EPA Releases New Draft Voluntary Guidelines for Selecting Safe School Locations / EPA provides new tools for communities making school siting decisions (DC)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
today released draft voluntary guidelines to help communities
protect the health of students and staff from environmental threats
when selecting new locations for schools.
More than 1,900 new schools serving approximately 1.2 million
children and costing more than $13 billion opened in the 2008-2009
school year. Major investments in our children’s schools can
be compromised if environmental hazards are not fully understood
prior to selecting a school site. The voluntary guidelines also
provide tools to help communities ensure that new locations for
schools are accessible to the students they are intended to
serve.
“EPA is offering tools to local officials and community
residents looking to build schools that foster healthy, productive
learning environments,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P.
Jackson. “This guidance will help address the pressing
environmental issues that parents, school boards and local
residents often consider when making investments in their local
schools. By offering guidance on long-term environmental and health
concerns, it will also help local communities plan ahead and reduce
the risk of costly changes down the road.”
The potential impacts on children’s health and education, as
well as the damage to the community when school environmental
hazards are later identified, are significant. In some cases,
schools have been closed and in other cases have undergone costly
remediation.
The new draft voluntary guidelines will give local communities
tools to help them consider environmental health issues in
establishing school site selection criteria and in conducting
effective environmental reviews of potential school sites. The
draft guidelines recommend involving the public in the site
selection process from the beginning to help ensure community
support for these decisions.
EPA developed the draft guidelines in consultation with other
federal agencies, states, school districts, community
organizations, health care professionals, teachers, as well as
environmental justice leaders, and children’s health and
environmental groups, among others.
The draft school siting guidelines are being made available for
public comment for 90 days. Comments will be accepted until 4 pm
EST on February 18, 2011.
To view and comment on the draft guidelines: https://www.icf.com/
More information on the draft school siting guidelines and on
protecting children’s health in existing schools: https://www.epa.gov/schools
