The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued new guidance under Governor Phil Murphy’s Executive Order 23 that will help all state government agencies further incorporate environmental justice considerations into their statutory and regulatory responsibilities.
Furthering the Promise: A Guidance Document for Advancing Environmental Justice Across State Government directs executive branch departments and agencies to apply the principles of environmental justice to their operations, participate in the newly formed Environmental Justice Inter-Agency Council, and create assessments and action plans to improve the agencies’ effects on environmental justice communities.
The new guidance arrives weeks after Governor Phil Murphy signed landmark legislation requiring the DEP to evaluate the environmental and public health impacts of certain facilities on overburdened communities when reviewing certain permit applications.
