N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 6, § 487.5 – Determining presence of an environmental justice area.

(a) After defining the impact study area pursuant to section 487.4 of this Part, the applicant shall determine whether the impact study area contains one or more EJ areas.
(b) The applicant, using reliable U.S. Census data or other generally accepted and reasonably available demographic data, shall determine if a minority or low-income community, or both, is within the impact study area. If a minority or low-income community is present, then an EJ area is present in the impact study area. If the demographic data are not sufficient or adequate for determining the presence of a minority or low-income community within an impact study area, the applicant must work with the department, the municipality, and residents of the impact study area to develop an accurate demographic profile of the impact study area using reasonably available information.
(c) If no area meeting the definition of either a minority or low-income community is present within the impact study area, an EJ area is present if:
1. (1) a census block group or contiguous area with multiple census block groups has a minority or low-income population that is above 75 percent of the stated thresholds for defining a minority or low-income community; and
  1. (i) reasonably available air quality data; and
  2. (ii) health outcome data that have been made available to the public statewide at the zip code level, reveals that the impact study area may bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of Federal, State, local, and tribal programs and policies, when compared to the county as a whole, or if the impact study area is in the City of New York, when compared to the city as a whole. In the case of health outcome data, applicants shall consult with the Department of Health about appropriate comparison areas for specific datasets.
  (2)
(d) If an EJ area is present within the impact study area, the applicant shall undertake a full EJ analysis in compliance with the requirements of section 487.6 of this Part.
(e) If no EJ area is present within the impact study area, the applicant shall not be required to undertake a full EJ analysis or use the procedures set forth in this Part to evaluate whether the proposed facility may result in a significant and adverse disproportionate environmental impact in the impact study area; however, nothing in this Part shall preclude the applicant from using such procedures nevertheless as a means to assess the impacts on a community and to facilitate a discussion of reasonable measures to avoid or minimize significant adverse impacts identified for that community.
(f) The applicant shall similarly, pursuant to the requirements of this section, determine if an EJ area is present in the impact study area for any reasonable and available alternate locations to the proposed facility identified by the applicant. If an EJ area is present in the impact study area, the applicant shall undertake a full EJ analysis in compliance with the requirements of section 487.6 of this Part.