Rochester

The  Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act)  requires meaningful changes to benefit New York State’s climate and economy. Climate change is a threat multiplier which can worsen existing vulnerabilities and stressors and further increase community burdens.  As required by the Climate Act, the  Climate Justice Working Group  (CJWG), comprised of representatives from Environmental Justice communities statewide, identified disadvantaged communities (DACs), using criteria which includes environmental burdens, climate change risk, and population and health vulnerability indicators.

In consultation with CJWG, and after weighing community feedback, DEC selected DACs for air monitoring in Rochester based on  12 environmental burden indicators  directly associated with air pollution. Other population characteristics and health vulnerabilities are included in the identification of a New York State DACs.

The community profile of Rochester provides the following:

• A brief overview of historical background and relevant information that may contribute to some of the environmental justice concerns experienced today including industrial development and examples of injustices faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color such as redlining, displacement, segregation by the construction of highways, and other land use decisions;  
• Descriptions of potential air pollution sources;
• Community concerns regarding air quality;
• Initial results, which links to mapping tools where readers can review maps of the mobile air monitoring data, air pollution sources,  sensitive receptor  locations (schools, parks, playgrounds, childcare and healthcare facilities, nursing homes, and public housing), and traffic data;
• Community survey;
• Next steps; and
• Strategies to reduce air pollution.

In the late nineteenth   and early twentieth centuries, there was an expansion of new industries that coincided with a rapid influx of immigrants. Rochester factories produced a variety of goods such as fuel tanker ships, optical equipment, and radio proximity fuses for World War II. Rochester eventually became a major manufacturing center and home to companies such as Eastman Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, Gannett, Paychex, Western Union, and Wegmans.

Redlining both as a term and as a practice originated with the federal government Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC). During the 1930s, the HOLC created a system to assess the risk of mortgage lending in particular neighborhoods. The term “Redlining,” refers to neighborhoods that were denied low-interest and long-term mortgages for decades and race played a major role in the designation of “redlined” neighborhoods. People in neighborhoods with large Black and immigrant populations, regardless of their financial status, were denied federally backed mortgages, as well as other attractive credit, and insurance. This racist and discriminatory practice was banned in 1968 by the Fair Housing Act. These legacy and inequalities of redlining persist today because many redlined neighborhoods were disinvested and segregated by highways and industrial sources.

Still today formerly redlined neighborhoods such as the ones in this Initiative often lack green space, experience higher temperatures due to the urban heat island effect, are exposed to higher-than-average air pollution levels and have populations that are more vulnerable to air pollution. Studies have correlated relationships between redlined neighborhoods and lower life expectancy, as well as higher risk for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and other health issues. Designation of “redlined” communities is included in New York State’s  DAC criteria . Many DAC census tracts in the Rochester study area are communities that had been redlined, as shown in the map below. Neighborhoods historically labeled as “declining” are shown in yellow (C) and those labeled as “hazardous” are in red (D). DEC’s Community Air Monitoring (CAM) Initiative study boundaries are shown with black lines

Stationary air pollution sources include large industrial facilities such as power, asphalt, and wastewater treatment plants. DEC regulates large and smaller stationary sources through air permits. Area sources are smaller stationary sources that may be spread out over a large area or concentrate in one area and include gas stations, dry cleaners, autobody shops, and residential heating (oil, gas, and wood). DEC regulates many area sources. 

Mobile air pollution sources include cars, trucks, and buses , as well as off-road sources such as construction and lawn equipment, trains, and airplanes. Non-diesel vehicles are gasoline powered vehicles. Diesel vehicles are powered by diesel fuel. DEC regulates many of these sources, particularly motor vehicles, under New York State’s emissions monitoring authority.

Natural sources of air pollution include wind-blown dust, biogenic emissions from plants and trees, and wildfires.  

There are various source categories in the area including 10 facilities that either fabricate metal or conduct electroplating; seven major oil storage facilities; one concrete and two sand and stone material plants; a lot of gas stations and dry cleaners; three hospitals and medical services facilities; and nine operations related to the handling of solid waste and recycling.

Traffic is highest along Interstate 490 (81,000–112,000 vehicles per day) and Interstate 390 (78,000–103,000 vehicles per day). The highest percentage of trucks, 21 percent, was recorded on the exit ramp of I-490 where it crosses Mt. Read Boulevard. The second highest truck volume, at 17 percent per day, is on both Mt. Read Boulevard (running north/south) and Emerson Street (running east/west) in the western portion of the city.   

DEC held two virtual community meetings in July and August 2022 to describe the goals of the CAM and collect community input on the CAM Initiative study boundaries. In 2023, three virtual community meetings were held with community members to provide updates on the study progress and continue to receive community input on the study approach. DEC also identified local partners and formed Community Advisory Committees (CACs) to facilitate sharing of air quality concerns and insights about the monitoring effort and attune the study to community knowledge. The Office of the Mayor of Rochester, Mayor Malik D. Evans, is the co-convener for the CAC in Rochester. The CACs will help communities prioritize air pollution reduction goals, especially near sensitive individual locations (for example, schools, childcare facilities, public housing). In collaboration with DEC, the CJWG, other State agencies, local governments, and stakeholders, the CACs will work on possible strategies to meet air pollution reduction goals.

As part of the Community Air Monitoring (CAM) Initiative, DEC hosted meetings with community residents and other stakeholders. Concerns were expressed about the rail yard and the airport.

To inform the CAM Initiative and ongoing efforts to share information about air pollution, DEC is providing examples of this study’s air monitoring findings on interactive maps. DEC used a combination of methods and mapping tools (peaks analysis, focus spot, and mobile source indicator tools) which allow the user to zoom in to explore areas with higher pollution levels. The  peaks analysis tool  evaluates the highest, repeat occurrences of each air pollutant and is useful for looking at extremely localized results. The  focus spot tool  uses objective statistical methods to find areas or focus spots with clusters of higher pollution as an indication of air pollution source(s) because the sensors repeatedly measured values that are persistently elevated in that area. The focus spot tool allows DEC and community members to objectively see patterns in the data and help identify areas for further investigation. The  mobile source indicator tool  uses a refined approach to look for elevated areas of pollutants known to be released from vehicles. It combines pollutants to differentiate between pollution from diesel- and non-diesel-powered vehicles. 

DEC and community members are using the mapping tools, results, and other information to identify sources and information on the location of sensitive receptors to prioritize areas for air pollution reductions. Sensitive receptors are vulnerable populations that may be sensitive to air pollution like children at schools and elderly living in nursing homes.

In general, DEC’s mobile source tool shows areas with greater likelihood of higher vehicle pollution are along and near roads with higher traffic density.

DEC will continue to work with communities to gather responses and refine the data analyses to better identify air pollution sources. Public input can also inform successful strategies that can help improve air quality.

Full results can be explored using the  Community Air Monitoring Map  (opens in a new tab).

DEC created a survey to collect community air pollution concerns from the public within this Community Air Monitoring Initiative study boundary. Please click the button below to complete the survey, which will help improve the quality of our final report and strategies to improve air quality. This survey tool will close on March 31, 2025. Air pollution concerns not related to this Initiative should be reported to the  local DEC office .

A wide range of strategies exist to reduce air pollution. An effective community emissions-reduction program will require community engagement and input to guide solutions most responsive to community needs. The most successful way to reduce air pollution is to involve all relevant government    agencies and entities with authority to implement changes. To that end, DEC is holding in-person public meetings this summer and early fall to:

• discuss air monitoring results and the local air pollution sources; 
• gather more community input about air pollution concerns, especially in areas where mobile air monitoring results were elevated; 
• collaborate with communities to develop priorities for air pollution reduction strategies in the short- and long-term; 
• identify state and local agencies that will need to be involved to implement strategies; 
• discuss how state and local agencies can address intersecting issues (for example, air quality, housing, and energy) to strengthen programs; and
• discuss how New York State can help fund community strategies

Some existing strategies include:

• rules that increase the sale of new clean zero emission cars, light duty trucks, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks;
• city, county, and regional plans calling for energy conservation and  increased efficiency in buildings and multimodal transportation;
• using low-emission street cleaners with vacuums to reduce road dust;
• installing indoor air filtration systems and requiring that air intake for buildings is away from nearby sources; and
• properly designing and maintaining roadside vegetation barriers to reduce exposure to pollution from roads with heavy traffic

Strategic plans at the city, county, and regional level that call for energy conservation and increased efficiency to improve sustainability and climate resilience have the added benefit of reducing greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and co-pollutants that reduce air quality. Reliance on fossil fuels can be reduced by encouraging multimodal transportation and increasing the use of renewable energy. Other important strategies include reducing emissions from the handling of waste such as waste transfer and wastewater treatment plants.