CCSNJ comments on NJDEP Site Remediation Program Overhaul
Friday, November 14, 2008

MEMORANDUM

TO: Members of the Senate Environment Committee

FROM: Christina M. Genovese, Manager, Government Relations

RE: S-1897 (Smith)

Site Remediation Reform and Licensed Site Professional Bill

DATE: November 13, 2008

The Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey would like to express our comments on the Site Remediation Reform and Licensed Site Professional Bill, S-1897 (Smith). The Chamber’s members include companies that own and/or operate facilities at properties undergoing cleanups, businesses seeking to purchase or sell Brownfield properties and consultants and contractors hired to perform the work necessary to complete cleanup activities and prepare the required reports documenting their efforts.

The Chamber believes that the current Site Remediation Program is broken and needs to be fixed. We applaud the Department for setting up a Stakeholder process to study the reasons why and to develop suggested reforms. We also appreciate the Legislature taking the initiative to propose much needed reform legislation.

The Chamber has several reservations with this legislation in its current form. However, given the time constraints surrounding the availability of the bill and the scope of the legislation, the comments that we offer are of a general nature, directed at the principal issues addressed by the legislation. We look forward to offering more detailed comments to the bill’s sponsor and Committee members in the upcoming weeks.

The Chamber would like to reiterate its strong opposition to the remediation funding source cost increases. The proposed revisions to the Remediation Funding Source (RFS) mechanism would limit the use of the self guarantee to only 50% of the RFS, extend the 1% surcharge to parties that utilize the self guarantee because they must cover the other 50% of the RFS by a mechanism that is subject to the surcharge, impose a new 5% surcharge on parties that utilize nonpermanent remedies (for some Brownfields properties, this may be the only remedy that makes sense) and, for the first time, apply the remediation funding source surcharge to parties participating in the voluntary cleanup program that do not qualify for one of the several exemptions spelled out in the bill (e.g., homeowners, child care facilities, small business).

These changes amount to a new and unnecessary tax on businesses that perform cleanups in New Jersey, making these cleanups more costly, adding an additional layer of administration and generally penalizing participation in the voluntary cleanup program, which is something that should be encouraged. More costly cleanups for business and industry will be reflected in more costly products and services for consumers and, as is often the case, the weight of a tax of this nature is ultimately borne by the general public. At a time when New Jersey is trying to make the economic climate friendlier for business and industry, these new taxes seem counterproductive to the State’s overall goal of fostering economic growth and keeping New Jersey businesses competitive.

The Chamber also has concerns with the creation of a licensing board, which will oversee the LSPs, including giving the board licensing and enforcement authority and the authority to issue rules and regulations. The Chamber fears that creation of the board, which is equivalent to a new administrative agency, may result in a costly new bureaucracy and those costs will ultimately be imposed on the regulated community. The Chamber feels it is essential that these costs are controlled and that the bureaucracy does not get too large. The Chamber is also concerned about the extreme nature of the penal enforcement authority given to the Board over LSPs.

Lastly, the Chamber is concerned that the bill may not lead to the more efficient processing of cases by LSPs that it promises. In that regard, we are concerned about the provisions that allow the NJDEP to audit such a wide range of cases (17 different categories in total), the ability of NJDEP to delay a decisions on whether it will audit an RAO for six months, the lack of any time constraints on such audits, the requirements that all submittals be screened by Department case managers, and the provisions that seem to allow NJDEP to assume direct oversight over a potentially large number of cases in circumstances that may not warrant such oversight. In light of this, there could be a substantial number of cases that require detailed NJDEP review and thereby slow down the system. The Chamber believes this is counterproductive to the overall goal of this legislation, which is to improve and expedite the site remediation process.

The Chamber appreciates the opportunity to comment on S-1897 (Smith) and looks forward to providing more extensive comments in the near future.