Vermont’s Environmental Justice Legislation

In May 2022, Vermont adopted SB 148, which defines “environmental justice focus populations” and requires the State agencies to incorporate environmental justice into their work, rules, and procedures. The legislation creates two new bodies: an EJ Advisory Council and an EJ Interagency Committee. Agencies will hereafter be required to publicly report their spending in EJ populations. The legislation also requires the Agency of Natural Resources to create an EJ mapping tool by January 2025.