The Fast Track Compliance Law was enacted in 1995 for the purpose of providing grace periods for compliance with, and suspending penalties for minor violations of, specified environmental laws which are corrected during a 30 to 90 day time period. The statute requires NJDEP to adopt regulations defining categories of minor and non-minor violations and time periods for compliance.
In response, NJDEP has drafted a series of discussion documents designating "minor" and "non-minor" violations under the applicable environmental laws. The statute provides that a violation must be deemed minor if it is 1) not influential; 2) poses minimal risk; 3) has existed for less than one year prior to the NJDEP's discovery; 4) is not a repeat offense; 5) can be corrected within a time frame presented by the NJDEP and 6) does not undermine the regulatory program. The Department currently is in the process of deciding whether to initiate the formal rule-making process by publishing proposed regulations in the New Jersey Register with a strictly-imposed deadline for comments or to issue pre-proposed regulations and solicit additional informal comments within a less stringent time frame. As NJDEP's rule-making progresses on this subject, we will advise as to the pertinent comment period.
