Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Tagged: Environmental & Green Issues

New Jersey Proposes Addition of Solar Power Facilities to its Green Initiative

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Posted in Development/Redevelopment / Environmental and Green Issues / Transactional Real Estate and Leasing

On July 26, 2010

Solar and Wind Energy Generation facilities may soon join the category of uses designated as permitted of right by New Jersey statute rather than by individual municipal ordinance, thus preempting municipal zoning powers granted under the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. (MLUL). Identical Bills, Senate S2126 and Assembly A3139 are pending before their respective house of the New Jersey’s legislature and would amend the MLUL to provide that Solar and or Wind Energy Generation Facilities, when installed on the sites of former landfills, quarries and other extractive industries, are permitted uses. This status would be equally applicable to both public and private sites where landfills, quarries or other extractive industries are closed or closing.

Tic, TAC, No Dough for Innocent Landowner in NJ Who Sells Property Before Brownfield Grant

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Posted in Development/Redevelopment / Environmental and Green Issues

On July 20, 2010

Last year, the Appellate Division in TAC Associates v. NJDEP, 408 N.J. Super. 117 (App. Div. 2009) had held that an applicant under the NJ Brownfield Innocent Party Grant, N.J.S.A. 58:10B-5, need not be a landowner at the time of application for such Grant. In so ruling, the Appellate Division invalidated NJDEP regulations that imposed an ownership requirement, a requirement absent from the underlying statute.

Gulf Coast Spill Impacts Legislation in Trenton, NJ

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On July 15, 2010

This summer, the long shadow cast by the oil rig blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico seems to be everywhere. For example, we recently reported that EPA has written to Congress endorsing the concept of reinstating the Superfund tax which expired back in 1995. Thus, it was only a matter of time before New Jersey got into the act. On July 15, 2010, the Senate Environment and Energy Committee in Trenton took up S-2108. If adopted in its present form this bill would raise the limit on liability pursuant to the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act from $50 million to $1 billion.

After 15 Years, EPA Wants to Reinstate the Superfund “Polluter Pays” Taxes

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On July 8, 2010

On June 21, 2010, EPA sent a letter to Congress supporting the reinstatement of the Superfund tax which expired on December 31, 1995. EPA believes that the tax will provide a “stable, dedicated source of revenue . . . and increase the pace of Superfund cleanup.” According to EPA, it would also ensure that the parties who manufactured or sold the substances that are being cleaned-up at hazardous waste sites – and not the taxpayers – would bear the cost of cleanup when responsible parties cannot be identified. EPA states that the taxes are needed to ensure that the “polluter pays” for the Superfund program.

This Rule will K(NOx)ck Your SOx Off – EPA Proposes New Clean Air Rule

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On July 7, 2010

On July 6, 2010, the USEPA proposed a new interstate transport of ozone and fine particulate rule for power plants. The goal of the rule is to achieve by 2014 a 72% reduction of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and a 54% reduction of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from 2005 levels. The tri state area, like most of the states east of the Mississippi, is covered by this rule for both fine particulates and ozone. The sulfur and nitrogen oxides are fine particulates in the air.

Don’t Paint Yourself in a Corner, Get Certified Now – Dealing with EPA’s Lead Paint Rule

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On July 6, 2010

A long time in coming, but certainly below the radar screen, is the implementation of the EPA rule issued in 2008 requiring contractors engaged in renovations to be certified in handling lead based paint that may be present in homes, child care facilities and schools built before 1978. Certainly many of the buildings built before that time may well have lead based paint in them since it was not specifically prohibited until that date. However, many manufacturers moved long before 1978 to remove lead from their paint.

Site Remediation Process – NJ to Develop Remedial Priority System

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On June 28, 2010

New Jersey is pressing forward with its efforts to privatize the site remediation process. Since adoption of the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) in May 2009, there has been a steady stream of new regulations, new guidance documents and revised forms. Because of these changes, practitioners must constantly check the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s website.

The Fox River Cleanup Snares Insurers, Passaic River PRPs Should Take Note

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On June 28, 2010

On June 8, 2010, in Westport Insurance Co. v. Appleton Papers, Inc., the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for the First District held that two insurers, namely Munich Re Ag and Westport Insurance Co., are liable each for $5 million dollars to compensate Appleton Papers, Inc. (Appleton) for cleaning up the sediment contamination in the Fox River. The Fox River is undergoing a cleanup pursuant to oversight by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA Announces Award of Brownfields Grants

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On April 21, 2010

On April 19, EPA announced awards of a total of nearly $80 million in grants to communities across the country to support the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfield sites. Twelve of the grants, totalling $2.3 million, will go to New Jersey communities, including Camden, Jersey City, Newark, and Trenton.

Remember (the) Maine!: Supreme Court Raises Bar in FERC Proceedings for Non-Parties Who Challenge Electric Rates Set by Contract

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On March 12, 2010

The Federal Power Act (FPA), which gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, requires that all wholesale electricity rates be “just and reasonable,” including rates set by contracts between suppliers and purchasers. In its latest decision in this area, in NRG Power Marketing, LLC v. Maine Public Utilities Commission, No. 08-674, 558 U.S. — (January 13, 2010), the Supreme Court, by an 8-1 vote, extended a doctrine first developed more than fifty years ago and made it extremely difficult for those who were not parties to the contract — even states — to challenge contractually set rates in FERC proceedings.

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