The summary and links below provide a description and documentation of a Rochester, New York project that received a cooperative agreement from EPA’s former Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) Program in 2005. These case studies serve as historic references, and conditions since the project was funded may have changed.

The resources developed for this project provide communities with information about ways that other communities have addressed environmental issues. Communities can use these project results to reduce environmental impacts, understand risks and become stewards of their own environment.

Summary

Center for Environmental Information
Rochester, New York
EPA Region 2

The Center for Environmental Information, Inc. (CEI) is the recipient of a Level II CARE Cooperative Agreement representing the Rochester CARE Collaborative. This project builds on work the Rochester community has previously conducted with Region 2. The CEI will use CARE funding to reduce health and environmental risks, primarily toxic air emissions, in the metropolitan Rochester area. The first phase of the program has the goal of identifying on-going funding sources to sustain the program, and its regular evaluation and measurement components. CEI has already identified the three key toxics issues in Rochester. They are mobile and stationary air toxics, lead poisoning ,and the lack of knowledge of toxics effects among low-income residents.

CEI has outlined a program with six major projects that intend to address the key toxic issues in Rochester. The first project narrows the toxics information gap by establishing an accessible neighborhood-based resource program on toxics information. The second enables the Rochester City School District to further reduce toxic exposure of children and developing associated educational messages. The third project organizes a Countywide Campaign through a small cooperative agreement program to reduce mobile air toxic emissions, and uses agency resources to provide information about sources of mobile air toxics and their impact on health. The fourth project pursues pollution prevention measures aimed at small area stationary sources of toxic air emissions, and provides technical assistance to these small-source generators to reduce emissions. The fifth assists in efforts to match homeowners and landlords with funding sources for lead abatement measures. The last project uses CEI as the continuing convener of the Collaborative, which will become the focal point for identifying new and emerging toxic risks.

Established CARE Partnership: The City of Rochester; the Rochester Department of Environmental Services; the Rochester City School District; Eastman Kodak Company; the Monroe County Department of Public Health; NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; the University of Rochester; the Rochester Green Business Network; the Federation of Monroe County Environmentalists; Genesse Transportation Council; the Rochester Institute of Technology; the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning; the Regional Community Asthma Networks.

• Fact Sheet: Center for Environmental Information (PDF)(2 pp, 275 K, 2007)
• Final Report: Center for Environmental Information (PDF)(56 pp, 299 K, 2007)