On August 17, 2020, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP” or “Department”) issued a Notice of Rule Waiver/Modification/Suspension (“Notice”) pursuant to Executive Order No. 103.  This Notice further extends certain timeframes for remediation activities, for a total of 270 days, inclusive of the prior 90-day extension authorized by the NJDEP’s April 24, 2020 Notice of Rule Waiver/Modification/Suspension. It should be noted that the timeframes extended by this temporary rule modification are specific to reporting requirements and that the Notice does not affect timeframes for the mitigation of immediate impacts to human receptors.  The Notice specifically states that “remedial activities are continuing during the Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency” and that “protections for public health and safety and the environment remain in place.”  For more information and to view this notice, please click here.

The NJDEP also permits any party responsible for conducting remediation to request a further extension of the timeframes extended by this Notice or other applicable remediation timeframes.  The Department will consider such requests on a site specific basis in accordance with the governing technical and administrative requirements.

This article features contributions from Linda M. Lee, Michael P. Castore, Donna A. McBarron and Steven J. Corodemus.