At the same time Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration is flexing the regulatory muscles of a landmark environmental justice law, it is fighting to keep its interpretation of the law from being undone in court.
In mid-July, Murphy’s administration imposed what it called “strict” conditions on a controversial new power plant it green-lighted in Newark. Those conditions come from power given to the Department of Environmental Protection by a 2020 law to keep pollution out of “overburdened” low-income areas and communities of color.
But a state appeals court is gearing up to hear a pair of legal challenges to a rule the DEP spent over two years crafting to interpret the law.
The lawsuits — by the scrap metal industry and a group that represents the construction industry — were both filed last summer. In recent weeks, there’s been a flurry of legal filings in the cases, which have been consolidated into one. A state appeals court has yet to set a date for oral argument, but it is expected in coming months.
