EnviroPolitics Blog

LSRP site-cleanup extension bill awaits Christie’s review

Legislation that would grant additional time for Licensed Site Remediation Professionals to complete the remediations of some contaminated sites in New Jersey has been delivered to the desk of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

A-4543 passed the state Assembly in the final hours of the Legislature’s 215th Session on January 13, 2014. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection participated in crafting final amendments to the bill–a sign that Governor Christie likely will sign it into law.

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Environmental attorney Susan C. Karp has this to say about the legislation in Cole Schotz law firm’s Environmental and Energy Law Monitor.

One of the most draconian aspects of NJ’s 2009 Site Remediation Reform Act is the authority of NJDEP to take direct oversight of older cleanups, stripping responsible parties of cleanup decision-making and requiring a trust fund in the amount of the cleanup to be established. That trust fund makes NJDEP the named beneficiary in the event of default. One path to direct oversight under the law: the failure of a party remediating a site since May 1999 or before to complete the remedial investigation phase of the cleanup by May 7, 2014.

Assembly bill 4543, which was passed by the Assembly and the Senate on January 13, 2014, offers a two-year extension, allowing subject parties to apply for an extension of time to complete the remedial investigation until May 7, 2016. The legislation is the result of industry groups in the state pressing the legislature for relief, and by most accounts, NJDEP itself will be relieved when the bill is signed since taking direct oversight would mean dedicating state resources that are already spread thin.

The downside to the extension: the applicant must establish a trust fund in the amount projected to complete the remedial investigation. While the amount of this fund is far less than the requirement under direct oversight (the amount of the entire cleanup), it still may be more than a company or individual has available at any one time. Careful review of NJDEP’s recent guidance on what aspects of the remedial investigation must be completed, and certain flexibility offered to do so, is imperative and can impact the amount of the trust fund.

The extension is not automatic. The applicant must establish compliance with certain key aspects of the act, including having retained a Licensed Site Remediation Professional for the project, having satisfied technical requirements on certain key filings and met mandatory timeframes, and being current on the payment of NJDEP fees. Application for the extension must be made by March 7, 2014 or 30 days from passage of the bill, whichever later.

Related environmental news stories:
Site remediation extension bill is back on track in NJ
Committee holds LSRP bill when NJDEP fails to testify
Scott Drew elected New Jersey LSRP Association trustee

LSRP site-cleanup extension bill awaits Christie’s review Read More »

How you can recycle fluorescent light bulbs and fixtures

At the Annual Forum of the Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR) back in October, we got to meet with representatives of a number of businesses that have established interesting niche markets in the recycling sector.

One of them was Joe Puro who runs National Bulb Recycling. His New Jersey-based company, which offers its services up and down the east coast, enables businesses, schools and institutions to avoid the illegal disposal of their worn out fluorescent light bulbs, fixtures and other products containing mercury by recycling them.

While this video is not an endorsement of National Bulb Recycling (we’ve never used their services), we were interested to learn how Joe’s company processes electronic products to capture their component materials for productive new uses. You might find it interesting, too.

[Disclosure: ANJR is a client of our sister company, Brill Public Affairs]

How you can recycle fluorescent light bulbs and fixtures Read More »

The Christie Bridgegate coverage: Media overkill?

Some who support New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie think the media coverage
of the George Washington Bridge lanes closure story is out of balance with its relative importance. They suspect a pro-Democrat media bias is showing.

Others say, heck no. Christie has cultivated media attention like no other politician in modern times. His office churns out reams of stories about him every day–and plenty of videos, too. When there’s good news to link to him, the governor suddenly pops up on Morning Joe, David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon.

Live by the media sword, die by the media sword?

Our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics, carried more than 20 stories yesterday about the governor. (Download yesterday’s issue, without charge)

It’s not likely that the pace of news coverage will slow down anytime soon. Special committees in both the New Jersey Senate and Assembly were established this week to investigate what happened and who ordered it. Subpoenas are being prepared and hearings will be held. Juicy stuff for news junkies.

What do you think? Overkill or not? Let us know in the comment box below.

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The Christie Bridgegate coverage: Media overkill? Read More »

Scott Drew elected New Jersey LSRP Association trustee

Scott Drew, LSRP

Scott Drew, LSRP, a senior environmental scientist and an Associate of Geosyntec Consultants, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association (LSRPA).

The professional organization of more than 500 members incorporated in 2009 in response to the creation of the Licensed Site Remediation Professional certification under the New Jersey Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA).

The act moved the direct supervision of site remediation projects from case managers with the New Jersey Department of :Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to LSRPs.

These independent professionals are responsible for conducting site remediation projects across the state with the objective of expediting site closure. LSRPs have an obligation to protect public health and safety and the environment, as well as the authority to review and approve investigation and remediation work plans, develop closure documents, and exercise professional judgment to efficiently move sites through the assessment and remediation process to closure.

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The mission of the LSRPA is to advance the LSRP profession, acting as an educational and technical resource and assisting its membership in the use standards of care and informed professional judgment when performing the work of a LSRP. The organization works closely with NJDEP officials and other regional stakeholders on issues related to the continued evolution of the SRRA.

Mr. Drew has been an LSRP since 2010 and has been a member of the LSRPA Steering Committee for the past two years. He has been a member of the association’s Regulatory Outreach Committee and represented the LSRPA on two NJDEP stakeholders committees. The committees were responsible for developing technical guidance on vapor intrusion investigations and the evaluation of contaminated groundwater discharges to surface water.

Mr. Drew is a frequent presenter at conferences and technical training sessions in New Jersey on the technical and regulatory aspects of conducting vapor intrusion investigations. He currently serves as an LSRP for 12 project sites.

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Pinelands Commission rejects controversial gas pipeline
NJ scandal: Christie opens up; bridge official shuts down
Capitol Hill Calendar: January 9-10, 2014
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Scott Drew elected New Jersey LSRP Association trustee Read More »

Pa residents, industry have their say on drilling rules

“Five years into Pennsylvania’s shale gas boom, the state is overhauling environmental regulations for drillers and changing the way the industry operates above ground, “reports State Impact’s Katie Colaneri.

A public hearing Monday night in Williamsport, Lycoming County set drillers, who argued the rules would go too far, against environmentalists who say the Department of Environmental Protection did not go far enough.

“I understand they’re walking a fine line. It’s a hard job for an agency,” said Nadia Steinzor, a New York-based organizer with the environmental group Earthworks. “You can’t satisfy everybody, but they know enough now.”

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The rules proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection would set new standards for running temporary pipelines, dealing with spills and storing wastes. Many of the new requirements were set by the state’s drilling law, Act 13 and will update Chapter 78 of the state code.

Click here for State Impact’s guide to the proposed regulations

Drillers would also be required to search for abandoned wells within 1,000 feet of the path of the well bore. The DEP says it would help build a database of the hundreds of thousands of old wells that have not been plugged and can become pathways for pollution.

Companies would be responsible for plugging old wells if they are impacted during fracking.John Augustine with the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry trade group, says the industry is willing to comply with that provision, but should not be held responsible for cleaning up after old wells that were not impacted by their activities.

Read the full story here

Recent posts:

Pinelands Commission rejects controversial gas
pipeline
NJ scandal: Christie opens up; bridge official shuts
down
Capitol Hill Calendar: January 9-10, 2014
Buchanan Ingersoll talking merger with Florida law
firm
NJ enviros get their day in court over RGGI
withdrawal
Environmental attorney
Todd Terhune gains promotion

Pa residents, industry have their say on drilling rules Read More »

Pinelands Commission rejects controversial gas pipeline

**More related news stories added at 2:20 p.m.**
**Related news stories added at 2:20 p.m.**

On a 7-7 vote this morning, the New Jersey Pinelands Commission rejected a staff-recommended natural gas pipeline that had the support of Gov. Chris Christie’s
Department of Environmental Protection and the state’s Board of Public Utilities.

Four previous governors opposed the proposal under which the South Jersey Gas Company would pay the Commission $8 million for environmental projects in return for an exemption to a long-standing ban on new transmission pipelines through the forest area, a zone where most development is prohibited.

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Many will speculate whether the result would have been different had the vote come prior to the so-called "Bridgegate" political scandal that has engulfed the Governor, forcing him to fire a key member of his inner circle and accept the resignations of two high-level appointees at the Port Authority of NY/NJ.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment box below.

NOTE: We’ll be updating this post throughout the day with print and video stories on the vote.

Pinelands Commission rejects controversial gas pipeline Read More »