Join Synergy Environmental at the Brownfields 2017 National Conference in Pittsburgh, PA – December 5 – 7, 2017.
Check us out at Booth # 836
New NJDEP Webpage Contains Requirements for LSRPs Related to Contaminants of Emerging Concern
Manko Gold Katcher & Fox
John F. Gullace
November 9, 2017
On November 3, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced that the Site Remediation and Waste Management Program had launched a new webpage dedicated to “Contaminants of Emerging Concern.” www.nj.gov/dep/srp/emerging-contaminants/. The announcement notes that the new webpage “currently focuses on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)” such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Neither the announcement nor the new webpage clearly defines what constitutes a contaminant of emerging concern, but the webpage implies that these contaminants are ubiquitous and include compounds for which there are emerging standards, like PFOA, as well as compounds that are still being studied by NJDEP, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other entities.
CT Creates New Brownfields Program, Adopts Brownfields Tax Credit
Holland & Knight
Stephen J. Humes
November 6, 2017
Buried in an 881-page budget bill passed Thursday by the Connecticut General Assembly was a new program to support remediation and reuse of brownfields – properties long contaminated and underutilized – as well as new job creation while rewarding investors with a new state income tax credit for remediation expenditures.
The new program, called the 7/7 Brownfields Program, creates new incentives the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) can use to reward new investors for cleaning up contaminated sites and reusing them while creating local jobs in the process. Qualifying investors can apply a credit for the expenditures against their Connecticut state income tax liability for seven years and use the credit to offset sales and use taxes.
New Concerns for Companies That Import or Manufacture “Toxic” Chemicals
Clark Hill PLC
William J. Walsh, Karen C. Bennett, Jane C. Luxton and Kenneth von Schaumburg
November 10, 2017
Inevitably, a change in Administrations leads to changes in policies and priorities of regulatory agencies. Most media coverage has focused on opposition to the Trump Administration’s efforts to revise existing or proposed regulations and an anticipated decrease in federal enforcement actions.
However, less attention is being paid to an uptick in citizen enforcement suits filed directly against manufacturers and importers of “toxic” chemicals (i.e., existing chemicals regulated by the Toxic Substance Control Act (“TSCA”)) that are subject to reporting obligations. For example,
Federal Court Denies Recovery for Landfill Closure Costs Under CERCLA and New Jersey Spill Act
Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP
Daniel Flynn
November 9, 2017
A recent decision by the United States District Court held that landfill closure costs incurred by a private party were ineligible for recovery under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act (the Spill Act).
The litigation in Strategic Environmental Partners, LLC v. State Department of Environmental Protection involved a dormant municipal landfill purchased by the plaintiff as part of a plan to construct and operate a solar farm on the property. Shortly after the purchase, the plaintiff negotiated an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in which it agreed to “close” and “cap” the landfill pursuant to the New Jersey Solid Waste Management Act, which governs closure of municipal landfills.