Equity in Virginia Permitting: A Focus on Environmental Justice
Posted: September 13th, 2023
The Commonwealth of Virginia (VA or Commonwealth) enacted the Virginia Environmental Justice (EJ) Act (Act) in 2020, making a VA policy to, “… promote environmental justice and ensure that it is carried out throughout the Commonwealth, with a focus on […]
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U.S. EPA Releases the ECHO Clean Air Tracking Tool (ECATT) and EJScreen 2.2
Posted: July 19th, 2023
In the last few weeks, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has released one new tool, the Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) Clean Air Tracking Tool (ECATT), and updated another, releasing EJScreen version 2.2. These new tools […]
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New Jersey Environmental Justice Final Rule Effective April 17, 2023
Posted: May 3rd, 2023
In 2018, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 23, ordering all state executive branch agencies to begin incorporating environmental justice (EJ) principles into their policies and procedures. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is one of […]
Read articleMassachusetts & New York Cumulative Impact Rules
Posted: April 27th, 2023
Cumulative impacts, in the context of environmental justice (EJ), refer to a proposed project’s direct environmental impact across all media (air, water, waste, etc.) in conjunction with other nearby sources and existing social stressors in the surrounding communities. This impact […]
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Environmental Justice Concerns in Air Permitting
Posted: February 22nd, 2023
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Office of Air and Radiation identified eight principles addressing environmental justice in Clean Air Act (CAA) permitting decisions in a December 22, 2022 Memorandum authored by Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Joseph Goffman. U.S. […]
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Biden Administration Issues New Executive Order on Environmental Justice
Posted: February 21st, 2023
On February 16, 2023, the Biden Administration issued a new Executive Order (EO) “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” (A fact sheet summarizing the action is here.) The EO builds on EO 13985, […]
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Environmental Justice: Looking Ahead to 2023
Posted: January 12th, 2023
If 2021 was the year of planning discussions and a lot of talk related to environmental justice (EJ), 2022 was the year where those plans began to be put into action. In 2022, we saw documents on how to enforce […]
Read articleEnvironmental Justice Tools Update: EJScreen 2.1 and CEJST 1.0
Posted: December 7th, 2022
U.S. EPA Releases EJScreen 2.1 On October 11, 2022, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) released a new version of their EJScreen tool, EJScreen 2.1. EJScreen is an environmental justice (EJ) screening and mapping tool that combines environmental and […]
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U.S. EPA OLEM September 2022 EJ Action Plan: What you need to know
Posted: November 3rd, 2022
In September 2022 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) published their Environmental Justice (EJ) Plan – EJ Action Plan: Building Up Environmental Justice in EPA’s Land Protection and Cleanup Programs. Back […]
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Louisiana Court Denies Air Permits for a Greenfield Plastics Complex on Clean Air Act and Environmental Justice Grounds: What are the implications?
Posted: October 13th, 2022
On September 12, 2022, a Louisiana court rejected 14 air permits for a new plastics manufacturing complex to be developed by Formosa Plastics Group (Formosa). The nearly $10 billion complex, known as the “Sunshine Project,” would include 10 chemical manufacturing […]
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