Environmental Justice in Permitting Process Guidance Memo; DEQ to publish an updated version.

The number of required public town halls for the updated guidance memo was reduced from two to one.

The agency tasked with publishing the updated guidance memo changed from the Department of Environmental Quality to the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources.

The requirement for public engagement was increased from one town hall to two town halls to be held by July 31, 2026.

The guidance memo must now explicitly consider outreach strategies to engage communities impacted by the permits, expanding the scope beyond just assessing cumulative impacts.

Removed internal legislative markings, including the 'Engrossed' status, committee amendment indicators, and placeholder text used during the drafting process.

Corrected a grammatical error in the draft text where 'the types of permit' was changed to 'the types of permits covered in the guidance memo' for clarity.

The lead agency changed from the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources to the Department of Environmental Quality.

The number of required public town halls for the guidance memo update was increased from one to two.

The proposing committee changed from the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources.

The text layout was changed from a simple list to a formatted document with line numbers and indentation, while the legal text and dates remained identical.

Removed all mandatory public hearing procedures, notice requirements, and public participation plans that were required for covered activities.

Removed the requirement for applicants to submit environmental justice impact statements and mitigation plans.

Removed the list of covered activities (such as power plants, landfills, and data centers) that would be subject to these rules.

Removed the provision allowing the Department to deny permits if they cause disproportionate adverse impacts on environmental justice communities.

Added a new deadline requiring the Department to publish an updated guidance memo for public comment by December 31, 2026.

Removed all specific definitions related to environmental justice, cumulative impact, and covered activities.