The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ("NJDEP" or "Department") announced that, effective July 1, 1998, the procedure for applying for a Memorandum of Agreement ("MOA") under the Voluntary Cleanup Program will be altered to reflect the Oversight Rules enacted on November 17, 1997. Through the Voluntary Cleanup Program, site owners, responsible parties, local officials or developers may work with NJDEP to remediate non-priority contaminated sites that pose no immediate threat to human health or the environment. The party conducting the cleanup enters into a MOA which details the scope of work to be done with the oversight of the Department. This work may include a preliminary assessment of the site, a site investigation and/or remedial work. The Voluntary Cleanup Program affords the party the ability to remediate according to its own schedule, without fear of penalty.
This change in the MOA application procedure stipulates that a party enters into the agreement "by rule" once the Department determines the application is administratively complete. "The memorandum of agreement is effective upon written notification from the department that the memorandum of agreement application is administratively complete and all the requirements of this section have been met." This change attempts to streamline the contaminated site cleanup process. Previously, parties who sought to enter the Voluntary Cleanup Program submitted an application to the Department, waited approximately three weeks to receive a proposed MOA, executed the MOA, forwarded it to NJDEP and received the fully executed MOA from the Department roughly two months after submitting the application. This procedural change is one step in the State's attempt to revitalize contaminated properties and make them available for re-use.
Additionally, NJDEP offers an alternative to the MOA under the oversight of the Voluntary Cleanup Program for parties who possess non-regulated tanks. Non-regulated tanks include, among others, residential underground heating oil tanks and tanks with a capacity of 2000 gallons or less used solely for heating commercial structures. This alternative is conditioned upon the fact that no discharges have affected groundwater. Under this program, the Department requires a fee of $500 for the review of each remedial action report submitted.
These two changes to the Voluntary Cleanup Program's procedures encourage the remediation of more contaminated lands within the State by expediting the MOA process and providing an economically viable alternative to the owners and operators of non-regulated tanks.
