Mission
The mission of the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) is to help ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental policies, regulations, and laws; as well as the identification of environmental issues that affect the commonwealth's most vulnerable communities. The Office of Environmental Justice works to increase community engagement between those in environmental justice (EJ) areas and the Department.
Environmental Justice Areas
PennEnviroScreen provides a regularly updated and quantified snapshot of disproportionate environmental effects on vulnerable populations. Using this tool, you can determine whether any Pennsylvania address, community, or location is located within a defined EJ Area.
What is Environmental Justice?
Environmental justice means the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, wealth, race, color, national origin, area of residence, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency decision-making and other activities that affect human health and the environment so that people:
- are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers
- have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices.
It further involves the prevention of future environmental injustice, and the redress of historic environmental injustice, and the centering of environmentally burdened community voices in addressing environmental justice concerns.
Community Resources
Permit / Project Opt-In Request
https://pacedcitpowerapps.powerappsportals.us/services/Environmental-Justice-Opt-In-Form/
Report Incidents and Complaints
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Sign Up for Our Newsletter
https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/1887020/1790186/
Committees and Advisory Boards
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Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
The term environmental justice has been defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. There is a short video to provide an overview on environmental justice.
The OEJ was established for the residents of Pennsylvania, both as a resource and a point of contact for addressing environmental concerns. The primary goal of the OEJ is to increase community involvement by increasing community awareness. By doing so, we will be better prepared to serve all residents of Pennsylvania.
The objectives are to:
- Promote intra-departmental coordination and collaboration;
- Foster relationships between DEP and communities;
- Strengthen and utilize the Environmental Justice Advisory Board;
- Further develop the infrastructure of the Office of Environmental Justice;
- Encourage interagency coordination (i.e., Department of Community and Economic Development, Department of Health, Department of Public Welfare);
- Identify any causes of environmental inequities in Pennsylvania.
The Environmental Justice Advisory Board was established as part of a recommendation from the original Environmental Justice Work Group and has been charged with the goal of advising DEP on how to best implement the consensus recommendations from the Work Group Report. The board meets quarterly to discuss numerous issues pertaining to Environmental Justice in Pennsylvania. An Executive Order on environmental justice was issued on October 28, 2021 which formally establishes the Environmental Justice Advisory Board.
All meetings are open to the public. At each meeting, the Board provides an opportunity for attendees to provide comments to the advisory board. The Department also accepts comments, concerns and recommendations through written correspondence.
The meetings are held in the Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA, or elsewhere in the state. Please see the events listing for dates and times of upcoming meetings on the EJAB page at dep.pa.gov/EJAB.
Contact the EJ coordinator in your region to get assistance in understanding the DEP’s EJ work in your area or our central office team for more statewide concerns. You can find your EJ Coordinator on the Contact Us page.
An Opt-in Project - A project requiring permits, authorizations, or approvals from DEP that otherwise does not automatically trigger DEP’s EJ Policy, but which DEP determines should be evaluated under the EJ Policy based on identified community concerns, present or anticipated environmental impacts, or reasonably anticipated significant adverse community environmental burden. General Concerns about existing projects can be submitted through Environmental Complaints.
Note: The Opt-In Request Form is not required as a prerequisite for the DEP to process particular projects in accordance with the EJ Policy; rather it is available to facilitate requests from the public.
The Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) seeks to engage more consistently with our stakeholders and impacted communities, thus we’d like to invite you to self-enroll in future public engagement opportunities by the OEJ/PADEP. Please complete this form if you would like to self-enroll for future outreach and engagement opportunities with the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ).