Environmental Justice for NJ

Surrounded by community groups and leaders from across the state, Governor James E. McGreevey this week signed an executive order at the Trenton War Memorial calling for state agencies to consider the health and environmental impacts of their decision-making on communities of color and low-income communities.

“As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,’” Governor McGreevey said. “In New Jersey, we are seeking justice to make every community safe, healthy and attractive places in which to raise our families. From the food you eat, to the air you breath, to the parks your children play in, we are working to build a better New Jersey.”

Following the Governor’s commitment to “Build a Better New Jersey,” the executive order confronts many of the environmental health issues that the Governor identified in his State of the State address, including the impacts of soot, arsenic and mercury on public health.

The order calls for the Departments of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Transportation (DOT) to develop a coordinated strategy for reducing the public’s exposure to fine particulate pollution. Several recent studies have documented an increase nationwide in the prevalence of childhood asthma, especially in Black and Latino/Hispanic communities, which is directly linked to exposure to fine particles and soot.

“This is a commitment to fair government for all people, not just the politically connected or the materially comfortable,” said DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell. “Too many low-income, underserved communities of color have suffered from the negative impacts of New Jersey’s economic and industrial growth, while others have reaped the benefits. Our goal is to reduce environmental health risks for everyone, but we must be especially mindful of communities that to date have been disproportionately and unfairly impacted by pollution.”

DEP will also be required to use environmental and public health data to identify existing and proposed industrial and commercial facilities in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods that should be targeted for more aggressive compliance, enforcement, remediation and permitting strategies to reduce residents’ exposure to toxics and other pollution.

The Governor is also calling for DEP to work with the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to improve multi-lingual communications on public health and environmental information to ethnic communities. Both departments will have to work on establishing comprehensive Spanish-language websites. In recognition of low-income communities’ greater reliance on subsistence fishing, both agencies will also work with the Department of Agriculture to develop appropriately protective fish consumption advisories that effectively communicate risks and public health information for all of New Jersey’s communities.

"Environmental conditions play a significant role in many human diseases and affect the health of all New Jerseyans," said Health and Senior Services Commissioner Clifton R. Lacy, M.D. "The Department of Health and Senior Services enthusiastically supports this important Governor's initiative and will work in collaboration with DEP and other state agencies to protect the health of our residents and especially those most vulnerable to the effects of environmental health hazards."

The executive order also calls for greater inter-agency cooperation to increase community involvement in environmental and public health decision-making and to target outreach efforts more effectively to communities confronting environmental justice issues. The goal is to leverage existing agency resources to create comprehensive, yet streamlined reviews of decisions that affect low-income and minority communities. The Governor is creating a multi-agency Environmental Justice Task Force that will review agency actions to ensure that they address environmental justice issues. The Task Force will be composed of representatives from the Departments of Human Services, Community Affairs (DCA), Education (DOE), Agriculture, DEP, DHSS, and DOT.

Groups of residents and workers will be able to file petitions to the task force when they believe they are subject to disproportionate, adverse exposure to environmental health risks resulting from the state’s implementation of laws, regulations and programs affecting public health, the environment or community development. The Task Force will then hold public meetings with affected communities and establish an Action Plan to address the situation.

"Our fight for environmental justice is about real change and improvement in the lives of ordinary people," said Attorney General Peter C. Harvey. "The Attorney General's Office and the Department of Environmental Protection are already making a difference through our joint Environmental Urban Initiative - - investigating and prosecuting unscrupulous businesses and individuals who dump debris and hazardous materials in disadvantaged communities. We will fight to ensure that our urban neighborhoods are not dumping grounds and that their residents are not the forgotten New Jerseyans."

The Governor is also reconstituting the existing Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the DEP to advise the state Task Force. This Council is comprised of 15 representatives from grassroots groups, community organizations, business and industry, organized labor and faith-based groups around New Jersey.

The Executive Order takes effect immediately and lasts for at least the next five years. To read the Executive Order, click here. More information on environmental justice can be found at www.nj.gov/dep/ej.

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Author: Press Release-Micah Rasmussen