Title VI & Environmental Justice
The Title VI & Environmental Justice program ensures that no person shall be excluded from the participation in or be denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any agency service or activity which directly receives Federal funding. This is done through comprehensive planning, analysis, implementation, and training of agency staff.
The RPO Coordinator, who also serves as the Title VI Coordinator for the Mid-Cumberland Human Resources Agency, is responsible for facilitating annual training to MCHRA staff as well as maintaining and updating all necessary records for the agency per Title VI requirements. The RPO Coordinator is required to also obtain training to show Title VI competency. For more information on the Title VI program for the Mid-Cumberland Human Resources Agency, please contact the MCHRA Title VI Coordinator at bryan.collins@mchra.com
Environmental Justice, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), means identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse public health or environmental effects. In addition, the agency’s programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations make it feasible to achieve an equitable distribution of benefits. The principles and procedures of environmental justice improves all levels of transportation decision-making by making transportation decisions that meet the needs of all people, avoiding disproportionately high and adverse effects on minority and low-income populations, enhancing the public involvement process, and strengthening community-based partnerships.
At the state level, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Title VI Program is responsible for providing leadership, direction and policy to ensure compliance with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and environmental justice principles with all transportation-related projects. TDOT’s longstanding policy ensures that social impacts to communities and people are recognized early and continually throughout the transportation decision-making process to ensure nondiscrimination in all of their programs, activities and services whether those programs, activities and services are federally funded or not.
For more information on TDOT’s Title VI program, click the link below: