The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) adopted amendments to State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) regulations, effective June 12, 2026. These regulatory changes implement the 2024 Environmental Justice Siting Law, which established rigorous requirements for evaluating the impacts of proposed projects on disadvantaged communities. Projects determined not to have significant environmental impacts, or for which NYSDEC accepted a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on or before June 12, are not required to comply with the amendments.
The final amendments are substantially similar to those proposed in 2025. The revised regulations expand the criteria for determining the significance of a proposed action—and thus whether an EIS is required—to include environmental justice considerations. Specifically, a proposed action could now require the preparation of an EIS where it “may cause or increase a disproportionate pollution burden on a
