On May 7, 2009 the New Jersey Legislature signed the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) which serves to dramatically change the manner in which parties remediate environmentally contaminated sites throughout the state. The legislation now places the responsibility of remediation squarely on private environmental consultants known as Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRP). The intent of this program is to alleviate an overburdened New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
Once the remediation of a site has been completed, an LSRP will issue a Response Action Outcome (RAO) which will verify that the remediation is complete. No Further Action Letters will no longer be issued by the NJDEP. Similar to a No Further Action Letter, however, an RAO will contain a covenant not to sue. This legislation is in its infancy stages and drastically changes the manner in which property owners have to handle the remediation of contaminated sites. If you are currently involved in a remediation project, or contemplating the purchase of a property which will require remediation, we would recommend that you contact our office to discuss this change in the law further.
Andrew S. Kohut, Esq.