Interstate 40/State Route 194 (Project Blue Oval) Environmental Assessment
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The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), proposes various roadway improvements in Fayette, Haywood, and Tipton Counties. The roadway improvements are being considered to serve the imminent industrial development at the Ford Motor Company Campus (Blue Oval City), located at the Memphis Regional Megasite in Haywood County, Tennessee.
Because the proposed project involves a new connection to an interstate facility, the project is subject to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). TDOT and FHWA are preparing an Environmental Assessment to identify and evaluate the environmental effects of the proposed project and to identify measures to minimize harm.
As part of the development of the Environmental Assessment, TDOT and FHWA determined that the overall population of the areas in and surrounding the Ford Motor Company Campus (Blue Oval City), all contain Environmental Justice (i.e., minority and low-income) populations. Because minority and low-income individuals comprise the majority of the population within the affected project area, TDOT and FHWA determined that there are very likely disproportionate impacts to the minority and low-income community since any impacts from the project are most likely being predominantly borne by the minority and low-income community.
To mitigate impacts of the project on the overall community and provide opportunities for the impacted community to suggest or identify potential mitigation strategies, TDOT is proposing the
development of a Community-Based Mitigation Plan. Based on feedback from the community received during previous outreach efforts, the Community-Based Mitigation Plan is framed around the following four (4) areas:
Because the proposed project involves a new connection to an interstate facility, the project is subject to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). TDOT and FHWA are preparing an Environmental Assessment to identify and evaluate the environmental effects of the proposed project and to identify measures to minimize harm.
As part of the development of the Environmental Assessment, TDOT and FHWA determined that the overall population of the areas in and surrounding the Ford Motor Company Campus (Blue Oval City), all contain Environmental Justice (i.e., minority and low-income) populations. Because minority and low-income individuals comprise the majority of the population within the affected project area, TDOT and FHWA determined that there are very likely disproportionate impacts to the minority and low-income community since any impacts from the project are most likely being predominantly borne by the minority and low-income community.
To mitigate impacts of the project on the overall community and provide opportunities for the impacted community to suggest or identify potential mitigation strategies, TDOT is proposing the
development of a Community-Based Mitigation Plan. Based on feedback from the community received during previous outreach efforts, the Community-Based Mitigation Plan is framed around the following four (4) areas:
- Community History / Preservation
- Education / Job Training
- Transportation / Multimodal
- Community Enhancements
On a scale of ‘Strongly Agree’ to ‘Strongly Disagree’, please indicate on the following pages which potential mitigation ideas you would be most interested in seeing funded through a Community-Based Mitigation Plan for Interstate 40/State Route 194 (Project Blue Oval). Please also feel free to share any of your own mitigation ideas under ‘Other’.
*Please note that the term environmental justice is used throughout this survey and is defined as the following: Environmental Justice means identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse effects of TDOT and FHWA programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations to achieve an equitable distribution of benefits and burdens.