More than 70 South Jersey business leaders joined a virtual meeting hosted by the SNJDC Energy & Environment Committee: Update on New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law, on Friday, October 22, 2021. Attendees were keen to learn more about what is covered by the law, how it will be implemented, and how it will impact economic development.
The meeting featured remarks from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner Sean Moriarty, who provided an in-depth review of the law, highlighting its features, definitions, and processes. The law requires the DEP to evaluate the environmental and public health impact on overburdened communities when reviewing permit applications for certain facilities such as gas fired power plants, sewer plants, landfills, recycling centers, incinerators, to name a few.
Following the Deputy Commissioner’s remarks, Julia Wong from the NJ DEP’s Office of Deputy Commissioner Legal, Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, provided attendees with a tutorial of the DEP’s new online mapping tool and showcased its ease of use to explore census tracks and various layers that indicate the areas that qualify as an Overburdened Community.
Kimberly Mutcherson, Co-Dean and Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School, moderated a roundtable discussion comprised of DEP Deputy Commissioner Sean Moriarty; Dennis Hart, Executive Director, Chemistry Council of New Jersey; Robert Baranowski, Partner, Hyland Levin Shapiro; and Carlos Rodrigues, Principal, Design Solutions, LLC/American Planning Association NJ Chapter.
The panelists discussed the recently announced Administrative Order, the impact on specific industries, and existing land use and zoning at the local level and how to effectuate community outreach. The panel then opened to take a few questions from the audience before closing out the meeting.
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