This week, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice regarding changes in the way the Department will handle reviews of land use permits which relate to site remediation.  The goal is to streamline permitting at sites undergoing remediation to promote economic development:

The Department is initiating a change in the process by which it reviews all land use permits submitted to the NJDEP for the remediation of contaminated sites and landfills. Effective February 1, 2011, the Site Remediation Program-Office of Dredging and Sediment Technology will administer the review of all land use permit applications submitted to the NJDEP for the purposes of investigation, remediation, closure and/or redevelopment of a property under the purview of the Site Remediation Program or the Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste. The land use permit applications which fall under this category include:

Freshwater Wetlands General Permit #4 – Hazardous Site Investigation/Cleanup
Freshwater Wetlands General Permit #5 – Landfill Closure
Freshwater Wetlands General Permit #27 – Redevelopment of Previously Disturbed Areas
Individual Freshwater Wetlands Permit
Flood Hazard Act Permit
CAFRA General Permit #15
Individual Waterfront Development Permit

This change serves to streamline the regulatory review process at contaminated sites and the closure of landfills in order to positively impact the redevelopment of these properties and the economic growth of the state.

The Office of Dredging and Sediment Technology has been in existence since 1998 with the primary focus of regulating dredging and dredged material management in the tidal waters of the State. In the past decade, the Office has also administered all aspects of land use permitting of a number for large brownfield sites and landfill closures that utilized dredged material and/or processed dredged material in the remediation of the property. This new role serves to expand the scope of the land use permitting reviews conducted by this Office to a broader universe of properties undergoing remediation.

Please feel free to contact Suzanne Dietrick, Chief of the Office of Dredging and Sediment Technology at (609) 292-8838 or suzanne.dietrick@dep.state.nj.us if you have any questions.

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Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) Web Site: http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/srra/