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Governor Christie has signed legislation allowing for a two year extension to the statutory requirement in the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) for the person responsible for conducting the remediation of certain sites to complete the remedial investigation by May 7, 2014.  In order to qualify for this extension, the person responsible for conducting the remediation must submit to the Department by March 7, 2014 a certification acknowledging that the following criteria have been met at the time of the certification:

(1) the person responsible for conducting the remediation has retained a licensed site remediation professional to conduct the remediation of the site; (2) the person responsible for conducting the remediation has met the remediation requirements included in all applicable mandatory remediation timeframes; (3) the person responsible for conducting the remediation has made technically complete submissions in compliance with all regulations for site remediation, as applicable, for the (a) initial receptor evaluation, (b) immediate environmental concern source control report, (c) light non-aqueous phase liquid interim remedial measure report, (d) preliminary assessment report, and (e) site investigation report; (4) the person responsible for conducting the remediation has established a remediation funding source if required by the Brownfield Act (see N.J.A.C. 58:10B-3); (5) if a remediation funding source is not required to be established, then the person responsible for conducting the remediation must establish a remediation trust fund for the estimated cost of the remedial investigation of the entire site; (6) the person responsible for conducting the remediation has paid to the Department all oversight costs known at the time of the certification and for which the person responsible for conducting the remediation has not filed a dispute with the Department; and (7) the person responsible for conducting the remediation has paid to the Department all annual remediation fees and remediation funding source surcharges, as applicable.

The Department strongly recommends that action be initiated promptly to establish a remediation trust fund, if needed, due to the timing to secure this financial instrument and the statutory requirement to submit the extension request by March 7, 2014.

There are also provisions for receiving an extension to the May 7, 2014 deadline if remediation is delayed due to obtaining state funding.

February 22, 2012 LSRP Deadline Update

The NJDEP has been notifying all commercial property owners that are still listed as active contaminated sites, notices of the LSRP deadline.   (Residentail property owner's with underground heating oil tanks are NOT required to enter into the LSRP program.) The NJDEP realizes that MANY of these sites may only have clerical issues that need to be resolved before they can be removed from the contaminated site list and receive an NFA (No Further Action).   The NJDEP is attempting to process as many of these sites as possible before the May 7, 2012 deadline.    Sites that are more involved, i.e., investigative work and remediation is still ongoing, have a far smaller chance of receiving an NFA before May.

January 2012 Update

Owners of commercial properties in New Jersey that are known to have some level of contamination (i.e., property has an NJDEP case number) have until May 7, 2012 to hire a NJDEP LSRP.  (Residentail property owner's with underground heating oil tanks are NOT required to enter into the LSRP program.) Hiring an LSRP is akin to hiring an accountant or attorney to handle your respective financial and legal issues.   Property owners have been receiving written notices from the NJDEP informing them that they must engage an LSRP to manage their environmental issues.  The NJDEP was allowing a grace period for properties that had existing NJDEP case numbers (New Jersey spill numbers) to avoid entering the LSRP program.  These older NJDEP cases had to have work completed and submitted to to the NJDEP by March of 2012 to allow the NJDEP time to review the reports prior to the May 2012 deadline.  

At this point and based on our discussions with various NJDEP Case Managers, there appears to be a slim chance to close out existing NJDEP cases under  the review of the NJDEP.  The stacks of case files pending review at this time appear to be more than the NJDEP can provide responses to by the May 7, 2012 deadline.  Therefore, the NJDEP is currently recommending that future submissions be performed under the direction of an LSRP.  Existing cases must Opt-In to the Site Remediation Reform Act (“SRRA”) Program and retain an LSRP.  All new cases and those cases which initiated remediation or remedial actions after November 3, 2009 need to hire an LSRP immediately. 

Therefore, at this time, it appears that almost all future NJDEP submissions, except where the remediating party has not performed timely actions and where the concern poses a significant threat to human health and the environment, must involve an LSRP.

One of the most significant first submissions for existing cases and cased which initiated remediation prior to November 4, 2009, if it has not been completed at this time is the Receptor Evaluation (“RE”).  The Initial RE should have been submitted to the NJDEP by March 1, 2011 or one (1) year after the initiation of remediating a site after March 1, 2010. 

The Mandatory Timeframe for submission of the Initial RE is March 1, 2012 or two (2) years after the initiation of remediation that occurs after March 1, 2010.

Curren offers Licensed Site Remediation Professional (“LSRP”) Services.  The New Jersey Site Remediation Reform Act (“SRRA”), approved in May 2009, set in place the requirements for environmental professional licensing as Licensed Site Remediation Professional (“LSRPs”).  The program has been modeled after a similar program in Massachusetts initiated in 1993.  It is reported that the NJDEP currently has over 20,000 cases awaiting remedial activity.  The implementation of the LSRP Program would result in a significant increase in the amount of sites restored in a timely manner.

The key idea of the New Jersey SRRA Program is so that the NJDEP can focus their resources on the more important sites and to allow the responsible parties to move the remediation process along without extensive NJDEP review and comments.  The LSRP has the educational and experience background to act as the enforcement arm of the NJDEP and is allowed to move remediation projects forward without NJDEP pre-approval.  The LSRP ensures that sites are investigated and remediated in accordance with the NJDEP Technical Requirements for Site Remediation.

The LSRPs  will issue Response Action Outcomes “RAOs” for sites where the remediation has been completed.  The RAOs take the place of the currently issues No Further Action Letters.

LSRPs are overseen by a board of 13 members and approximately 10% of LSRP cases which are closed with an RAO will be reviewed or audited for compliance to the Technical Requirements and to confirm that the site remediation approach is protective of human health and the environment. The NJDEP will still act as the final approval authority through the auditing process.

The LSRP is charged with the responsibility of reporting any issue deemed an Immediate Environmental Concern (“IEC”) on any site the LSRP is involved with including due diligence assessments.

Responsible parties, under the SRRA program, remain responsible for regulatory compliance issues and are held to mandatory time frames.  If a Responsible Party misses a deadline, they may be forced into the “Direct Oversight Program” where the NJDEP becomes the primary oversight on the case.  This also opens up the Responsible Party to possible enforcement actions.  Other issues which will require NJDEP Direct Oversight would include chromate contaminated wastes, environmentally-sensitive areas where natural resource damages have occurred, some contaminated sediment sites and sites which have been ranked as a priority based on exposure of human health and the environment.

May 7, 2012 NJDEP LSRP Deadline

The NJDEP LSRP program requires that all responsible parties (RP) of commercial property are required to hire a licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) by May 7, 2012, and to then proceed with the remediation or investigation without Department pre-approval.  To opt-in the responsible party must complete the LSRP Notification of Retention or Dismissal Form.  The form is signed by both the LSRP and the RP, Submission of this certification results in automatic Department approval.  No other NJDEP approvals are required.