Brook Hollow Solar
This is a fictional demonstration project in which every organisation, person, parcel and finding is invented.
Environmental Justice
CO-01 · Matrix · Community Resources
Rating
Evidence insufficient to rate; an information request is listed
- The rule
Code computed the rating from the assessor's inputs:
present=unknown -> Unknown (abstain)
Set by the rule
- Decision
- Abstained (information request)
- Evidence state
- Missing · no evidence in hand
Conclusion withheld
- Question
- Are low-income, minority or overburdened communities identified in or near the Brook Hollow Solar project area?
- Missing evidence
- EJ screening (EJScreen/CEJST/state tool) for the project area.
- Consequence
- Without a screen, EJ presence, extent and any engagement or siting-review obligations cannot be rated.
- Information request
- Provide any EJ screening or community demographic analysis for the project area, or authorize one to be run.
- Blocks the decision
- No
Revision
Not revised.
The five inputs
Present: unknown
No EJ screen or other evidence for the project area is in the data room, and no claim states that EJ communities are absent. Presence cannot be determined.
Cites no claim.
Extent: unknown
No evidence on EJ communities or their position relative to the site.
Cites no claim.
Avoidable: unknown
Not established without evidence of an EJ community or applicable policy.
Cites no claim.
Pathway: none
Placeholder because presence is unknown.
Cites no claim.
Impact likely: no
Placeholder because presence is unknown.
Cites no claim.
Critique
- Verdict
- upheld
- Suggested direction for the rating
- unknown
- Summary
Abstention is correct: no EJ evidence is in the data room and none is cited. Only minor wording issues remain: agencies are generic (IDEM not named) and the cut-off-available screening tools (EJScreen, CEJST) are not named.
- Critic model
- Luminol
Issues
Severity minor · Kind wrong_agency
Agencies list is generic ('State environmental agency / siting authority, EPA'). For Indiana, IDEM would be the state EJ-relevant agency, and Indiana has no state EJ siting policy. EPA EJScreen was available at the 2023-08-15 cut-off, so the screening step is feasible as of then. Naming tools (EJScreen, CEJST) as of the cut-off would be more precise. This is wording only.
Severity minor · Kind missing_next_step
Next steps say 'state tool and available federal screening data' without naming the cut-off-available tools (EJScreen, CEJST). Also no mention of checking the county or local siting or permitting process for community-benefit or engagement expectations. Evidence is silent, so abstention is appropriate.
Checks
Passed
rating_has_evidence · blocking
Passed
abstention_not_contradicted · blocking
Passed
numbers_grounded · not blocking
Passed
agencies_grounded · not blocking
Passed
cutoff_respected · blocking
Passed
abstention_complete · not blocking
Passed
critic_not_refuted · blocking
Evidence (0)
Each claim the row cites: the statement in the assessor's words, then the quote the engine found on the page.
The row cites no claim.
Requirements and permits
The requirements the assessor tied to this row, by level. Each quote from dated law is shown with its source.
No requirement is tied to this row.
Information requests
IR-ba9d44c572 · High priority
Provide the ej screening (ejscreen/cejst/state tool) for the project area for the project area, or confirm none exists.
- Missing evidence
- EJ screening (EJScreen/CEJST/state tool) for the project area
- Consequence
- Environmental Justice is rated on no evidence without it.
- Blocks the decision
- Yes
- Raised by
- completeness
IR-bccfa3c406 · Medium priority
Are low-income, minority or overburdened communities identified in or near the Brook Hollow Solar project area?
- Missing evidence
- EJ screening (EJScreen/CEJST/state tool) for the project area.
- Consequence
- Without a screen, EJ presence, extent and any engagement or siting-review obligations cannot be rated.
- Blocks the decision
- No
- Raised by
- abstention
Next steps
- Run an EJ screen (state tool and available federal screening data) for the project area and surrounding block groups.
- Plan targeted community engagement if EJ communities are identified.
Agencies
- State environmental agency / siting authority
- EPA
Cost and impact
- Impact
- None given.
- Potential cost level
- N/A
- Why
Presence unknown; no cost exposure can be assessed.
Impact: C = cost, S = schedule. Potential cost level: L, L-M, M, M-H, H (relative to a utility-scale solar budget).
Comments
No environmental justice screening for the project area is included in the data room. A screen of the Project Area and surrounding communities would settle presence.