Paul M. Hauge, an attorney in the Gibbons law firm’s Environmental Department, details changes recently made to New Jersey’s site-remediation law. This may be of interest to Licensed Site Remediation Professionals, developers, and property owners.
By Paul M. Hauge
In 2009, in the face of a significant backlog of sites that were stuck in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) pipeline, the New Jersey Legislature dramatically changed the process of site remediation in the Garden State with the enactment of the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA). The SRRA partially outsourced DEP’s review role by authorizing “private” oversight of cleanups by Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs). On August 23, 2019, Governor Murphy signed new legislation that made further adjustments to the changes wrought by the SRRA.
The legislation (L. 2019, c. 263), which sailed through both legislative chambers without a single opposing vote, makes a number of changes to the LSRP program, as well as other changes affecting parties responsible for conducting remediation projects.
Amendments Affecting LSRPs
- Removal of unoccupied structures from list of areas that must be addressed as an “immediate environmental concern.”
- Expansion of LSRP duties to report immediate environmental concerns and previously unreported discharges.
- A slight relaxation of licensing requirements for individuals who may have temporarily left the workforce for personal reasons.
- Clarification of prior acts and punishments that will disqualify a person from obtaining an LSRP license.
- Tightening of LSRPs’ oversight responsibilities to ensure that non-LSRPs do not effectively perform work reserved for LSRPs.
- Requiring an affidavit of merit from any party who sues an LSRP for malpractice or negligence.
Amendments Affecting Parties Responsible for Conducting Remediation
- Clarification that…
