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1. Each state agency that engages in activities or operations that have a significant effect on the environment, including but not limited to through the adoption of rules and regulations, issuance of permits, acquisition or maintenance of property, or approval, funding or undertaking of projects, shall be guided in its decision making on such activities or operations by an environmental justice policy. Each such agency shall adopt rules and regulations setting forth its environmental justice policy not later than six months after the adoption of a model environmental justice policy pursuant to section 48-0107 of this article. The agency thereafter shall comply in all respects with the environmental justice policy set forth in its rules and regulations; provided, however, that in the absence of such rules and regulations, the agency shall comply in all respects with the model environmental justice policy.
2. Each state agency subject to the requirements of subdivision one of this section shall:
(a) appoint a staff member of the agency to serve as environmental justice coordinator, to provide information to the public on the policies, activities and operations of the agency related to environmental justice and to act as liaison to the environmental justice advisory group;
(b) notify the advisory group of the appointment of an environmental justice coordinator; and
(c) develop an environmental justice training plan which includes the provision of workshops and written materials to appropriate staff regarding environmental justice and implementation of the agency's environmental justice policy.
3. This section shall apply to any state agency notwithstanding any exemption such agency may have from other laws, including but not limited to any exemption from article eight of this chapter.