NY State Governor Hochol Signs Landmark Environmental Justice Legislation
Harlem World
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Cumulative Impacts bill (S.8830/A.2103D).
The landmark environmental justice legislation ensures that cumulative impacts are taken into consideration in the State’s environmental permitting processes when potentially polluting facilities seek permits in disadvantaged communities.
It’s a historic move, making New York the second such in the nation with such a law, following New Jersey’s groundbreaking legislation signed in 2020, which was advanced by the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance and others.
Low-income communities and communities of color throughout New York State have historically been burdened by a disproportionate number of pollution-generating facilities such as factories, power plants, bus depots, sewage treatment plants, garbage dumps and transfer stations, and trucking centers.
