Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert Blog

Sentence First – Verdict Afterwards?: N.J. Appellate Division Holds That Spill Act Allows Private Parties to Compel Participation in Investigation Based on Potential Responsibility

Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On March 16, 2017

The New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act (Spill Act) has long included a contribution provision that permits private parties to recover cleanup costs incurred to the extent that they exceed their equitable share of those costs. In its recent opinion in Matejek v. Howard, the New Jersey Appellate Division interpreted the statute to give private parties another powerful remedy: the ability to compel other private parties who may be responsible for the contamination to participate in the investigation of the contamination, even before any findings about their respective responsibility. The case arose in Hillsborough, where the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) removed underground tanks from five units in a condominium project after oil was discovered in a nearby stream. After confirming the absence of oil in the stream a few months later, DEP took no further steps. Seven years later, with DEP’s file on the matter still open, the owners of one of the units sued the owners of the other four units, seeking to compel them to participate in and equally share in an investigation and, if necessary, cleanup of their property. Even though there was no evidence about the precise source(s) of the contamination, the trial court found the fact that DEP had removed all five tanks to be sufficient grounds to...

Time of Application Rule Protects Against Zoning Changes Only if an Application for Development Complies with All Ordinance Submission Requirements, New Jersey Appellate Court Rules

by Howard D. Geneslaw

Posted in Development/Redevelopment

On March 13, 2017

The New Jersey Appellate Division, in the published decision Dunbar Homes, Inc. v. The Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Township of Franklin, et al., recently declared what materials a developer must submit to a municipal land use board in order to constitute an “application for development” which triggers the protections of the Municipal Land Use Law’s (“MLUL”) “time of application” rule, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.5. Dunbar Homes establishes that an application is afforded the protections of the “time of application” rule from the time when an applicant submits an application form and all accompanying documents required by ordinance for approval. A formal finding that an application is “complete” by the municipality is not required. Thus, Dunbar Homes requires that the application essentially must be complete, even though that need has not yet been officially determined. The MLUL’s “time of application” rule provides that the ordinances and regulations in effect “on the date of submission of an application for development” govern review of that application. This reverses the longstanding “time of decision” rule whereby municipalities could change the zoning regulations at any time prior to the approval of an application for development, even where the change was enacted during a public hearing process specifically for the purpose of derailing a pending application. Under the “time of application” rule,...

A Final Word on EPA’s New Recommendations on Sediment Cleanups

by Paul M. Hauge

Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On March 9, 2017

We recently wrote about a new memorandum from EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management that sets forth eleven recommendations for the agency’s regional offices on how to clean up contaminated sediments, and later covered some of the recommendations in greater detail. Here we discuss the rest of EPA’s recommendations. EPA’s recommendations are shown below in bold text, followed by our comments and analysis. Recommendation 6: Develop risk reduction expectations that are achievable by the remedial action. The National Contingency Plan requires EPA’s remediation goals at a given site to be protective of human health and the environment, but sometimes natural or anthropogenic background concentrations unrelated to the CERCLA release being remediated (especially for persistent contaminants associated with cancer risks, such as PCBs and dioxins) can make it impossible to achieve that goal via the cleanup. In such cases, expectations need to match reality, and the remedy should include additional risk reduction strategies (e.g., fish consumption advisories) to ensure protectiveness. Recommendation 7: Consider the limitations of models in predicting future conditions for purposes of decision making. Environmental professionals, no less than anyone else, can forget that computers are tools that help to inform decisions, but cannot replace human judgment. Even the most sophisticated model is a simplification of the real-world processes, and its results will necessarily incorporate some...

EPA Agrees to Push Back Comment Deadline for Proposed Financial Assurance Regs

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On March 7, 2017

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently extended the public comment period for a proposed rule which would impose financial assurances requirements for cleanups conducted by companies in the hardrock mining industry, as required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). In publishing the proposed rule on January 11, 2017, the EPA established a 60-day comment period for impacted parties to present their views on the rule to EPA. An overview of the financial assurance requirements imposed by CERCLA and the details of the proposed rule can be found in our prior posts on June 13, 2016 and January 4, 2017. On February 17, 2017, Congressmen Greg Walden (R-OR), Rob Bishop (R-UT), and Bill Shuster (R- PA) asked then-acting EPA Administrator Catherine McCabe to extend the comment period into the summer of 2017, citing the intricacies of the rule and complicated statistics on which EPA relied in drafting the rule. A week later, on February 24, 2017, recently confirmed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt granted the request and extended the comment period by four months, claiming that the extension was in response to dozens of requests from stakeholders, in addition to the letter from the congressmen. Comments on the proposed rule are now due by July 11, 2017. The environmental attorneys at...

Tenth Circuit finds that Ch. 11 Bankruptcy Debtor’s Settlement of CERCLA Claims No Bar to Post-Reorganization Contribution Action Against Other PRPs

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On March 6, 2017

The Tenth Circuit recently ruled in Asarco, LLC v. Noranda Mining, Inc. that a mining company (“Plaintiff”) could maintain a contribution action against another mining operation (“Defendant”) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) despite the Plaintiff’s earlier representation in Bankruptcy proceedings that its fair share of liability for contamination at the site in question was $8.7 million — the amount it paid to settle the Environmental Protection Agency’s claim. The pertinent facts arose, largely, from the Plaintiff’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and a global settlement of all environmental claims. The global settlement, reached in 2009, resolved environmental claims at 52 different sites across 19 states, with a total cost of about $1.79 billion. Included among the myriad claims being settled was the one at issue in this case: an $8.7 million payment to address the Plaintiff’s share of liability at two related sites near Park City, Utah (“the site”). Defending the reasonableness of the settlement figure before the Bankruptcy Court, the Plaintiff maintained that $8.7 million represented its proportionate share of liability for contamination at the site. In 2013, following its Chapter 11 reorganization, the Plaintiff filed a CERCLA contribution claim against the Defendant, another potentially responsible party at the site, arguing that the $8.7 million it paid to settle the EPA’s...

Governor Christie Presents the FY 2018 Budget

by Michael D. DeLoreto

Posted in State Legislative and Budget Matters

On March 3, 2017

Earlier this week, Governor Christie announced his final State Budget to a joint session of the Legislature. The Governor’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget of $35.5 billion represents a 2.6 percent increase from the prior year. It assumes annual growth in the State’s major tax revenues (gross income tax, sales tax, and corporate business tax) and also reallocates funding between programs. The highlights of the FY 2018 Budget include: $17.4 billion in school and local aid, representing almost half of all State spending; A $2.5 billion contribution to the State pension system, with payments occurring quarterly; Cuts to most Executive Departments including Agriculture, Community Affairs, Corrections, Environmental Protection, Labor, Law and Public Safety, Military and Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Treasury; Funding increases to the Departments of Health and Human Services for the expansion of FamilyCare, opioid addiction treatment, and graduate medical education; $20 million appropriation for lead remediation assistance for low and moderate income households; Additional State health benefit reforms, saving the State $125 million in FY 2018; and A lump-sum contribution from the State Lottery system to the State’s pension system to reduce the existing unfunded liability. Governor Christie also proposed a supplemental appropriation in the current fiscal year of $400 million for the State’s transportation system, to be allocated within the next 100 days....

New Jersey Legislature Focuses on Drone Technology

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in State Legislative and Budget Matters

On February 21, 2017

The First Legislative District Economic Development Task Force (“Task Force”) will meet on February 23, 2017, to discuss unmanned aviation technology and the potential impact it could have on the Southern New Jersey region. The Task Force, established by the New Jersey Senate in 2014 and reauthorized in 2016, was charged with “identifying methods, policies, regulations, incentives, and tools to foster economic activity and create jobs in Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties.” To accomplish its work, the 11-member Task Force is composed of a broad cross-section of thought leaders from the political, educational, and economic spheres. Over the last three years, the Task Force has met multiple times and has studied several issues of importance to the region. It has also studied aquaculture development and educational initiatives to develop a more skillful workforce. Throughout their deliberations, the members of the Task Force have identified actions that will grow the workforce and position the region to attract and support innovation. As the home of the William J. Hughes Technical Center and Stockton University, Southern New Jersey is known for aviation innovation. The testimony received by the Task Force on February 23rd will highlight the potential assets of the region. This potential paired with New Jersey-based economic incentives could position New Jersey to serve as a...

Emerging Trends: E-commerce Continues to Increase Demand for New Jersey Warehouse Space

by Andrew J. Camelotto

Posted in Development/Redevelopment

On February 17, 2017

The dramatic increase in the number of shoppers purchasing goods online continues to drive demand for warehouse and distribution space in the northeast. According to Census Bureau estimates, e-commerce now accounts for more than 8% of all U.S. retail sales, a near doubling of e-commerce’s retail market share in five short years. With internet shopping becoming the new norm, customers expect shorter and shorter delivery schedules. Speedy delivery options, such as same-day shipping, can create a competitive advantage in the New York metropolitan area, but retailers can only capitalize on that advantage if goods are stored close to their final destination. Enter the modern warehouse and distribution facility in northern New Jersey. With millions of affluent residents and easy access to Manhattan, this area is the perfect location for retail operators to establish a warehouse and distribution center. The problem is that existing, vacant warehouse space is not so easy to find in a competitive market that’s highly regulated and over-developed. According to The Wall Street Journal, certain savvy owners, developers, and redevelopers have already recognized the shortages on the supply side and are converting large office buildings into big box warehouse space. Vacant properties with good access to major highways, perhaps underutilized due to environmental, zoning or other constraints, also offer high upside potential. Of...

What You Need to Know About Federal Regulatory Reform

by David J. Pascrell and Michael D. DeLoreto

Posted in Regulatory Counseling and Departmental Action

On February 17, 2017

President Trump and the newly-elected Congress have made regulatory reform a main focus of their policy agenda. With Republicans controlling both the White House and Capitol Hill for the first time in over a decade, significant actions were taken within the first several weeks of coming into power that regulated industries should be aware of. Implementation of a Regulatory Freeze – The Trump Administration froze all federal rulemaking by issuing a policy memorandum to the Executive Branch departments and agencies. The memorandum declared that no regulations should be submitted “until a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President … reviews and approves the regulation.” The memorandum also required the Executive Branch agencies to either withdraw or postpone all agency regulations submitted to the Office of the Federal Register. The only exceptions to the regulatory freeze are for “emergency situations or other urgent circumstances relating to health, safety, financial, or national security matters” or “regulations subject to statutory or judicial deadlines.” Reducing Regulations for Domestic Manufacturing – President Trump directed the Executive Branch departments and agencies to support the expansion of manufacturing in the United States through “expedited reviews of and approvals for proposals to construct or expand manufacturing facilities and through reductions in regulatory burdens affecting domestic manufacturing.” A key component of...

Eleventh Circuit Widens Circuit Split on Accommodation Issue

by Richard S. Zackin

Posted in Disability

On February 16, 2017

Consider the following scenario: Because of a disability an employee is unable to perform an essential function of his or her current position and there is no reasonable accommodation that will enable the employee to remain in that position. The disability, however, will not prevent the employee from performing the essential functions of an open position for which the employee is qualified. A number of courts presented with this scenario have had to decide the extent to which the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that the employer assign the disabled worker to the open position as a reasonable accommodation without requiring the employee to compete for the position with other qualified candidates. Recently, in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. St. Joseph’s Hospital, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit joined the Eighth Circuit in concluding that there is no ADA violation if the employer requires the disabled employee to compete for the open position. Other courts, however, including the Seventh, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits have concluded that, in most instances, a qualified disabled employee should be placed in the open position as a reasonable accommodation. The Seventh Circuit’s decision is the subject of an earlier blog. The St. Joseph’s Hospital Decision The EEOC brought suit on behalf of Leocadia Bryk, who worked as...