January – 2018 – Synergy Environmental Inc

Contaminants of Emerging Concern Such as PFAS to Receive Increased Attention in New Jersey

Posted on January 23, 2018

Manko Gold Katcher & Fox
John F. Gullace

January 18, 2018

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Site Remediation and Waste Management Program recently launched a webpage dedicated to “Contaminants of Emerging Concern.” According to NJDEP, the new webpage “focuses on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)” such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA); Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA); and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS). NJDEP later announced at a technical conference that hundreds of PFAS are present in the environment; are detrimental to human health and the environment in very low concentrations; and are actively being studied by NJDEP. The import of these comments from NJDEP is that the State is developing standards for many other PFAS.

2018 Outlook on the Clean Power Plan

Posted on January 23, 2018

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP
Susan G. Lafferty, Joshua L. Belcher and Samina M. Bharmal

January 12, 2018

Heading into 2018, undoing the Clean Power Plan, the Obama Administration’s signature regulation for addressing climate change, remains a high priority under the Trump Administration. While 2017 was rife with statements, some more formal than others, that the Clean Power Plan was facing its end, 2018 may produce actual results for industry. A repeal proposal is expected to be finalized this year. The Administration has also signaled that a potential replacement rule is in the works, which could pose significantly less, or at least different, burdens on regulated industry.

What is the Clean Power Plan?

Who Can Be a Redeveloper of Property in New Jersey?

Posted on January 23, 2018

Stark & Stark
Eric S. Goldberg

January 2, 2018

This article was originally posted on the Stark & Stark New Jersey Law Blog

One of the questions that I am frequently asked is, “Who can develop property in a redevelopment area?”

As discussed below, redevelopment can be done by anyone, subject to restrictions discussed below, and is not necessarily restricted to just large scale developers.

A redeveloper is defined by New Jersey’s Local Housing and Redevelopment Law (the “LHRL”) as “… any person, firm, corporation, or public body that shall enter into or propose to enter into a contract with a municipality or other redevelopment entity for the redevelopment or rehabilitation of an area in need of redevelopment…”.

Thus, for a redeveloper to make use of the LHRL, a municipality must have first declared a property or properties as an area in need of redevelopment.

Regulatory Rollbacks Continue for Energy Industry

Posted on January 23, 2018

Troutman Sanders LLP
Annie M. Cook, Robert E. Hogfoss & Catherine D. Little

January 5, 2018

In the past few weeks, the Trump Administration’s Department of Interior (DOI) has taken significant steps to roll back several environmental policies and/or rules affecting the energy industry. On December 22, DOI issued a memorandum interpreting the scope of the criminal liability under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) not to extend to incidental takes of migratory birds associated with development, construction or operation of energy and infrastructure projects. The following week, DOI formally rescinded a 2015 final rule issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for oil and gas operators engaged in hydraulic fracking on Federal and Indian public lands because it “imposes administrative burdens and compliance costs that are not justified.” That same day, DOI’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a proposed rule to revise or eliminate regulations on offshore drilling safety equipment, including the production systems safety rule which was prompted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. More recently, DOI has announced a draft proposed plan to reopen nearly all offshore waters to oil and gas drilling.