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New York Adopts Nation’S Strongest Environmental Justice Law, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
New York Adopts Nation’S Strongest Environmental Justice Law, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan
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On March 3, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the strongest environmental justice (EJ) law in the United States. While federal guidelines and the laws of some other states — notably California, Massachusetts, and Washington — require analysis, disclosure and consideration of EJ issues, only a New Jersey law adopted in 2020 imposed substantive limitations, as we discussed in our May 12, 2021, column. New York’s new law—building on enactments in 2019 and 2020 — is even more restrictive.
The new law — which we’ll call the EJL — provides that the Department of Environmental Conservation(DEC) “shall not issue an …