Comments on Proposed Environmental Justice Rules, DEP Docket No. 04-22-04

A coalition of environmental justice advocates, including Earthjustice and the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, submitted comments on the New Jersey DEP's proposed Environmental Justice (EJ) rules. The coalition argues for a narrow interpretation of the 'compelling public interest' exception, specifically opposing the use of economic benefits or job creation as justifications for permitting new polluting facilities in overburdened communities. They recommend expanding public notification radii to five kilometers, refining the definitions of 'new facility' and 'incinerator' to include technologies like pyrolysis and gasification, and adopting more sensitive air quality metrics based on WHO guidelines rather than EPA NAAQS. The document also emphasizes that race is the strongest predictor of pollution burden in New Jersey, citing historical redlining and systemic failures in DEP's permitting and enforcement processes as drivers of environmental racism.

• The coalition argues that economic considerations, such as job creation, must not be used to grant a 'compelling public interest' exception for pollution permits, as this would allow the state to 'bribe these communities with the promise of needed jobs if they are willing to accept health-harming and life-ending pollution.'
• Current public notification requirements for proposed facilities are insufficient; the coalition recommends expanding the notification radius to five kilometers, as DEP's own Technical Manual 1002 acknowledges that air emissions can have impacts at that distance.
• The definition of 'incinerator' in the final rule should be expanded to explicitly include pyrolysis, gasification, plasma processing, chemical recycling, and vitrification, as these processes use high temperatures and emit similar pollutants to traditional incinerators.
• The proposed air quality metrics for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone—based on a three-year average of AQI days greater than 100—are deemed insufficiently sensitive because health risks occur at concentrations below the EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
• The coalition contends that permit renewals should be subject to the same stringent analysis and conditions as new facilities or expansions, arguing that the proposed 'technical feasibility analysis' for renewals is too weak because it only applies to equipment at least 20 years old.
• Analysis of DEP's mapping tool shows that race is the primary predictor of pollution burden in New Jersey: 83% of facilities in overburdened communities (OBCs) are in areas meeting the minority criterion, compared to only 38% meeting the low-income criterion.
• Historical government actions, specifically redlining and racially restrictive covenants, created a blueprint for segregation that polluters exploited by siting heavy industry in 'undesirable' neighborhoods characterized by People of Color.
• The document cites the Mennis Study to argue that DEP has a history of unequal environmental enforcement, noting that facilities in high-minority areas often have higher rates of significant violations but lower penalty amounts assessed.

APA

Earthjustice (2022). Comments on Proposed Environmental Justice Rules, DEP Docket No. 04-22-04. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-09-06_icc_njeja_comments_dep_ejrule.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Comments on Proposed Environmental Justice Rules, DEP Docket No. 04-22-04. 2022. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-09-06_icc_njeja_comments_dep_ejrule.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Comments on Proposed Environmental Justice Rules, DEP Docket No. 04-22-04 |date=6 September 2022 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-09-06_icc_njeja_comments_dep_ejrule.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2022comments, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Comments on Proposed Environmental Justice Rules, DEP Docket No. 04-22-04}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-09-06_icc_njeja_comments_dep_ejrule.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }