Posts Tagged ‘License Site Professionals’

Licensed Site Professionals Bill is now law

Written by Mike Pisauro on May 12th, 2009 in Clean Up, legislation | No Comments »

On Thursday, May 8th the Governor signed into law the licensed site professional bill (which I have written several times about).  While signing the bill the Governor also issued Executive Order 140 which is a clear indication that there are major problems with the LSP bill.

The EO provides that DEP must increase its auditing, monitoring and review of sites that have impacted groundwater, are to be used for residential, schools, childcare or playgrounds/ball fields.  The EO also requires that within the first 24 months DEP must perform at least one case review of documents submitted by every LSP.  Also, DEP is required to provide Technical Assistant grants (TAGS) to at least 5 environment groups per year to help deal with the LSPs.

Instead of conditionally vetoing this bill, the Governor issued this E.O. which can be undone by him at any time or by the next Governor.  Also, the site remediation program’s proposed budget is significantly cut from last year.  So even if there is a good faith desire to meet these requirements, if DEP does not have the resources, how can it comply with the E.O.?

Lastly, Acting Commissioner Moriello, during the budget hearings, has committed to having the temporary licensing and LSP board in place by the summer.  So that the private oversight of cleanups can move full steam ahead.  The question becomes when does the next Kiddie Kollege, W.R. Grace, etc. happen under this program and what will N.J. do in response?

Cleaning Up Clean-ups in NJ

Written by Mike Pisauro on January 29th, 2009 in Clean Up, legislation | No Comments »


Late Monday afternoon the legislature released what is likely to be the final draft of the State’s proposed revisions to its site remediation laws.  I have written about the bill proposal before (here).  The administration has continued to push a solution that will not enhance the protections we all deserve and will in fact likely reduce those protections.

Several groups including the group I represent, New Jersey Environmental Lobby, have been opposing this bill and held a press conference on Wed. outlining the environmental communities’ concerns over the bill.  A copy of the press release can be found LSP Press Release.

One of the biggest issues surrounding this bill is that the administration is bent on sending the responsibility for cleanups to third parties.  Those third parties are the companies that are being paid by the responsible party to investigate the site, develop the cleanup plan and to actually undertake the remediation.  While I believe that there are good consultants at there, something is very broken.  Over the last several years we have seen too many instances of properties that were supposed to be clean but were not.  Just a few examples:  Kiddie Kollege, W.R. Grace in Hamilton, the Edison Ford Plant, Martin Luther Middle School in Trenton.  These are the very same consultants that will be responsible for certifying to the DEP that they are doing everything that is required under the statutes and regulations.

Another very interesting thing about this process is that DEP routinely receives documents that are incomplete or inaccurate from the very same consultants that will be trusted with overseeing the cleanups.  DEP employees then have to spend time and effort to have these submissions corrected.  This is time and effort that could be better spent on ensuring that cleanups are proceeding according to the law.

Lastly, these DEP employees are funded by the permit fees submitted by applicants.  These employees are not a drain on taxpayers.

There is no question that site remediation is broken, but the “LSP” bill is not the solution.

The Senate Environment Committee will be holding a hearing on Monday, Feb. 2nd where the committee will be taking testimony.  There will be a second hearing where the committee will not be taking testimony but will be voting on the bill.