New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law is now in full effect. For Licensed Site Remediation Professionals, it represents one of the most consequential regulatory shifts in recent memory. The rules are complex. The process is long. The outcomes are uncertain. Understanding the framework is the first step toward advising clients with confidence.
CPESNJ recently hosted a deep-dive session with Ray Cantor of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, reflecting its role as a non-profit provider of high-quality continuing education programs for New Jersey professionals. What follows is a summary of what was covered.
How the Law Came to Be
A Long History, a Sudden Change
Environmental justice concerns in New Jersey are not new. Communities in Camden, Newark, Trenton, and Paterson have carried the weight of industrial history for decades. Contaminated sites, sewer overflows, air pollution, and proximity to ports and airports have long concentrated environmental burdens in urban areas.
Early efforts by DEP under prior administrations took a targeted, site-by-site approach. Storm overflow problems were fixed in Camden. A creek was reopened in Trenton. A contaminated site near a school in Paterson was converted to a park. That model was deliberate and incremental.
The current law reflects a different moment. After the events of 2020, the political environment shifted sharply. The bill that became law was substantially rewritten. By that point, advocacy for major changes was largely unsuccessful. The law was signed on September 18, 2020. Regulations were formally adopted on April 17, 2023.
What the Law Does and Does Not Do
It Is Forward-Looking, Not Remedial
The EJ law is not designed to fix existing problems in overburdened communities. It does not set numeric environmental health standards. It does not require facilities to go back and remediate legacy conditions. Its purpose is prevention. New burdens are to be stopped before they are added.
It Does Not Apply to Site Remediation
This is important for LSRPs. Site remediation and the permits associated with it are explicitly excluded from the EJ process. That carve-out was negotiated during rule development. The concern was straightforward: if cleanup permits were subject to EJ review, contaminated sites might never get cleaned up.
It Applies to a Specific Set of Designated Facilities
The law is not triggered by all development or commercial activity. It applies only to designated facilities seeking specific DEP permits. Those facilities include Title V air emission sources, sludge management facilities, resource recovery operations, large solid waste facilities, scrap metal processors, landfills, and medical waste facilities.
Title V facilities face a particular challenge. Their permits must be renewed every five years. Each renewal now goes through the EJ process, even for long-established operations.
What Is an Overburdened Community?
Defined by Demographics, Not Health Data
Overburdened communities are identified using U.S. Census tract data. A community qualifies if it meets any one of three thresholds: 35% or more low-income residents, 40% or more minority residents, or 40% or more residents with limited English proficiency.
No health data is used. No environmental exposure analysis is required to designate a community as overburdened. This distinction matters because it means that areas with very few actual environmental stressors can still qualify.
Approximately 330 of New Jersey’s municipalities contain at least one overburdened census tract. When the pinelands and highlands are excluded, most of the developed portions of the state fall within the law’s reach.
What Counts as a Stressor?
DEP has identified more than 30 types of stressors. These include contaminated sites, air permits, discharge permits, and data points not directly regulated by DEP, such as asthma rates, cancer rates, airports, and rail corridors. All of this data is compiled and mapped. It is publicly available through DEP’s mapping tool on their website.
The comparison methodology has been questioned. Overburdened communities are compared to the rest of the state, including rural and suburban areas with far fewer stressors by nature. The result is that over 90% of overburdened communities are also classified as disproportionately impacted, not because their conditions are uniquely severe, but because the comparison point is structurally skewed.
The EJ Process: What to Expect
An Environmental Justice Impact Statement Is Required First
Before any covered DEP permit is even reviewed, an Environmental Justice Impact Statement must be submitted. This document compiles all known stressors in the area. It must be made available to the community. A public hearing must be held. DEP then determines whether a disproportionate impact exists.
In the vast majority of cases, a disproportionate impact will be found. From there, the applicant must show how additional impacts are avoided, minimized, or mitigated. Mitigation is not limited to the facility’s fence line. DEP may look at truck traffic patterns, offsite conditions, and broader community concerns.
The Timeline Is Long and the Standards Are Not Fixed
The minimum timeframe, if everything goes smoothly, is around six months just to complete the comment period. In practice, approvals have taken well over a year. Since the regulations were adopted, only two projects have made it through the full process.
No numeric standards exist to define what DEP will or will not require. Costs cannot be reliably estimated. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed. This uncertainty is the central challenge when advising clients.
New Facilities Face Automatic Rejection
If a proposed facility is new, located in an overburdened community, and that community is disproportionately impacted, DEP is required to deny the application. There is a narrow exception for certain priority facilities whose benefits are confined to and serve that specific community, but it applies in very few circumstances.
Key Risks for LSRPs and Their Clients
Do Not Let Permits Lapse
Under the regulations, a facility that allows a permit to expire and then reapplies may be treated as a new facility. For a facility located in an overburdened community, that could trigger an automatic denial. This is a critical compliance risk. All permits for Title V and other covered facilities should be tracked and renewed on time.
Community Engagement Matters
DEP takes community input seriously. The process is not simply procedural. Facilities that have engaged proactively with their surrounding communities before the formal process begins are better positioned. Working to be a good neighbor before being asked is practical advice, not just optics.
The Lawsuit Is Ongoing
A legal challenge to the regulations was filed by a trade union and a metal recycling facility. An appeal to the Appellate Division was rejected. Certification to the New Jersey Supreme Court is now being sought. The rules remain in effect in the meantime.
Stay Informed Through Continuing Education
The EJ law is still in early implementation. Guidance will continue to evolve, and decisions from DEP will begin to establish precedent. Staying current on how the process is developing is essential for any LSRP advising clients with facilities in covered communities.
CPESNJ continues to bring subject matter experts to our members through our Hot Topic series and Mastermind Series, and past discussions are available as free Hot Topic webinar recordings on environmental and regulatory issues. View upcoming sessions and register.