State of the Science and the Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment Proceedings of a Workshop Series (2025) / Chapter Skim
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2 Community Engagement Workshop in New Orleans, Louisiana
2 Community Engagement Workshop in New Orleans, Louisiana
Pages 3-16
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The day before the workshop, the committee conducted a tour of the Mississippi River Parishes between New Orleans and Wallace, Louisiana, during which local members of the community and Tribal liaison group shared their perspectives on their community and its history with committee members. At the start of the workshop, Committee Chair Weihsueh Chiu (Texas A&M University)
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"Our work in thinking about cumulative impacts comes to be much more than the data and the statistics and the maps." FIGURE 1-1 A map and photographs of two places included on the committee's site visit to the Greater New Orleans area. Industrial facilities such as the Nalco Water manufacturing facility (top photo)
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and Rima Habre (University of Southern California) facilitated conversations about the stressors that participants currently experience in their communities.
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one person, one community, one neighborhood is dealing with all of these things." Several participants also commented that some of the recent industrial growth in the region has been driven by "green" technologies that are intended to help mitigate climate change. Residents are concerned that green technology facilities, such as ammonia plants and carbon sequestration plants, are repeating some of the same patterns seen with previous industrial development.
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Several participants also described feelings of being trapped and highlighted barriers related to a perceived lack of empowerment to make meaningful change, Habre said. When faced with such overwhelming cumulative challenges, some people choose to ignore the problem altogether, which complicates efforts by advocates to push for positive changes.
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One example is water treatment. Although residents are concerned about pollutants, saltwater intrusion, and drinking water advisories, some participants stressed the need for decision-makers to also consider the broader impacts of increased water treatment standards on energy costs, basic utility expenses, rising insurance rates, and overall day-to-day living in these communities as they explore options for addressing these fundamental issues.
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said that enforcement in response to hazardous materials emergencies sometimes falls to Louisiana's state agencies because the area lacks federal pollution monitors. Some participants emphasized that it does not take a major disaster to cause pollution releases and related health impacts, noting that "low-impact disasters" can have direct impacts.
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There are places that are heavily impacted by a dozen or more plants, but the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality says they're not legally required to put air monitors in these small neighborhoods." Other participants discussed climate change impacts such as increased flooding, which exacerbates impacts from polluting industries while acting as a stressor in and of itself, creating additional vulnerabilities. The frequency of these events can be just as important as their severity; for example, hurricanes clearly cause damage but experiencing heavy rains and flooding every month can make it difficult to recover and become more resilient to future events.
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Social connectivity can facilitate community resilience. Participants noted that unlike cities, which have many natural gathering spots where people can casually interact, rural communities lack everyday points of connection and dialogue.
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more -- we build programs and projects." Envisioning a Future with Improved Health and Well-Being Malecki and Liban facilitated afternoon discussions around a future vision for improved community health. Malecki reported that her room held robust discussions on taking a more
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the price tag being taken care of by big industry if they really want to stay within communities." Malecki reported that some participants described a healthy future as one that emphasizes community engagement, education, and empowerment, enabling communities to make significant decisions for themselves. Likewise, communities could be liberated from government dependence and industry influence, fostering true agency and self-determination.
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A participant also suggested that public health scientists should place equal weight on physical health impacts from toxic exposures and other impacts, such as socio-emotional impacts and loss of intergenerational relationships. Cultural resources are also an important facet of a community, and a participant posited that resources such as gravesites and forensic architecture can be used not only to preserve history and culture but also to protect sites from industrial development and adverse impacts.
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Participants suggested buffer zones and real-time community air monitoring to better protect public health. Another participant noted that the absence of local data does not mean existing research from other locations is irrelevant.
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They also expressed appreciation for the participants' positive energy and willingness to speak so openly about their challenges and viewpoints, which made the event an important resource in working toward a more informed approach to cumulative impacts assessment.
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