New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced it is enforcing an Underground Storage of Hazardous Substances Act Amendment to require contractors performing work on unregulated tanks to be certified.  The NJDEP is creating a program to pre-qualify professionals to investigate and remediate Unregulated Heating Oil Tanks. 

Recent staff additions have significantly increased EWMA’s ability to provide in-house regulatory compliance, due diligence and wetlands services to our clients. 

Parsippany, N.J., October 12, 2007 – Environmental Waste Management Associates (EWMA) is pleased to announce, Daniele Cervino, Esq. has been awarded the distinction of being named one of Real Estate New Jersey’s Women in Real Estate.   This honor recognizes Ms. Cervino as one of the rising stars in commercial real estate because of her contributions to EWMA as well as her personal achievements and success.

Beginning October 1st, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced it will issue notices of violation to responsible parties who fail to file post-NFA monitoring reports on NJDEP for remediation plan requirements.  These reports are commonly known as, Biennial Certifications, that monitor the condition of soil caps, classification exception areas for groundwater contamination, and status of deed notices.

On June 1, 2007 Day Care Centers faced new environmental requirements for licensing and renewal of licenses.  They are required to obtain a No Further Action (NFA) letter from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection before submitting their new or renewal application to Department of Children and Families.  The first step of the NFA process is the Preliminary Assessment.

By Ajay Kathuria, P.E., Senior Project Engineer
Published:  Meadowlands USA, Summer 2007

In the past five years, “vapor intrusion” has evolved into an increasingly familiar term to the owners, operators, and prospective buyers of buildings in close proximity to shallow soil and/or ground water contamination with gasoline, solvents, and other mixtures of toxic volatile chemicals (collectively referred to as VOCs).  Since the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) first published guidance on this issue in 2002, state regulatory agencies across the United States have shown growing interest in this health concern, and have issued their own versions of the vapor intrusion guidance documents and/or strict regulatory requirements to address vapors in the buildings.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has adopted several program rules to adjust the fees for various submissions to the Site Remediation Program (SRP).  Specifically the fees under the UST, ISRA and Oversight rules are all being increased.  The goal of the fees increase is to ensure that the amount charged covers the Department’s costs to provide the service to the regulated community.  The effective date for the increased fees is October 1, 2007.

By Kevin D. Orabone, P.G., Vice President
Published in Real Estate New Jersey, September 2007

Historically, the cleanup of properties contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in New Jersey was strictly governed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) under the Spill Compensation and Control Act (Spill Act) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  Previously, the NJDEP and EPA applied a standard of 50 parts per million (ppm) as the maximum allowable, post-cleanup concentration of PCBs to be allowed to remain in place.  Subsequent to the June 29, 1998 implementation of the TSCA Mega Rule (40 CFR Part 761), both agencies may now allow concentrations of PCBs up to 100 ppm and higher to remain in place for cleanups involving historic spills of these compounds.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has adopted, and in the process of becoming a formal rule, an amendment to the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation (NJAC 7:26E-1.4) in order to establish better public notification of remedial action at contaminated sites.  The proposal requires notification be sent to residents, business owners and local officials affected by remediation activities.

Regulations already in place for construction on waterfront properties are now being closely monitored by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement (CLUE).