OEJ Newsletter - March 27th, 2025

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Announcements

Public Hearings on Draft NJ Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Combined Sewer Overflow Permits for PVSC

NJDEP's Division of Water Quality recently issued nine draft New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) permits to Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) and the 8 CSO municipalities that are hydraulically connected to the PVSC Water Resource Recovery Facility in Newark. The nine permits build upon the previously issued CSO permits and incorporate control strategies to reduce CSO discharges and ultimately attain compliance with the Federal CSO Control Policy.

The Department is holding a series of public hearings to solicit public comment on the 9 draft permits. Two virtual public hearings will be held on April 14, 2025 (morning and evening) via Teams and two in-person public hearings will be held on April 16, 2025, in Newark.

The public comment period will close on May 14, 2025. More information is available online.

Interagency Council on Climate Resilience Announces Release of 2024 Annual Report

On March 25th, the Murphy Administration’s Interagency Council on Climate Resilience released its first annual report highlighting progress made to make the state more resilient to the far-reaching impacts of climate change, from the public health dangers of extreme heat to the impacts of flooding caused by sea-level rise and increasing precipitation. The report highlights 88 actions that state agencies took in 2024, both individually and together, to increase statewide climate resilience, including the release of New Jersey’s Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan, proposing new land use rules to better protect coastal areas from sea-level rise, implementing a new law and tools to increase public information sharing and climate change risk communication, updating building codes and technical assistance for structure elevations and local mitigation planning, and integrating resilience into roadway planning, design and construction. Learn more online. 

Participation Opportunities 

Upcoming Environmental Justice Law Public Hearings

There are no upcoming public hearings at this time.

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

Register Now for "Navigating the DEP System: Explaining Enforcement"!

Building on the success of the Navigating the DEP System Environmental Justice Seminar Series, OEJ's first seminar of 2025 will take place during the first three weeks of April! The 3-part seminar will focus on enforcement issues: What DEP enforces, how the processes work, and how you can get involved.  

Explaining Enforcement will provide an overview of how DEP's Air, Water, Solid Waste, and Land Use programs enforce environmental regulations, rules, and permits. Sessions will discuss the agency's existing enforcement authority within each program, exploring what constitutes a violation under state law, what actions DEP can take to ensure compliance, and how environmental justice communities can engage with DEP to expand enforcement efforts that effectively and equitably protect public health and the environment. 

Attend the First Environmental Justice Advisory Council Public Meeting!

EJAC is an 18-member advisory board of environmental justice constituents and stakeholders, representing grassroots, community organizing, academic, industry, and local government sectors throughout the state. 

The Environmental Justice Advisory Council (EJAC) uses its diverse expertise to advise DEP on how best to integrate Environmental Justice into agency-wide programs, policies, and activities, and build agency capacity. In addition to their advisory role, members also identify priority issues in NJ's environmental justice communities and work to address them through EJAC's established Air, Land, Water, and Environmental Education & Communication Working Groups. 

DISCUSSION TOPIC: What environmental issues in overburdened communities require more attention from NJDEP?

The topic of discussion for this meeting will be around the environmental issues facing overburdened communities (OBCs) that require more attention from NJDEP. The purpose of these public meetings is to receive input on how EJAC can advise NJDEP on various environmental justice initiatives. 

Apply Now to Become a Member of the Environmental Justice Advisory Council!

Join the Environmental Justice Advisory Council (EJAC) and make a difference in New Jersey's environmental justice initiatives! NJDEP is seeking applications to fill seven (7) vacancies for 3-year terms through 2028.

EJAC advises the DEP Commissioner on environmental justice matters, coordinates with the Department's Office of Environmental Justice, and provides guidance to Executive Branch departments and agencies. Members represent diverse sectors and have contributed to crucial initiatives like the Environmental Justice Law, the Environmental Justice Seminar series and the What’s in My Community Tool.

Selected candidates will represent the following stakeholder sectors:

• Business and Industry (1 vacancy)
• Local Grassroots or Community Groups (2 vacancies)
• Faith-Based Organizations or State or Federally Recognized Tribal Government or Indigenous Groups (1 vacancy)
• Statewide Social Justice/Civil Rights or Labor Organization (1 vacancy)
• Public Health (2 vacancies)

To apply, you must have a current connection to the sector you're interested in.

Submit your application, resume/CV, outside employment questionnaire, and one letter of recommendation by April 23, 2025. Learn more online. 

LAST CALL: Take the NJ Trail Users Survey to Help Shape Trail Funding, Panning, and Policy!

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) are teaming up to create the New Jersey Trails Playbook - a series of guidebooks with the goal of helping New Jersey develop and improve trails and greenways to better connect to our communities, to our businesses, to nature, and to each other. The New Jersey Trail User Survey is intended for everyone who lives in New Jersey, as well as visitors who use New Jersey’s trails, and is designed to help the agencies understand what matters to communities when it comes to trail use, why they use trails (or don’t), and how trails impact local businesses. In understanding the needs and priorities of trail users, the survey will help inform guidance for improved public access to safe, inclusive, and equitable outdoor recreation and active transportation opportunities

Visit the New Jersey Trail User Survey Outreach Toolkit page for social media posts, email templates, and posters to help spread the word. The survey will close Friday, March 31. Learn more online. 

Comment on NJBPU's Urban Heat Island Mitigation Program

The NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is seeking public comment on the establishment of an Urban Heat Island Mitigation Program. The proposed program aims to build on existing mitigation efforts by implementing targeted interventions that prioritize urban revitalization through redeveloping public spaces, fortify cooling centers to increase access during heatwaves, improve energy efficiency, cool the built environment, enhance urban forestry through sustained maintenance, and support community-based programs. Recognizing disproportionate vulnerabilities to heat stress, NJBPU is requesting stakeholder feedback on program structure and proposed funding mechanisms to effectively reduce extreme heat impacts and improve climate resilience in overburdened communities.  

Comments are due by 5 pm on April 17, 2025. Learn more online. 

New TCTAC Training: Procedural Justice in Environmental Justice Decision-making

Join WEACT's EPA Region 2 Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center on April 16th from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm for the fourth installment of their Environmental Justice Law and Policy series. This session, presented in partnership with the Institute for Policy Integrity, will explore the complex activities that public utility or public service commissions (PUCs) undertake in the name of climate and energy policy. Participants will learn what PUCs are, the kinds of decisions they make, common PUC procedural processes, and how environmental justice communities can engage with PUCs to inform equitable decision-making. Learn more 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.

DEP, TCNJ and Sustainable Jersey Announce $4.5 Million in Grants for Tree Plantings at Schools

NJDEP, in partnership with The College of New Jersey and Sustainable Jersey, recently announced $4.5 million in Trees for Schools grants for New Jersey public school districts, county colleges, and state colleges and universities through the Trees for Schools grant program. Competitive grants from $10,000 to $250,000 will fund tree planting and associated planning and maintenance costs over three years, with a portion of funding allocated specifically for schools in overburdened communities. Tree plantings at schools will provide a range of environmental and educational benefits, filtering air pollutants, mitigating extreme heat, and creating new learning opportunities for students. 

Applications are due May 13, 2025, for spring 2026 plantings. Learn more online. 

NJ FEED Grant Program

Funded through New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), the Food Equity and Economic Development in New Jersey (FEED NJ) Grant Program aims to catalyze innovative, sustainable, and scalable food security and food access initiatives with high potential to maximize community-level impact. The program will make $30 million available for grants to projects — proposed by applicants on the frontlines of food access work — that strengthen food security in New Jersey’s most acute Food Desert Communities, while accounting for the unique context and circumstances of each community. Proposed projects may be new initiatives that increase access to fresh, affordable, healthy food, or expansions of existing services. 

Applications are due April 3rd at 5pm. Learn more online.