ASSEMBLY ENVIRONMENT AND SOLID WASTE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 3852

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY 4, 2010

      The Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No.3852.

      This bill changes the scope of the public notification required of any person responsible for conducting the remediation of a site that has been contaminated with any hazardous substance, hazardous waste or pollutant.  Currently, a person is required to provide written notification, which includes a summary of the site conditions and information about actions being taken to remediate the site, to any local property owners and tenants who reside within 200 feet of the contaminated site.  This bill changes this provision to require that written notification be made only to local property owners and tenants who reside within 200 feet of any “area of concern” within the contaminated site.  Under the law, “area of concern” is defined as any location where contaminants are or were known or suspected to have been discharged, generated, manufactured, refined, transported, stored, handled, treated, or disposed, or where contaminants have or may have migrated.

      As amended by the committee, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No.3004 (1R).

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments to the bill would clarify the department's regulatory responsibility with regard to public notification by correcting sentence syntax.