental Justice Summary  |  Environmental Justice Report Tool  |  Submit the Environmental Justice Summary  |  Generate a required aerial or satellite image  |  Community engagement and outreach considerations  |  Next steps and timelines  |  Modeling requirements determination  |  Contact us

A complete Environmental Justice Summary includes the following three components:

1. The Environmental Justice Report. 
2. The “Environmental Justice Summary Supplemental Information for Air Quality Regulation 3” online form. These questions are also available here so you can compile all required information before submitting the form.
3. An aerial or satellite image of the facility, including a one-mile radius of the surrounding area.

A complete Environmental Justice Summary must include an aerial or satellite image of the facility. 

To generate this required image:

There are a variety of free, online tools that can generate the required aerial or satellite image. One option is Google Maps.

To obtain a satellite or aerial image via Google Maps, navigate to maps.google.com, then follow these steps:

1. In the search bar in the top left corner, enter the facility address and hit “enter” or click the “search/directions button.”
2. Once you have confirmed the facility location, change the base map from a “street map view” to a “satellite view.” To do so, click on the inset box that says “Layers” in the lower left corner of the map.
3. The map should automatically switch to “satellite view.” If it does not, click on the satellite layer from the menu that appears when clicking on the “Layers” box in the lower left corner of the map.
4. Once the “satellite view” is displayed, zoom out slightly using the “+/-” button in the lower right corner of the map.
5. To ensure the map displays a 1-mile radius from the facility, right click on the facility location. A menu will appear on your cursor. Select “measure distance” at the bottom of the menu. Right click any location on the map and select “distance to here” on the menu that appears. The map will display a line with two endpoints: one at the facility location and a second at the location just selected. The distance measured will appear at this second endpoint. Adjust the distance by clicking and dragging the second endpoint until the measurement displays approximately 1 mile. You can zoom in or out on the map as necessary - this will not change the location of your endpoints. If you need to clear your measurements or start over, right click anywhere on the map and select “clear measurement” on the menu that appears.
6. Once you’ve identified the facility and measured the 1-mile radius, you can save the image multiple ways. 
    
   1. PC users: Use the “print screen” function on your keyboard to capture a screenshot of the map or use the “snipping tool” function on your computer. 
   2. Mac users: Use the “screenshot” tool or press “command+shift+3” to take a screenshot. Windows users can press “ctrl+p” and Mac users can press “command+p” to print the map. When the print menu appears, select “save as PDF.” This downloads a PDF file of the map that can then be emailed.

To submit this required image: Email the image as an attachment to cdphe_apcd_ejreports@state.co.us with “EJ Summary” and the facility name in the subject line.

Community engagement is encouraged but not currently mandated in Air Quality Regulation 3. For tips on how to conduct effective outreach, visit CDPHE’s community engagement, outreach, and public participation best practices website. More information on community engagement considerations for Air Quality Regulation 3 is available in these FAQs. 

Please provide documentation as an email attachment for any community engagement efforts conducted when you submit the Environmental Justice Summary and/or permit application.

If you have questions or would like to discuss specific community engagement efforts that your facility could conduct for a particular permit and community, email cdphe_apcd_ejreports@state.co.us with the facility name in the subject line.

Once the full Environmental Justice Summary materials are received, they will be reviewed by the Air Pollution Control Division’s Environmental Justice in Permitting team. Once reviewed, the Environmental Justice in Permitting team will send the facility a letter of concurrence confirming the Environmental Justice Summary was received and approved. The division works to process Environmental Justice Summary submissions as quickly as possible. It generally completes this process within 5-10 business days.

If a modeling determination (form APCD-114) is required for the emission source, you should submit your modeling determination request at the same time you submit the Environmental Justice Summary. Follow the instructions on form APCD-114. If you are unsure whether a modeling determination is required, please consult the Air Pollution Control Division’s Air Quality Modeling Guidance for Permits website.

Email cdphe_apcd_ejreports@state.co.us with “EJ Summary” and the facility name in the subject line.

Small businesses can contact the Air Pollution Control Division’s Small Business Assistance Program for assistance: cdphe_apcd_sbap@state.co.us.