Although the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) will not have a dramatic impact on the Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA) program as it does with the remediation process in general, SRRA has not left the ISRA program untouched.  SRRA has added some additional options with respect to ISRA compliance.

Remediation Certification

The most significant new addition to ISRA is the opportunity to use a Remediation Certification, rather than a Remediation Agreement (formerly an Administrative Consent Order), to close a transaction prior to achieving ISRA compliance.  » Read the rest of this entry «

If things go according to NJDEP’s plans, all but a handful of sites will proceed through remediation at a much faster pace under the direction of newly minted Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs) and without intervention by NJDEP (except through performance of the occasional audit).  LSRPs will meet mandatory time frames, implement LSRP-selected remedies or any presumptive remedies, where applicable, and issue the Response Action Outcome (RAO) confirming that remediation is complete.  In a few circumstances, however, NJDEP will remain involved in and have direct oversight of the remediation process.  SRRA makes that oversight mandatory in certain cases. In other cases, NJDEP will be able to assume direct oversight at its discretion. » Read the rest of this entry «

The No Further Action Letter or NFA is a familiar document to the regulated community and its lenders in New Jersey.  A certain comfort level has developed over time with the NFA issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).  As with any new regulatory concept, the introduction of the Response Action Outcome (RAO) issued by a newly permitted Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) will undoubtedly cause some initial concern. » Read the rest of this entry «

Currently, the majority of persons that have responsibility for remediating contaminated sites engage one or more independent environmental consultants to perform the actual remediation work and to provide technical advice and support when dealing with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).  Now, pursuant to SRRA, “persons responsible for conducting remediation” (PRCR) (i.e., the client) are required to hire a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) (i.e., the client’s environmental consultant) to oversee and approve the remediation.  Already, some environmental consulting firms are working on having their employees licensed as LSRPs and soon some PRCRs may discover that environmental consultants they currently employ have become LSRPs.  A newly constituted Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board (Board) will regulate the conduct of LSRPs and insure their compliance with the many provisions of SRRA intended to guide or govern LSRPs’ decision-making.  The new LSRP program raises several issues concerning how the relationship between PRCRs and the environmental consultants they hire will look going forward: 

• how best to protect the interests of PRCRs in their communications with LSRPs;
• whether to devote additional in-house resources to overseeing remediation projects and the work of the LSRP;
• how to manage client and consultant expectations for identifying remedial issues, documenting choices, and resolving disagreements;
• whether to hire an independent consultant to oversee or conduct remediation work; and
• how to navigate between LSRPs and independent consultants. » Read the rest of this entry «

Eventually, the requirement to hire an Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) pursuant to the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) will apply to virtually everyone conducting a remediation. Moreover, an LSRP cannot be a salaried employee of the person responsible for conducting remediation, so the LSRP must be someone outside the company.  The time for hiring an LSRP depends on your circumstances:

• Do you have a “new” case where remediation was initiated after May 7, 2009?
• Do you have an existing case where there has been NO remedial activity in more than two years?
• Have you received a final order from NJDEP after May 7, 2009, for penalties concerning remediation or a demand for stipulated penalties under an exiting oversight document?
• Do you have an existing case where remedial activity has been ongoing?

So that you may determine your own site remediation strategy, it is important to understand how NJDEP will approach these different circumstances and how it plans to proceed with implementation of its new remediation paradigm. » Read the rest of this entry «

The investigation and clean up of contaminated sites in New Jersey will never be the same.  Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s May 7, 2009, adoption of the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) started a new chapter in the state’s environmental regulatory history.   Under SRRA, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) takes on a significantly reduced level of direct oversight with respect to the vast majority of cleanups.  In such cases, the NJDEP will no longer be issuing No Further Action letters, or (NFAs).  Rather, qualified private consultants will be authorized as Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs), and these professionals will conduct and approve the cleanup of the contaminated sites. LSRPs will issue Response Action Outcomes, or (RAOs), to certify completion of the investigation and cleanup of a contaminated site in accordance with state standards.  Each LSRP’s work product and approved RAOs may be subject to an audit by the NJDEP and a newly formed Licensed Site Remediation Professional Board and its NJDEP staff. » Read the rest of this entry «

By Ellen Radow Sadat, Esq.

If you own real property in New Jersey that is not fully developed, Wastewater Management Plans (WMPs) currently being prepared this Fall by county governments (or NJDEP in the case of plans for Bergen, Burlington, Passaic, Union and Warren counties) may adversely impact the value of your property and its development potential.  WMPs establish Sewer Service Areas which identify the properties that will be served by wastewater treatment systems.  Properties such as corporate campuses, educational campuses, industrial parks, golf courses, residential developments, or vacant land that are currently within a Sewer Service Area could be re-designated to a non-Sewer Service Area, drastically devaluing the property, potentially impacting financing, and effectively eliminating future development options. » Read the rest of this entry «

On May 7, 2009, Governor Corzine signed into law the Site Remediation Reform Act (“Act”), starting a new chapter in the State’s regulatory history.  The Act fundamentally changes the way that contaminated sites will be cleaned up in New Jersey.  The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) will have a significantly reduced level of direct oversight over the vast majority of cleanups.  In such cases, the NJDEP will no longer issuing No Further Action letters.   Rather, qualified private consultants will be authorized as Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (“LSRPs”) and these professionals will conduct and approve  the clean up of the contaminated sites.   Undoubtedly, the current relationship between a client and its environmental consultant, now LSRP, will change as a result of the Act.  LSRPs will issue Response Action Outcomes, or “RAOs”, to certify completion of the investigation and cleanup of a contaminated site in accordance with state standards.  Each LSRP’s work product and approved RAOs will be subject to an audit by a newly formed Licensed Site Remediation Professional Board and its NJDEP staff.  In most cases, a RAO is subject to audit for a period of three years after its issuance. The new law addresses a wide range of topics that will no doubt raise numerous issues as the implementation unfolds.  Stay tuned – more information to come on this topic.