CT's Environmental Justice Law Regulations Development

Introduction

Connecticut’s Environmental Justice Law (“EJ Law”) requires applicants of permits at “affecting facilities” to conduct meaningful public participation in “environmental justice communities” about their intentions to construct and expand such facilities. The EJ Law only applies to various types of “affecting facilities,” including electric generation facilities, sludge or solid waste incinerators, sewage treatment plants, and major sources of air pollution and only applies when that facility is located in an “EJ community.”

The latest amendments to this landmark EJ Law advance the statute in two main ways:

1. Permits and requires DEEP to write new regulations regarding cumulative impacts
2. Strengthens the public participation requirements already in the law to further improve communication between the permit applicant and the EJ community.

DEEP will be engaging industry and environmental justice stakeholders in a series of workshops as we draft these new cumulative impact regulations. These meetings will occur between 2024-2025.  

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Overview of Newest Updates to Connecticut's Environmental Justice Law

On June 29, 2023, Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 23-202, which comprehensively updates the state’s 15-year-old environmental justice law.

How is the new law different from the old law?

The new law has two major changes: 

1. Cumulative Impacts: The law directs the Department to develop regulations that will enable new cumulative impacts assessments.

Those regulations will include guidelines for identifying, measuring, and evaluating the cumulative impacts of environmental and public health stressors across environmental justice communities in Connecticut. As a result, DEEP will be able to address historical injustices and the disproportionate burden of environmental and public health stressors on certain communities, often low-income and minority communities.

The assessment of the cumulative impact of environmental and public health stressors will be an important new element in DEEP’s review of permit applications and will empower the Department to impose permit conditions or even in rare cases deny certain permits. 

2. Public Participation: The EJ Law updates the public outreach requirements.

Applicants seeking to construct, expand, or site certain facilities in environmental justice communities are required to develop and implement a “meaningful public participation plan” and, in some cases, enter into a “Community Environmental Benefit Agreement” (CEBA) with the host municipality to mitigate potential environmental impacts of the facility.

The newly amended EJ Law now requires notice be mailed to residents within ½ mile of proposed new affecting facilities and posted on electronic media; specifies that applicants accept written comments and questions; requires informal public meetings to be video recorded; and requires a report and copy of such video recordings not more than 30 days after such public information meeting for new proposed affecting facilities and permits. In addition, while at times the law also required the applicant to negotiate a Community Environmental Benefits Agreement with the town in which the permit would be operating, now such Agreements must have a connection to the impacts reasonably related to the facility.  Additionally, now a member of the EJ community must be a part of the Agreement negotiation, along with the Developer and the Town’s Executive Officer.

Minor modifications and renewals to existing permits are exempt from these requirements.

 

Environmental Justice Regulations Development

What is a regulation? Regulations are rules or directives of general applicability, made and enforced by an authority to manage how laws are applied. They provide detailed guidelines on adhering to legal requirements established by laws.

How will the EJ regulations be made? These regulations will be developed through a collaborative process involving various stakeholders. This ensures that regulations are balanced, fair, and considerate of diverse perspectives. The commissioner is required to consult with stakeholder industries and sectors when developing the regulations pursuant to this section.

For a more detailed understanding of on how regulations are adopted and how regulations are implemented, you can explore DEEP’s guide to public participation and regulations development. Developing Better Transparency Around Regulation and Public Participation Initiative (ct.gov)

 

Upcoming Public Meeting Schedule

DEEP is planning to host public meetings throughout 2024-2025 in order to consult stakeholder industries and environmental justice stakeholders in the development of these regulations. This schedule will be updated frequently, and new meetings may be added if necessary. 

Date/Time	Event Name	Location + Registration Link	Meeting Materials
Sept 10, 2024 5:30-7:30 PM	Kick-Off EJ Regulations Development	Zoom Meeting	Download Meeting Agenda Download Presentation Slides Watch Meeting Recording
Dec 10, 2024 3:00-4:30 PM	EJ Public Participation Plan and Report	Register Here for the Zoom Meeting Link	Download Meeting Agenda
March 2025	Identification and Measurement of Environmental and Health Stressors
June 2025	Geographic Points of Comparison
Aug 2025	Public Health and Environmental Stressor Tool
Dec 2025	Cumulative Impact Assessment and Standards for Denying and Placing Conditions on Permits
Early 2026	Final Comprehensive Summary and Draft Language

 

Past Public Meetings

Date	Audience	Presentation Name	Materials
9/5/24	Commission on Racial Equity and Public Health	Cumulative Impacts and EJ in CT	Link to Presentation
7/12/24	Junta for Progressive Action and Save the Sound – Fair Haven	History of CT’s EJ Law	Link to Presentation
6/12/24	Hazardous Waste Advisory Council (HWAC)	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation
6/11/24	Windham/Willimantic NAACP	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation
4/30/24	CT Roundtable on Climate and Jobs	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation
4/18/24	Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA)	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation
3/26/24	Remediation Roundtable	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation
3/18/24	Connecticut Equity and Environmental Justice Advisory Council (CEEJAC)	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation
2/26/24	Solid Waste Advisory Council (SWAC)	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation
2/8/24	State Implementation Plan Revision Advisory Committee (SIPRAC)	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation
11/14/23	Environmental Business Council (EBC)	Amendments to the EJ Law	Link to Presentation

 

Contact

If you have any questions, please reach out to DEEP.EJrulemaking@ct.gov

For More Information About: 

• Environmental Justice Communities and Affecting Facilities in CT

• DEEP's Permitting Process

• DEEP's Permitting Process with EJ

• Public Participation Guidance Document 

• UConn CIRCA and DEEP's Connecticut Environmental Justice Screening Tool 2.0

• Factsheet: History of CT's EJ Law

• Factsheet: EJ Public Participation Process

• Factsheet: Community Environmental Benefit Agreements (CEBA)

 

Content last updated August 2024