New Jersey's landmark environmental justice law is staying on the books, upheld by the state's appellate court, which rejected arguments from industrial groups and found the laws implementing regulations to be constitutional.

The law, signed by Governor Murphy in 2020, aims to keep pollution out of low-income areas and communities of color by requiring regulators to consider the total pollution a community already faces before approving new industrial projects.

Well, the New Jersey chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries and the construction advocacy organization, ELEC 825, had sued to block rules adopted by the State Department of Environmental Protection back in 2023, arguing they were too vague and broad.

A panel of three judges disagreed, finding the DEP's rules fit within existing case law.

Environmentalists and the DEP commissioner applauded the ruling as a major win for vulnerable communities, while the state's largest business lobby said it was disappointed and warned the ruling could make New Jersey less attractive for industrial investment.