Environmental Justice is the equitable treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, ability, or income and is critical to the development and application of laws, regulations, and policies that affect the environment, as well as the places people live, work, play, worship, and learn.

Equitable treatment means:

• no group of people bears a disproportionate share of the negative consequences resulting from governmental, industrial, or commercial operations and policies
• all people benefit from the application of laws and regulations
• eliminating barriers such as poverty and lack of access, as well as repairing systemic injustices

Meaningful involvement means:

• people have an opportunity to participate in decisions that affect their environment and/or health
• decision makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected
• people’s concerns are considered in decision-making processes
• people can influence state agency decisions