New Jersey proposed a new environmental justice rule Monday that officials believe will be the toughest in the nation by carving out nearly half the state’s population as living in “overburdened communities” and limiting the types of polluting businesses that can be built there.
The goal is to protect areas with concentrations of low-income or sizable populations of Black and brown residents such as Camden from further pollution. The criteria used to determine those neighborhoods also put sections of many towns not normally thought of as overburdened such as Voorhees, Cherry Hill, and Deptford into the mix of potentially protected areas, according to an Inquirer analysis.
A developer can offer ways to lessen the impact through, say, electrifying its vehicle fleet, rerouting diesel-emitting truck traffic, or using some type of technology. If a proposal would make pollution and health issues worse, the DEP can deny the permit.An obligation ‘to do right’ Regulated businesses will “grumble ... and lawyers will spend entire careers splitting” hairs over the rule, he predicted.
Overall, 308 census blocks are identified as overburdened in South Jersey communities within Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties. The stateHere are some examples of South Jersey towns in the immediate Philadelphia area with multiple overburdened blocks:Camden County: Cherry Hill, Gloucester Township, Lindenwold, Pennsauken, Voorhees and WinslowEnvironmental and health ‘stressors’
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