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Environmental Justice Newsletter
June 20, 2024
Summary of Important Dates
Announcements
DEP Welcomes New Environmental Justice Advisory Council Members!
On June 12th, the Office of Environmental Justice appointed 3 new members to serve on the Environmental Justice Advisory Council (EJAC). EJAC provides a valuable forum for discussions about integrating Environmental Justice into DEP’s programs and policies. It helps build DEP's capacity and improves its support of the state’s Environmental Justice constituents and stakeholders. The Office of Environmental Justice is pleased to welcome X Braithwaite representing the Statewide Environmental Advocacy Organization sector, Timi Lindsay representing the Local Grassroots Sector, and Nicole Brown representing Business and Industry, each of them offering their unique perspectives to inform environmental initiatives throughout the state. Learn more online.
DEP Launches Chill Out New Jersey
Following the launch of Heat Hub NJ, an online one-stop shop for understanding and mitigating the causes and health impacts of extreme heat in the state, the Interagency Council on Climate Resilience has developed the Chill Out NJ online application. A new addition to Heat Hub, Chill Out NJ is an interactive map designed to help communities with limited access to air conditioning locate cooling centers. The map directs users to a variety of nearby free- or low-cost public indoor spaces, like libraries, pools and senior centers, that provide relief from heat exposure. Learn more online.
Participation Opportunities
Upcoming Environmental Justice Law Public Hearings
July 16- Kingsland Landfill- Lyndhurst, Bergen County, AO (virtual)
August 22- Calpine/Sherman Ave Energy Center, EJ Rule (hybrid)
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
Call For Nominations: Environmental Justice Governor's Excellence Awards
Have you or someone you know organized to further environmental justice in NJ's overburdened and disadvantaged communities this year? Consider nominating them for the 2024 Environmental Justice Govenor's Excellence Award!
Nominees can include individuals, educators, organizations, businesses, and youth who have worked to improve environmental quality, public health, and access to natural resources for EJ communities through the reduction of stressors and the increase of environmental benefits such as trees and open space. Nominations can also highlight advocates' work to empower residents of disadvantaged and overburdened communities to participate in meaningful decision-making or initiatives to develop technologies for cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated/brownfields sites in overburdened communities.
Award nominations are due Wednesday, September 4. Learn more online.
Voices of Black Women Study: Incorporating Lived Experiences into Cancer Risk Research
The American Cancer Society is conducting a cohort study designed to further understand and improve the health of Black women nationwide. Addressing the disproportionate cancer risks endured by Black women due to legacy pollution and systemic environmental degradation in overburdened communities, this new study provides an opportunity for Black women in environmental justice communities to ensure their lived experiences are incorporated into research for more equitable public health outcomes. More information is available online.
Funding and Technical Assistance Opportunities
In case you missed it, see below for opportunities that provide funding and assistance for projects related to green infrastructure, climate change, healthy communities, and more.
Clean Bus Planning Awards Program Funding
Funded through the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has launched The Clean Bus Planning Awards (CBPA) program. The program aims to reduce barriers to zero-emission bus deployment by providing school and transit bus fleets with free technical assistance to develop and implement comprehensive, customized fleet electrification transition plans. Eligible parties include school districts, local governments, non-profits, and tribal nations providing bus transit services, with priority given to entities operating in tribal nations, rural areas, and disadvantaged communities.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more online.
Brownfields Job Training Funding Opportunity
EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) is soliciting applications from state and local governments, Tribes, and nonprofit organizations for Brownfields Job Training Grants funding. Funded programs will recruit, train, and provide local, unemployed and under-employed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field. These programs work to ensure that green jobs created by revitalization projects directly benefit local economies and enhance livelihoods of residents most affected by legacy contamination.
Applications are due August 15th, 2024, Learn more online.
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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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