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ARTICLE · 29 SEPTEMBER 2021

Environmental Justice Comes Early To New Jersey

Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti
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New Jersey is no longer waiting to implement environmental justice requirements following surprise action by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

United StatesEnvironment
Matthew Karmel
Matthew Karmel

New Jersey is no longer waiting to implement environmental justice requirements following surprise action by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. 

Since September 2020, the Garden State has been waiting for the Department to complete the gargantuan task of implementing the first of its kind Environmental Justice Law. The New Jersey law authorizes the Department to deny or condition certain permits for facilities that would have a disproportionate impact on an overburdened community. However, the substantive provisions of the law do not go into effect until the Department adopts regulations to implement the Environmental Justice Law. While the Department has gone to great lengths, including through a substantial stakeholder process, to develop implementing regulations, the regulations have not yet been proposed or adopted. (The regulations are expected to be proposed in late 2021 and adopted in late 2022.)

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