A bill sponsored by Senator Bob Smith, Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, which establishes a licensed site remediation professional program in New Jersey was apprvoved by both the Assemby and Senate on March 16, 2009.
The bill drastically changes the way due diligence investigatons and remediations will be completed in New Jersey. The bill requires the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to create a licensed site professional remediation program giving private-practice environmental consultants who meet the minimum standards set forth in the bill the authority to certify that clean-up projects have met the NJDEP requirements.
In place of the “no further action,” the licensed site professional will issue a Response Action Outcome to certify that the investigation and remediation are complete. The NJDEP would be required to establish a licensing board to oversee the program and provide random review and audits of cases to ensure that licenced site professionals are acting in good faith in their completion of remediation projects. The bill now goes to Governor Corzine to be signed into law.
Marathon will continue to monitor the progress of the NJDEP’s implementation of this bill and its effects on new and existing cases. For more information on the Licensed Site Professional Bills, please contact Bob Carter at (856)-241-9705 or bob.carter@marathonconsultants.com.