New Jersey’s DEP ‘transforming’ in a tight economy

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection today released a Transformation Plan,
the latest step in Commissioner Bob Martin’s
ongoing efforts to make the department operate 
more efficiently in a slow economy under ever tightening budget restrictions.
“This document establishes the process to transform the DEP into a more streamlined organization that maximizes the abilities of our fiscal and human resources to protect New Jersey’s environment and natural resources,” Martin said in a press release.  “For the sake of both the environment and economy, we cannot continue to operate as we always have. We need to take bold steps to change how the DEP operates.”
The plan seeks to eliminate non-critical functions, streamline business processes, leverage information technology and rely on the expertise of its constituents – both internal and external – to cut the costs of compliance while ensuring maximum protection. 
Specifically, the Transformation Plan:
*Calls on all assistant commissioners and managers to thoroughly analyze all organizational structures and business processes with the goal of achieving Governor Chris Christie’s Executive Orders on reducing regulatory red tape and bringing common sense to decision making processes. This process may result in elimination of non-critical or redundant operations, with allocation of staff to areas where they could do more good.
*Requires that all managers and staff participate in customer service training programs to become more responsive, head off potential conflicts, and improve communications skills. The process calls on managers to develop sets of metrics to evaluate the services they provide and determine where change is needed.
*Establishes a process for the vetting of issues and development of solutions to problems specific to each of the DEP’s program areas. Commissioner Martin is urging all employees to think boldly with regard to suggestions for changes, and to recognize that transformation is an evolution of ideas and processes, not a stagnant event.
*Calls for each of the program areas to work closely with stakeholders, prioritize and execute action items, develop potential information technology solutions, and prepare white papers that recommend additional changes to business practices.

     
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NJ loses commercial real estate leader David Houston

David Houston, a 40-year veteran in the commercial real estate industry who  recently was named by NJBIZ as one of the 50 most influential people in real estate, died unexpectedly Monday, October 4, at the age of 65.

As Managing Principal of Cassidy Turley New Jersey, Inc., Mr. Houston was responsible for the sale and leasing of some of the largest industrial transactions in the area as well as some of the largest office leases.

He was recognized as an expert in both evaluation and marketing of commercial real estate by the New Jersey Tax Court, New Jersey Superior Court, County Tax Boards, Condemnation Commissioners, and other governmental bodies.

Houston carried on the family heritage for Houston & Co., founded by his grandfather in 1845. Houston & Co. joined forces with Cassidy Turley earlier this year.

A Dartmouth College graduate, who held an MBA in finance and accounting from Columbia University, Houston served as a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the National Association of Realtors and as the National President of the Society of Office and Industrial Realtors in 2004.  In addition, he served as Vice President and National Director of SIOR, President of the New Jersey Chapter, is a former Chairman of the Society’s Education and Computer Committees, Director of New Jersey’s Association of Realtors, President of the Industrial and Office Real Estate Broker’s Association of the New York Metropolitan Area.

He also served on the Environmental Cleanup Responsibility Act Advisory Committee to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and was a director of the NJ Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks.

Our most recent posts:
NJDEP proposes changes to site remediation time frames
Privatizing land-use permit reviews: Good idea or bad?


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NJDEP proposes changes to site remediation time frames

In the fall of 2009, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) adopted
interim rules governing the remediation of contaminated sites and the role of Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs).

Since then, LSRPs and other environmental consultants have reported significant concerns regarding compliance with timeframes in the interim rules.

In response, the DEP as published a proposal to amend the existing rule by extending the compliance time frames, and also has proposed to revise the definition for vapor intrusion Immediate Environmental Concern (IEC) which is says is “the trigger for some time frames related to immediate environmental concerns.”

Here is how the DEP, in a compliance advisory issued yesterday, describes the changes:

*The Department has proposed to extend the mandatory time frames contained in the current
rule by one year. There will be only one mandatory time frame, the time frame associated
with the installation of a recovery system for light non-aqueous phase liquids (N.J.A.C.
7:26C-3.3(a)3), that may run prior to the date that the new rules become effective. A person
responsible for conducting remediation who anticipates being unable to comply with this
mandatory time frame should apply for an extension in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:26C-3.5.
*Since some of the regulatory time frames in the current rule may run before the new rule can
be adopted, the Department will exercise its enforcement discretion and will not take
enforcement action against a person for failure to meet a regulatory time frame contained in
the current rule if the time frame for that requirement is proposed for amendment, provided
that the person responsible for conducting the remediation meets the proposed regulatory
time frame.

*The Department has proposed to amend the definition of a vapor intrusion immediate
environmental concern, from a vapor level that exceeds the Indoor Air Screening Level to a
vapor level that exceeds the Rapid Action Levels. The Department has proposed new
requirements and related regulatory time frames for the evaluation and mitigation of
circumstances where a vapor level exceeds the Indoor Air Screening Level but is below the
Rapid Action Level. In light of the anticipated change in the vapor intrusion immediate
environmental concern definition, when a vapor level exceeds the Indoor Air Screening Level
but is below the Rapid Action Level the Department will exercise its enforcement discretion
concerning compliance with current vapor immediate environmental concern requirements
and time frames, provided the person responsible for conducting remediation complies with
the proposed requirements and time frames that pertain to these situations.

*The Department has proposed an amendment to clarify that the requirement to conduct a
preliminary assessment/site investigation applies to a person subject to the Industrial Site
Recovery Act and that the requirement to conduct a site investigation applies to a person
subject to the Underground Storage of Hazardous Substances Act.

*The Department has proposed an amendment to clarify that the person responsible for
conducting the remediation is required to include in the scope and detail of the initial receptor
evaluation all information known at time of submittal and that that person is then required to
include new findings related to receptor impacts in updated receptor evaluation reports
required pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26E-1.15(d).

Written comments on the proposed rules amendments must be submitted by December 3, 2010 to:
Leslie W. Ledogar, Esq.
Attn.: DEP Docket No. 06-10-09
Office of Legal Affairs
Department of Environmental Protection

If you are or may be responsible for a site requiring remediation in New Jersey, here’s a list of some 400 LSRPs available for a consultation.

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Privatizing land-use permit reviews: Good idea or bad?

New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection has a plan to use private contractors to review land-use permit requests. It’s drawing heat from environmentalists who say its sneaky way to get around civil service requirements and it undermines independent environmental protections.

Perhaps an overlooked question is: Will it make DEP’s more responsive and wouldn’t this benefit the state’s economy and the public? 

We wonder what you think. Let us know in the comment box below.
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(Yes, you can answer anonymously. No one, including us, will know who you are). 

Our most recent posts:
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Federal funds stimulate two Superfund cleanups in NJ

FUSRAP Maywood Superfund Site in Bergen County, NJ.
Photo credit: Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure Group.

Federal stimulus funds help keep two  Superfund cleanups on track in New Jersey and  provide jobs for local residents.

Last year, Donald Applegate, a Middlesex County resident, was unemployed and heard that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds or stimulus money to hire local people to work on hazardous waste site clean-up projects throughout New Jersey.

“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Applegate, who was hired to be a health and safety specialist with Sevenson Environmental Services, a contractor hired by the Army Corps to work on the Cornell-Dubilier Electronics Superfund Site in South Plainfield.

Around the same time, Marie Casciano, a Passaic County resident was also seeking employment because her employer was forced to reduce her work schedule to part time work. Like Applegate, she found a position working on an Army Corps project.

“This position would not have become available had it not been for the stimulus money,” said Casciano, who was hired to be a project business administrator with Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure Group, a contractor hired by the Army Corps to work on the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) Maywood Superfund Project in Bergen County.  

Read the full story, written by Dr. JoAnne Castagna,a technical writer-editor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District.  It was published in NJTODAY.

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Environmental bills up for votes in the NJ Senate

Members of the New Jersey Senate are scheduled to consider 43 pieces of legislation at their voting session tomorrow, Thursday, September 30, in Trenton.

Among them are four environmental bills:

S-59  Cardinale, G. (R-39); Weinberg, L. (D-37)
Creates bi state commission to coordinate management and flood prevention of waterways flowing between Bergen County, NJ and Rockland County, NY.
Related Bill: A-2440
    
S-463  Smith, B. (D-17); Buono, B. (D-18)
Authorizes creation of local renewable energy collaboratives and central renewable energy generation systems, and provides for sale of renewable power generation.
Related Bill: A-915
   
S-793  Madden, F.H. (D-4)
Encourages purchase of NJ solar panels and wind turbines for State projects and State-funded projects.
Related Bill: A-1555
  
S-2231  Sweeney, S.M. (D-3); Kean, T.H. (R-21)
Allows tax credits for development of qualified wind energy facilities in port district of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
     
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Environmental bills up for votes in the NJ Senate Read More »