Category: New Jersey

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New Jersey / PFAS
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New Jersey County Challenges Judicial Consent Order in Landmark PFAS Settlement

In a recent development involving the landmark settlement between the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and 3M, a New Jersey county has asked to be excluded from the settlement, stating it intends to pursue its own claims against the company for greater compensation.

The state originally sued 3M and other companies in 2019, alleging decades of discharging hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls, metals, pesticides, and PFAS. Under the settlement announced in May, 3M would be released from all PFAS-related claims statewide, including those …

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New Jersey / PFAS
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Decoding a Landmark Case: Environmental Laws and Legal Strategy in New Jersey’s PFAS Trial against DuPont

A high-stakes environmental trial is unfolding in New Jersey, where the state is taking on E.I. DuPont de Nemours and its related entities over widespread PFAS contamination at the former Chamber Works facility in Salem County. The outcome of this case — one of the most closely watched environmental proceedings in the country — could have a significant ripple effect on how other states pursue PFAS-related claims and how corporate defendants approach these increasingly high-profile cases.

In this case, New Jersey alleges that DuPont and …

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New Jersey / PFAS
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New Jersey Proposal Transitions PFAS Criteria to Enforceable Remediation Standards

In March, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) proposed to formally add GenX, PFNA, PFOA, PFOS — all PFAS compounds — and methanol to the list of regulated contaminants under various statutes.

This includes the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS), Remediation Standards, and Technical Requirements for Site Remediation.

The proposed amendments establish a specific ground water quality criterion for GenX, as well as soil and soil leachate remediation standards for PFNA, PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and methanol. Each of these contaminants were previously regulated …

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New Jersey / PFAS
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Trial and Juror: 3M and Dupont Move to ‘Bench’ NJDEP PFAS Case

In 2019, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) brought suit against Dupont and 3M seeking clean-up, removal, and costs for what NJ officials claimed was more than 100 years of indiscriminate dumping of thousands of pollutants into the Chambers Works compound in Salem County, NJ.

According to the pleadings, among the contaminants released were per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known for their motility and resistance to biodegradation, and linked to various kinds of cancer. The complaint alleges PFAS have been knowingly dispersed into …

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Emerging Issues / New Jersey
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New Jersey Trying to Throttle NY Congestion Pricing

No one can dispute that the New York subway system, operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was a marvel of 20th century engineering. With a total of about 850 miles of track, more than 450 stations in operation, and moving around 6 million people per day, it is no wonder it remains the busiest mass-transit system in the western world. Then again, no one would confuse the MTA for its worldly counterparts in, say, London or Japan, where state-of-the-art train cars are run on …

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Emerging Issues / New Jersey / PFAS
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NJ PFAS Alert: Solvay Enters $393 Million Settlement with Garden State to Remediate Contamination

New Jersey just announced a proposed $393 million settlement with Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC that would ensure the remediation of contamination near Solvay’s facility in West Deptford that manufactures plastic components for consumer products. This contamination included the release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 

The proposed settlement commits Solvay to: 

  • Pay for and implement comprehensive remedial activities at and in the vicinity of its West Deptford facility; 
  • Provide financial support for certain public water system upgrades necessary to remove PFAS from drinking water; 
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New Jersey / Regulations
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New Jersey Governor Announces Nation’s First Environmental Justice Regulations

On April 17, the first day of Earth Week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced the final adoption of regulations to implement the state’s Environmental Justice Law. According to the Office of the Governor, the Environmental Justice Law and corresponding regulation is the “first in the nation aimed at reducing pollution in historically overburdened communities and communities of color that have been subjected to a disproportionately high number of environmental and public health issues.”

As previously reported by ELM here, Gov. Murphy signed the …

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Legislation / New Jersey
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New Jersey: The Nation’s Newest Ambassador of Clean Energy

New Jersey may be most (ashamedly) well-known for its Snooki legacy courtesy of MTV’s Jersey Shore, but Gov. Phil Murphy intends to re-brand the Garden State as an ambassador of clean, green, and renewable energy. Earlier this month, ceremoniously (and rather ironically) from the infamous Seaside Heights Boardwalk, the Governor approved four renewable energy focused bills aimed to collectively bolster New Jersey’s clean energy agenda, setting the stage for New Jersey to become 50% reliable on clean energy sources by 2030, and 100% reliable …

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Emerging Issues / New Jersey
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New Jersey May Be First in Country to Ban Paper Bags

New Jersey is slated to join the ever-growing list of states implementing bans on plastic bags, but a bill passed by the New Jersey Legislature on September 24, 2020 takes the regulation one step further—banning paper bags as well.

The bill, originally introduced in January 2020, seeks to ban “single-use plastic carryout bags, single-use paper carryout bags, polystyrene foam food service products, and single-use plastic straws.” While plastics do appear to be the focus of the bill, it includes language that “single-use paper carryout bags …

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Clean Air Act / New Jersey
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The Garden State Passes Landmark Environmental Justice Legislation to Protect Overburdened Communities

In the United States, New Jersey has quickly become a leader in tackling environmental justice issues. Earlier this year, the state, which boasts 130 miles of shoreline, became the first to require builders to take climate change and rising sea levels into account to obtain government project bids. The Garden State also pledged it would produce 100 percent clean energy by 2050. On September 18, 2020, Gov. Phil Murphy signed one of the most stringent environmental justice bills in the country into law. The overall …

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