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31 <br /> Orange County is part of Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO), <br /> Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization (BG MPO) and Triangle Area Rural Planning <br /> Organization (TARPO). The County's socioeconomic data is presented using best Environmental Justice <br /> (EJ) analysis practices, and included in DCHC MPO's 2020 Environmental Justice Report. It is also part of <br /> DCHC MPO and BG MPO's Metropolitan Transportation Plans (MTP). OCTS 2022 Title VI programs <br /> remains consistent with MPO's EJ analysis. <br /> Methodology- Determining County Thresholds <br /> Orange County EJ analysis methodology follows the same process as DCHC MPO's 2020 EJ Report. EJ <br /> "communities of concern" (CoC) are defined as any geographic area where the percentage of any EJ <br /> population is greater than the County threshold for that particular EJ population. US Census Block Group <br /> level data were used as the geographic area of comparison for each EJ population. County thresholds for <br /> each EJ population group were developed and used as benchmarks for comparison. Total population <br /> numbers for each EJ population in the Census Block Groups within the County were found and then <br /> compared to the total County population to determine the percent of total population for each EJ <br /> population. Each County threshold was then used during the analysis and identification of EJ <br /> communities of concern. Regional thresholds are presented in Table 9. <br /> PovertyBlack Minority Hispanic/Latino Below Elderly Zero Car LEP <br /> 12% 25% 8% 12% 13% S% 2% <br /> Table 9:El Thresholds <br /> Each EJ population in the County was mapped by US Census Block Group (Block Group).Any Block Group <br /> with a concentration of an EJ population that exceeded the County threshold for that population was <br /> identified as an EJ community of concern. This comparative analysis was performed for each EJ <br /> population group to determine the locations of concentrated EJ communities of concern. For example, <br /> Table 9 indicates that 25 percent of the total population of the DCHC area, is an EJ racial minority <br /> population. Thus, 25 percent is used as the regional threshold for racial minority population. Any Block <br /> Group with a racial minority population representing greater than 25 percent of the total population in <br /> that Block Group is considered an EJ community of concern for racial minority population. <br /> The determination of what is "disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental <br /> effect" as discussed by E.O. 12898 is context dependent. The approach used in the development of this <br /> EJ analysis to identify communities of concern is only based on available Block Group data and the <br /> proportion of protected populations that they contain.All transit project development processes should <br /> include additional efforts to utilize local knowledge of individual neighborhoods to identify potential <br /> populations that might have been missed during this Census-based analysis. <br /> Census block groups that meet multiple EJ Thresholds are identified as overlapping Communities of <br /> Concern. FIGURES 1—7 illustrate Orange County's socioeconomic data by block group and identify which <br /> ones meet the County's EJ Thresholds. FIGURE 8 identifies the overlapping EJ Communities of Concern. <br />