Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Tagged: Environmental & Green Issues

Release of New Jersey’s Draft 2011 Energy Master Plan – Solar Incentives Will Survive — But With Changes

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On June 17, 2011

On Tuesday, June 7, the Christie Administration released the State’s draft 2011 Energy Master Plan (Master Plan). The Master Plan provides the Administration’s strategic vision of energy in New Jersey. In particular, the “use, management and development of energy in New Jersey over the next decade,” and includes in-depth discussion of New Jersey’s electricity sources, uses, regulations, challenges, and incentives across all users of electricity in the State: residential, commercial, and governmental. These links provide access to the official State of New Jersey Governor’s Release of Tuesday, June 7th, and the full Draft.

U.S. Supreme Court to Montana: “Stay Thirsty, My Friend.”

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On June 9, 2011

The Supreme Court in Montana v. Wyoming –U.S.–, 131 S.Ct. 1765 (2011), rejected Montana’s claim that Wyoming’s usage of water depleted the amount of water available to it under the Yellowstone River Compact between Montana and Wyoming. Montana contended that Wyoming breached Article V(A) of the Compact which provided that “appropriative rights to the beneficial uses of the water of the Yellowstone River System existing in each signatory State as of January 1, 1950, shall continue to be enjoyed in accordance with the laws governing the acquisition and use of water under the doctrine of appropriation.”

New Jersey Program to Fund Brownfield Clean Ups Closed Temporarily

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Posted in Development/Redevelopment / Environmental and Green Issues

On June 8, 2011

The Brownfield Reimbursement Program (the “Program”), a New Jersey State initiative designed to reimburse developers up to 75% of costs incurred to remediate a brownfield site, has run out of money and is temporarily shut down. This development arrives on the heels of a recent New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) announcement that, effective May 3, 2011, applications to the Underground Storage Tank Fund, a similar initiative to help homeowners remove USTs, will not be reviewed or processed due to insufficient funds.

N.J. Appellate Court Extends Time Limit for Bringing Strict-Liability Claim for Natural Resource Damages

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On June 2, 2011

Thanks to a special “extension statute” enacted in 2001, the statute of limitations that requires the State of New Jersey to commence a civil action within ten years of its accrual does not apply to an action for natural resource damages (NRDs) that is brought “pursuant to the State’s environmental laws.” The Appellate Division recently held that the Legislature intended “the State’s environmental laws” to include the common law — or at least the common law of strict liability — and revived a claim that otherwise would have been time-barred.

Updated Guidance From USEPA Concerning Brownfield Redevelopment

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On May 12, 2011

Encouraging development of environmentally challenged real estate — brownfields — is usually the task of state agencies. In New Jersey the Office of Smart Growth; the Economic Development Authority and the Department of Environmental Protection all offer programs intended to encourage redevelopment of brownfields. However, states are struggling to fund and support their brownfield programs and funds for outreach to potential developers and their allied professionals are in short supply.

Cost Recovery Under Superfund – The Eighth Circuit Fills the Void Created by the United States Supreme Court in the Atlantic Research Decision

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On April 29, 2011

The Eighth Circuit recently addressed an issue which the United States Supreme Court expressly side-stepped in 2007 when it decided United States v. Atlantic Research Corp., 551 U.S. 128 (2007). In Atlantic Research, the Court left open the question whether potentially responsible parties that incur response costs pursuant to an administrative consent order or a judicially approved consent decree may pursue a cost recovery claim under §107 of CERCLA, §113 of CERCLA or both sections.

DEP Launches Coastal E-Permitting Program

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On April 28, 2011

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) launched a new e-permitting program that will allow the public to apply on-line for certain coastal permits. The program is consistent with the Governor’s “Common Sense Principles” outlined in Executive Order No. 2 which focused on the need to reduce the high costs and regulatory burdens that are thought to impede growth and opportunity in the State of New Jersey.

Vapor Intrusion: Opportunity for Comment with EPA

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On April 26, 2011

Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency published a notice for “Public Comment on the Development of Final Guidance for Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway From Contaminated Groundwater and Soils (Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance)” in the Federal Register. The draft of the Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance was initially released for comment during 2002 and the EPA is planning on issuing final guidance by November 20, 2012.

Susanne Peticolas Spoke at the Institute for Supply Management – NJ Dinner on Greenwashing

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On April 15, 2011

Susanne Peticolas, a Director in the Gibbons Real Property & Environmental Department, was the Dinner Speaker at the April meeting of the Institute for Supply Management – New Jersey, Inc. on April 13, 2011. She addressed the issue of greenwashing, unjustifiable product claims of being environmentally sensitive and strategies to help companies avoid the problem.

NJDEP Licensing Board Sets April 18 Deadline for Comments on LSRP Audit Process

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On April 13, 2011

The Audit Committee of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board is soliciting comments on its draft process and questionnaire for the completion of statutorily required audits of the work of Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs). The Committee is accepting comments until April 18, 2011. The Board intends to finalize the process and questionnaire at its May 2, 2011 meeting.

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