Historically and all too often, communities on the frontline of environmental impacts, especially Black, brown, Asian, and Indigenous people, as well as low income communities, have been shut out of decisions about land use and environmental permitting — even as their neighborhoods bear the brunt of harms like industrial pollution. The Environmental Justice Siting Law (EJSL), formerly known as the Cumulative Impacts Law, aims to change that. The law mandates a full accounting of existing environmental and health burdens before new permits for polluting facilities can be approved in overburdened communities, i.e. state-designated “disadvantaged communities” (DACs).
But environmental justice doesn’t occur at the passage of legislation — it depends on who is at the table when the laws are written and how that law is put into practice. To live up to its promise, the EJSL must be implemented with clarity, accountability, and direct input from the people it’s meant to serve.
The agency responsible for implementation, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), is now accepting public input as it develops amendments to the law. To make the EJSL truly equitable and enforceable, the DEC’s process must be open, understandable, and centered on community participation. Can you email members of the DEC the message below to support these key improvements to transparency processes?
Hello,
I’m writing as a concerned New Yorker to urge the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to make key improvements as it develops amendments to the Environmental Justice Siting Law (EJSL), formerly known as the Cumulative Impacts Law, which took effect on December 31, 2024.
This law is a historic step toward correcting environmental injustices, but it can only succeed if the communities that it’s meant to protect are meaningfully involved in its implementation. At the moment, there are major barriers preventing people in disadvantaged communities (DACs) from engaging with the proposed changes. Without significant improvements to public access, transparency, and communication, DEC risks leaving out the very communities the EJSL is meant to prioritize.
NY Renews and its coalition members have come up with the following recommendations on how this can be addressed –
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Make public participation accessible by integrating meaningful public involvement into the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process from start to finish. This includes, but should not be limited to:
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DEC holding hybrid public hearings on three critical elements, namely – (i) whether the project impacts DACs, (ii) the disproportionate burden report, and (iii) any alternatives or mitigation strategies.
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DEC including in all participation efforts Indigenous Nations so that their distinct relationships with land, health, and environmental burdens are reflected. The existing burden analysis for Indigenous Nations can only be adequately assessed in consultation with those Nations, i.e. consultations are required (at least to be offered) in order for DEC and other agencies to accurately assess existing burdens.
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Improve transparency on mitigation measures by ensuring the lead agency’s final written scope clearly prioritizes the avoidance of burdens and not just offsets, and ensure all alternatives are subject to public input and designed with community health and safety at the center.
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Require clear analysis and proposals for relocating projects away from sensitive areas like schools, parks, or high-foot-traffic zones
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Revise and clarify online information. For example, update the heading and page titles on the DEC website to correctly reflect changes pertaining to EJSL to increase public awareness
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Provide multilingual support by translating all key documents and web pages into the languages most commonly spoken in DACs. Additionally, offer live translation during all public meetings and hearing to accommodate non-English speakers
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Create a public database with simple summaries in simple, easy-to-understand language at the 8th grade proficiency level.
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Notify communities at least one week in advance of meetings via email, mailers, local newspapers, and posting in accessible public places.
The communities most affected by cumulative environmental burdens must be at the center of how this law is carried out. These recommendations are essential to uphold the spirit and intent of the EJSL and make sure that no one is left out of the decision-making process.
Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
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