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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).

In 2006, Kiddie Kollege Day Care Center was closed by New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) because elevated levels of mercury were found in the children’s blood.  It was discovered the day care center had been operating on the former site of a mercury thermometer factory.  The how and why the center was allowed to be built are still being investigated.

Just before the June 30 Statute of Limitations deadline the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) filed natural resources damage lawsuits against 120 NJ companies identifying them as the worst polluters in the state.  The state’s lawsuits targeted polluters that have damaged river resources.  In particular it focused on numerous manufacturers and marketers of the gasoline additive, MTBE.

EWMA is proud to announce that all of our applicants have been accepted into the NJDEP Cleanup Star Program. For further details, view the EWMA Cleanup Star Press Release or our Cleanup Star list.

Robert M. Edgar, Senior Project Manager at EWMA, wrote an article titled "Historic Fill Building on the Past" that was featured in the December, 2003 issue of Commerce Magazine.