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Thomas H. Prol

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Thomas H. Prol, a Member of Sills Cummis & Gross, concentrates his practice on environmental, land use, commercial property tax appeals, and related litigation and administrative law matters.

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The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP or Department) issued two major announcements concerning site remediation arising out of Governor Murphy’s March 9, 2020 State of Emergency and Public Health Emergency declarations. The Department clarified that construction related to site remediation may continue and also granted emergency waivers of certain site remediation timeframes and deadlines.
Continue Reading NJDEP Clarifies Exemptions for Site Remediation Projects, Announces Temporary Emergency Site Remediation Waiver to Extend Deadlines and Timeframes by Ninety Days During State of Emergency

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP or Department) issued new regulations effective April 6, 2020 that expand the Garden State’s list of protected waterways. These amendments to the Surface Water Quality Standards (SWQS), N.J.A.C. 7:9B, upgrade the designation of approximately 600 river miles throughout the state and assigns them the highest level of protected water quality status of “Category  One” (or “C1”).
Continue Reading New Jersey Expands List of Protected Waterways, Imposing Stricter Water Quality Controls and Development Buffers

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services (DLGS or Division) yesterday issued “Operational Guidance” to the state’s municipal Planning Boards and Zoning Boards of Adjustment to “ensure continuity of Land Use application procedures” while New Jersey’s State of Emergency remains in effect. The guidance document seeks to “ensure due process is afforded hearings and to remind local units to adhere to appropriate social distancing and health measures as they implement this process.”
Continue Reading NJDCA Issues Guidelines Clearing the Way for Virtual Zoning and Planning Board Hearings

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.Continue Reading The Winds of Change: Governor Murphy Launches Sweeping Regulatory Reforms to Promote Clean Air and Fight Climate Change