New Jersey Unveils Environmental Justice Rules for Permitting

Permit-seekers in New Jersey would have to meet new environmental justice requirements laid out in a draft proposal released by the state.

The proposed rules, released Monday, are designed to implement New Jersey’s environmental justice law (S. 232). If enacted, the rules would empower the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to deny or place conditions on permits for facilities that emit pollution located in overburdened communities.

The draft requires permit applicants for certain facilities to complete environmental justice impact statements and conduct public hearings on their applications. Statements would assess a facility’s effect on nearby overburdened communities ...