A new statute imposes sweeping new notice requirements affecting properties that are subject to flooding. All owners of land in New Jersey, including commercial and industrial property owners, who lease their sites or are considering a transfer of improved or unimproved land should consider whether the new notice requirements apply. A copy of the adopted statute can be found here.
DEP Adopts New Inland Flood and Stormwater Rules That Will Require Many Projects to Be Redesigned or Abandoned
DEP has adopted new Inland Flood and Stormwater rules effective upon publication in either the July 3, 2023 or July 17, 2023 New Jersey Register. We will post an update when the exact date is known. A courtesy copy of the rule adoption document can be found here.
As summarized in our June 3, 2022 post regarding the initial proposals, anyone with a pending or planned project that involves either an area near a non-tidal river or stream or a project that is subject to DEP’s stormwater rules, will likely need to reassess the scope of the project if approvals are pending.
After extensive comments from the regulated community were received, the Department revised the various “grandfather” provisions from the initial proposal. The following categories of “activities” would be subject to the current rules:
Bill on Governor Murphy’s Desk Would Impose New Flood Disclosure Notice Requirement on All Commercial & Residential Leases and Sales of Property
Recently passed legislation on Governor Murphy’s desk for enactment would require all new leases and lease renewals in New Jersey – both commercial and residential – to include specific disclosures regarding potential and past flooding. Similar disclosures would also be required to be added to the “Property Condition Disclosure Statement” for the sale of “any real property located in the State.” (A separate post on this law blog will summarize the bill’s impact on sale contracts.)
DEP to Move Forward Towards Releasing a New “Inland Flood Protection Rule”
DEP Commissioner announced that the Department is moving forward with proposing rules relating to inland flood areas. Earlier this year, DEP had prepared to issue new flood area rules on an “Emergency” basis. The rule concepts put forward by DEP would dramatically expand areas identified as Flood Hazard Areas, and further limit activities in those areas. After significant uproar from municipalities, counties, other state agencies and the development community, the “Emergency Rule” concept was pulled back.
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Update: DEP to Delay Publication of “Emergency Rule” on Flood Hazard and Stormwater Regulations
Sources in Trenton report that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will announce on Monday a delay in publishing the “emergency rule” that was the subject of our June 3 Alert. After feedback from a number of impacted stakeholders, including municipalities, DEP is expected to announce a pause in the publication of the “emergency rule” to allow for more stakeholder input, issue FAQs and release a schedule of stakeholder meetings.
Continue Reading Update: DEP to Delay Publication of “Emergency Rule” on Flood Hazard and Stormwater Regulations
DEP to Adopt “Emergency Rule” Mid-June That Will Require Many Projects to Be Redesigned or Abandoned
Anyone with a pending or planned project that involves either an area near a non-tidal river or stream or a project that is subject to DEP’s stormwater rules will likely need to reassess the scope of the project if approvals are pending.
The “emergency rule” is the first salvo of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)’s Protection Against Climate Threat (PACT) regulatory initiative. DEP will be side-stepping the normal rule making requirements and adopting changes to rules covering Fluvial (river system) Flood Hazard Areas (FHAs) and Stormwater Rules.
Governor Murphy Issues Extensions of NJDEP Timeframes and Deadlines
On Saturday May 2, 2020, New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy issued Executive Order (EO) 136 providing for sweeping extensions of many statutory deadlines required under environmental laws and regulations administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP or Department) and suspending timeframes for certain NJDEP permit decisions and reporting. The extensions and suspensions are retroactive to March 9, 2020. Specifically, EO-136 includes the following:
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NJDEP Proposes Significant Revisions to Cleanup Standards With Controversial New Requirements
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed substantive changes to the remediation standards administered under New Jersey’s Site Remediation Program (SRP). The 273-page rule proposal includes 84 pages of commentary and 26 pages of rule amendments, and the remainder consisting of technical detail and charts. If adopted, it will have a significant and far-reaching effect on the remediation of contaminated sites in New Jersey so the regulated community should carefully assess those ramifications and take advantage of the opportunity to offer comments and other input to the DEP.
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The Winds of Change: Governor Murphy Launches Sweeping Regulatory Reforms to Promote Clean Air and Fight Climate Change
On January 27, 2020, Governor Murphy unveiled a series of broad regulatory proposals seeking to establish a “clean energy future” framework in the Garden State. The sweeping changes − billed as first-in-the-nation “comprehensive and aggressive suite of climate change regulations” − are laid out in three separate, but interrelated administration documents:
- A newly updated New Jersey Energy Master Plan from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
- Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 100
- NJDEP Commissioner McCabe’s Administrative Order 2020-01
These new energy and climate change requirements would dramatically impact land use, development, utilities, energy consumption, and numerous other areas of everyday life.
New Jersey Announces Six New NRD/Cost Recovery Suits
Wednesday (August 1), New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver held a press conferences in Newark and Atlantic City announcing six new lawsuits filed by the State of New Jersey seeking Natural Resource Damages and cost recovery for sites in Newark, Woodbridge, Atlantic City and Warren County. The suits are the beginning of an expected program of aggressive enforcement for contaminated sites.
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