CIANJ-Supported Bill to Expedite Environmental Cleanups Now Law, 05/07/2009

More than 300 members of the Environmental Business Council of CIANJ met with Massachusetts LSPs to discuss best practices that can be applied in New Jersey

New law will help clear backlog of cases within NJDEP and create jobs

Paramus, NJ – The Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) today applauded Governor Corzine for signing legislation to create a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) program in New Jersey. The Governor concurrently signed Executive Order # 140 that added certain provisions to the measure. Under the program, a new class of professionals will authorize the continued cleanup of contaminated sites in New Jersey. This would help clear a backlog of approximately 20,000 permits stalled within the Department of Environmental Protection and is modeled after a successful program already operating in Massachusetts.

CIANJ supports the legislation as a means of economic growth. Under the current system, companies often wait three years or more for approval to clean a site. This hurts the company’s productivity and stifles job creation that would come with new construction and operations.

“Today’s bill signing is an important part of making New Jersey’s regulatory climate more hospitable to business,” said CIANJ President John Galandak. “The governor, legislature, business community and others worked in good faith to launch a program that would protect the environment while encouraging economic growth.”

The Association stressed that the program contains adequate environmental protections. Cleanup standards would continue to be set by the state, as would the ability to audit sites and prosecute offenders. However, day-to-day operations would be approved by scientists who put their livelihoods at risk for failure to report violations. In January, the Environmental Business Council of CIANJ hosted a best practices forum with LSRPs from Massachusetts and more than 300 environmental business leaders. That meeting helped demonstrate the core of the MA program could be emphasized in New Jersey.

“Contaminated sites that wait for DEP approval simultaneously hurt business and the environment. Expediting cleanup and growth is part of the way out of a decade of stagnant job growth in the state and we applaud Governor Corzine and the legislature for their efforts,” Galandak concluded.