Announcements
Governor Murphy Announces Landmark Inland Flood Protection Rule
Governor Phil Murphy announced the Administration’s upcoming adoption of the landmark Inland Flood Protection Rule to better protect New Jersey’s communities from worsening riverine flooding and stormwater runoff. This rule updates New Jersey’s existing flood hazard and stormwater regulations by replacing outdated precipitation estimates with modern data that account for observed and projected increases in rainfall. These changes will help reduce flooding from stormwater runoff and increase the resiliency of new developments located in flood-prone inland areas. The Inland Flood Protection Rule will become effective upon publication in the New Jersey Register this July. A copy of the rule and additional information are available here.
Participation Opportunities
Upcoming Environmental Justice Law Public Hearings
July 31 - Stavola (in-person)
Facilities subject to the Environmental Justice Law must facilitate meaningful opportunities for overburdened communities to engage in permitting decisions for pollution-generating facilities through an enhanced public participation process. Subscribe to EJ Law notices by County
Learn more about the New Jersey Greenway recreation and transportation corridor at the first workshop on July 27th!
The Greenway is a nine-mile corridor that connects eight municipalities in Hudson and Essex county. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) acquired this property from Norfolk Southern on August 19, 2022. The NJDEP is conducting a planning process to understand how the Greenway can effectively support the diverse communities that surround it. The first community engagement session will be held on July 27th. See flyer below for more details.
To find out about more ways to share ideas, visit the website or leave a voicemail at 908-340-6611.
 
NEJAC Hybrid Public Meeting July 25-27, 2023
The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) will convene an in person public meeting with a virtual option (hybrid) from July 25th-27th. The in person meeting will be held at The Sheraton Puerto Rico in San Juan. The meeting is free and open to all members of the public. Individual registration for this event is REQUIRED. Those who wish to participate during the public comment period must register by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, July 19, 2023. Learn more about this and future NEJAC meetings.
EPA Launches Nationwide Series of
Community Lead Awareness Sessions
As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to protect communities from childhood lead exposure and advance environmental justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a series of free educational sessions on the dangers of lead and ways to reduce and prevent lead exposure. These sessions are based on the Lead Awareness Curriculum, an adaptable resource to protect communities from potential lead exposure, and will be held in English and Spanish.
The sessions will supplement EPA’s local lead training and outreach initiative, which has been implemented in 22 communities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico in 2021 and 2022. Learn more about EPA’s upcoming community lead awareness sessions.
Funding Opportunities
Attention New Jersey Public Schools, Colleges and Universities: Apply for a Tree-Planting Grant
The Trees for Schools program will provide $2.5 million in grants to New Jersey public school districts, county colleges, and state colleges and universities to fund the planting of trees on campuses across the state. Competitive grants of $10,000 to $500,000 will fund costs associated with planning, site preparation, trees, planting, watering, monitoring, and related expenses over a three-year period. 40% of the grant funding will be set aside for applicants located in overburdened communities. Applications are due on July 13, 2023, for spring 2024 plantings. More information.
EPA Clean School Bus Grant Funding and Webinars
EPA has announced the 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Grant Program! Under the 2023 CSB Grant Program, the Agency is asking for applications nationwide to award approximately $400 million in competitive grant funding to eligible applicants for the purchase of zero-emission (ZE) school buses, clean school buses, and ZE charging infrastructure. Applications are due by Tuesday, August 22, 2023, at 11:59PM ET.
To assist potential applicants, EPA will host a series of public webinars May through August. Check the Clean School Bus Webinars webpage for upcoming dates.
Murphy Administration Offering $19 Million in Grants to Assist Municipalities with New Stormwater Permitting Requirements
The Murphy Administration announced the availability of $19 million in grants to help municipalities with the transition to new municipal stormwater permitting system requirements designed to better protect NJ's waterways from pollutants in stormwater. These permitting changes will also help mitigate localized flooding that is increasing due to climate change.
Full details of the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) are available online. Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis through December 31, 2023.
Career Opportunities
EPA Invites Youth to Serve on Agency’s First-Ever National Environmental Youth Advisory Council
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the formal establishment of the agency’s first-ever National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC). The NEYAC will provide a critical perspective on how the impacts of climate change and other environmental harms affect youth communities. As part of the agency’s commitment to centering environmental justice communities, at least 50% of the overall membership of NEYAC will come from, reside primarily in, and/or do most of their work in disadvantaged communities as defined by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) as part of Justice40.
Applications to the NEYAC are due by August 22, 2023 at 11:59PM ET. EPA will be hosting virtual application webinars where the public can ask EPA staff questions live. Visit the EPA NEYAC webpage for more information on the council and to apply.
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All New Jersey residents, regardless of income, race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, have a right to live, work, and recreate in a clean and healthy environment. Historically, New Jersey’s low-income communities and communities of color face a disproportionately high number of environmental and public health stressors and, as a result, suffer from increased adverse health effects. New Jersey seeks to correct these outcomes by furthering the promise of environmental justice.
DEP’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) aims to improve the quality of life in New Jersey’s most vulnerable communities by educating and empowering communities who are often outside of government decision-making processes and guiding DEP’s programs and other state departments and agencies in implementing environmental justice.
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