By Stephen E. Fauer If science is empirical, why do environmental consultants often disagree with one another? To some, science-based disagreement is perplexing. But to people on opposite sides of a commercial or industrial real estate transaction, such disagreements are common. Why does it happen and...
If you own, manage, or maintain a residential rental property in New York City, an important new law was passed recently that you need to know about. Local Law #55, effective as of January 2019, is NYC’s Indoor Allergen Law that covers various pests and allergens. This article...
On August 06, 2018 the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) amended regulations that affect administrative and technical requirements to remediate discharges from unregulated heating oil tank systems. Changes are contained in the new Heating Oil Tank System Remediation Rules (HOTS). Here’s what you...
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has designated two types of funding sources -- the Remediation Funding Source (RFS) and Financial Assurance (FA) -- to ensure that sufficient funds have been set aside to perform environmental remediation on affected properties. There are subtle...
ESA often has conversations with clients who claim, “My site is clean,” to which ESA replies, “How do you know?” And the client says something like, “Because the site underwent ISRA back in 2002 and there is an affidavit of Negative Declaration.” Or, they might...
Since ESA published its first article on the subject of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (see "Getting Ahead of PFAS Regulation"), the New Jersey Department of environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have begun aggressive information campaigns to notify the public...
ESA recently identified an apparent discrepancy in NJDEP’s published Protocol for Addressing Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons. The discrepancy involves a fine but significant distinction, as ESA discovered when one of our clients received a Notice of Deficiency (NOD) from the NJDEP for EPH concentrations that met...
HOW TO MINIMIZE THE COST AND AGGRAVATION OF ISRA COMPLIANCE The Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA) is arguably the most impactful hazardous waste cleanup law in New Jersey. ISRA has been law since December 31, 1983 when it was first introduced as the Environmental Cleanup Responsibility...
Imagine, if you will, a world where environmental regulations remain constant and cleanup standards never change; where state representatives have a unified voice regarding the direction an environmental cleanup should take; and where once a project is closed, it remains closed. If this sounds like...
What is Historic Fill? For decades, historic fill material was commonly used to raise the topographic elevation of properties around the state of New Jersey -- predominantly along the waterfront areas in northeastern and southwestern NJ. The fill material, according to the New Jersey Department of...