January 10, 2026
In January 2026, the New Jersey Appellate Division upheld the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s adoption of its Environmental Justice Rules (EJ Rules), which implement the Environmental Justice Law enacted in 2020. The appeals were brought by industry and labor organizations, which argued that the rules exceeded the DEP’s statutory authority, misinterpreted statutory terms, were unconstitutionally vague or overbroad, and were arbitrary and capricious. The court rejected all of these arguments and affirmed the rules in full.
The Environmental Justice Law is grounded in legislative findings that residents of overburdened communities—often low-income communities and communities of color—have historically borne a disproportionate share of environmental and public health harms. The law seeks to correct this legacy by ensuring that such communities have a meaningful opportunity to participate in decisions regarding certain polluting facilities and by limiting the siting or expansion of those facilities where they would cause disproportionate impacts.
Under the law and implementing rules, certain facilities seeking permits for new construction, expansion, or renewal must prepare an Environmental Justice Impact Statement (EJIS). The EJIS must analyze existing and cumulative environmental and public health stressors in the affected overburdened community and propose feasible measures to avoid or mitigate disproportionate impacts. A permit application is deemed incomplete until the EJIS process, including public hearings, is completed.
If the DEP determines that a proposed facility would cause a disproportionate impact, it may deny approval for new facilities or impose specific conditions on expansions or renewals to protect public health. The court concluded that the EJ Rules are consistent with the statutory purpose and language of the Environmental Justice Law and represent a lawful exercise of the DEP’s regulatory authority.