The New Jersey State Senate recently approved a bill that would require contractors who perform work on residential underground storage tanks to be certified by NJDEP. Currently, only regulated tanks need have a certified contractor conduct repairs or maintenance, but residential tanks are exempt from NJDEP requirements. The State Senate is concerned that, since home heating tanks are unregulated, leaks and operational malfunctions are more likely to go unchecked. If these tanks are improperly serviced or maintained, malfunctions can cause significant negative impacts on the environment. Accordingly, the proposed bill, S-1613, would require NJDEP to establish a certification process for people who work on unregulated underground storage tanks to ensure that such contractors are trained to identify and avoid malfunctions. This program would not affect those contractors who are already certified to service underground storage tanks under current laws. This bill has been reported out of the Senate Environment Committee and has been received in the Assembly, where it now awaits consideration.
