NJDEP

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NJDEP has proposed major amendments to the Stormwater Management rules at N.J.A.C. 7:8. (50 N.J.R. 2375(a)).  One of those proposed amendments, if adopted, will prevent or severely limit a developer’s ability to incorporate non-structural stormwater management strategies such as stormwater detention basins in a development. Instead, the developer will be required to utilize “green infrastructure”…

Last week, the Attorney General and the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection held a press conference to announce the filing of eight new environmental enforcement actions. Targeted sites include Camden’s Puchack Wellfield Superfund Site, the Fillit Corp. site in Palmyra, 323 North Olden Ave. in Trenton, the Novick Chemical site in…

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently ruled that a landowner’s lawsuit against a former attorney and environmental consultant could proceed to the discovery phase.  In CCM Properties, LLC, et al. v. Pieper, et al, the plaintiff engaged an environmental consultant to perform a ground penetrating radar survey of a property to determine whether any…

The Appellate Division has affirmed a $66,200 administrative penalty imposed by DEP against the owner of a shopping center constructed atop a closed municipal landfill. The unpublished and non-precedential decision in NJDEP v. Raritan Shopping Center LP found liability based on current ownership of the contaminated site, despite the landowner never discharging hazardous substances and…

On September 5, 2018, the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals (“Third Circuit”) rendered a decision that could potentially implicate the NJDEP permitting process in future Natural Gas Act and other federal permitting actions.

In Township of Bordentown, et al. v. FERC, No. 17-3207 (3rd Cir.  September 5, 2018), the Third Circuit…

Effective August 6, 2018, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP” or the “Department”) adopted amendments to several key rules governing site remediation—including Discharges of Petroleum and Other Hazardous Substances (N.J.A.C. 7:1E); Heating Oil Tank System Remediation Rules; Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites (“ARRCS,” N.J.A.C. 7:26C); and the Technical Requirements for…

In a recent decision, U.S. Masters Residential Property (USA) Fund v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Financial Services Element, the New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division held that a claimant could not recover from the Spill Fund where contamination on the claimant’s properties was the result of historic fill and defuse anthropogenic…

On Monday, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a Compliance Advisory Update announcing the implementation of streamlined changes to the Hazardous Waste Manifest submission process.  Pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act, beginning on June 30, 2018, EPA will launch a new e-Manifest system nationwide, allowing Hazardous Waste Manifests to be…

The next time a government inspector comes to a business and inspects its dumpster, do not be surprised if the resulting legal problem involves both environmental and consumer fraud actions. During the last few years, a number of national corporations have found themselves in legal trouble because the inspector found both hazardous waste and customer…

Can groundwater discharges violate the Clean Water Act and require NPDES permits?  Two federal court cases coming out of the 4th and 9th Circuits dealing with the applicability of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to groundwater are creating real concern over how expansive the court’s holdings and application of the Act can be.  The decisions…