September 29, 2009. The Montgomery County Council will consider creation of a new Montgomery County Board of Health regulation that would require a “Health Impact Assessment” before new roadway projects are approved. Introduced before the Council today, the proposal, whose chief sponsor is Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg (At Large), would require a study of the potential health effects on at-risk populations in regard to increases in local air pollutants that would be generated by the new roads.
The measure was introduced before the Council on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3. Council President Phil Andrews (District 3) and Councilmembers Marc Elrich (At Large), Valerie Ervin (District 5) and Nancy Navarro (District 4) are co-sponsors of the proposal.
Requiring a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) for major roadway projects is an innovative public policy tool that has been used in Europe, Canada and increasingly in the United States. The regulations help policy makers objectively evaluate the potential health effects of a project before it is built.
“There is a growing body of information that correlates a wide range of health problems with close proximity to high-traffic roadways,” said Councilmember Trachtenberg, who serves on the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee. “We need to start considering how roadway projects impact the health of nearby residents before we build these roads—rather than learn about negative effects after the projects are completed. An HIA will provide an important tool of analysis.”
The HIA would specifically consider how roadway projects would impact at-risk populations including individuals under age 18 or older than 65, women aged 18-45 and individuals with respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or another disease that would make them more susceptible to harm from air pollutants emitted by motor vehicles.
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