New Jersey Debates ‘Overburdened’ in Environmental Justice Rule

A draft of landmark environmental justice rules has New Jersey manufacturers and labor groups saying too many community members would be considered overburdened by pollution.

For environmental justice advocates, that’s the point.

In five public hearings in July, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection heard scorn and praise for its stricter permitting proposal for pollution-emitting sites. If approved as drafted, the state would have the country’s strongest environmental justice rules for permitting—a model for other states, advocates said.

Under the department’s proposal, facilities such as landfills and incinerators would have to complete environmental justice impact statements. They could be ...