New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law: overburdened communities, EJMAP and the facilities it covers
New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law (N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157 to -161), enacted in 2020, requires the Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to evaluate the environmental and public health effects of certain facilities on overburdened communities when it reviews their permit applications. NJDEP’s rules implementing the law (N.J.A.C. 7:1C) took effect April 17, 2023.
An overburdened community is a census block group in which at least 35 percent of households are low-income, at least 40 percent of residents identify as minority or as members of a State-recognized tribal community, or at least 40 percent of households have limited English proficiency.
The law covers eight categories of facilities located in an overburdened community, including major sources of air pollution, solid waste and recycling facilities, scrap metal facilities and landfills; the rules also reach facilities in unpopulated block groups that abut one. It applies when such a facility seeks a permit as a new facility, for an expansion, or to renew a major source air permit: the applicant prepares an environmental justice impact statement, sends it to NJDEP and the municipality, and holds a public hearing in the community. If a new facility would cause or contribute to adverse cumulative stressors higher than those borne by other communities, NJDEP must deny the permit unless the facility serves a compelling public interest. For an expansion or renewal, NJDEP may impose conditions, and the law gives it no authority to deny the permit. A facility operating without an approval NJDEP required counts as new.
NJDEP’s online Environmental Justice Mapping, Assessment and Protection tool (EJMAP) shows the overburdened communities and their stressors. The Appellate Division upheld the rules on January 5, 2026, and in July 2026 the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed to review four elements: their reach to unpopulated block groups next to overburdened communities, the definition of a new facility, the Localized Impact Control Technology standard for new or expanded major sources of air pollution, and the mapping tool and technical guidance. The rules remain in effect while the appeal is pending (Riker Danzig, September 3, 2026).
The rules
- N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157 et seq.; N.J.A.C. 7:1CEnvironmental justice review for listed facility types
Requires DEP to weigh cumulative pollution burdens before permitting eight listed types of facility in or near overburdened communities. DEP can deny new facilities and add conditions to expansions or major source renewals.
Briefings
- MediumNew Jersey
New Jersey Supreme Court agrees to review the state's environmental justice permit rules
The Court granted review in July 2026 of the rules that can require denial of permits for new facilities in overburdened communities. The Appellate Division upheld them on January 5, 2026. No stay of the rules was reported; the questions include facilities next to such communities and what counts as a new facility.
In courtEnvironmental review & justice - MediumNew Jersey
New Jersey's top court will review environmental justice permit rules, which remain in force meanwhile
The appeal tests how the rules reach facilities next to overburdened communities and which operations count as new facilities that can be denied permits.
In courtEnvironmental review & justice