Bill Text: NJ A3170 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires inspection for pest infestation prior to certain demolition.*
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-10-02 - Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading [A3170 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A3170-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GILBERT "WHIP" L. WILSON
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Requires inspection for pest infestation prior to demolition.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring pest inspections prior to demolition, and supplementing P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Demolition" means the act of forcing down all of a building pursuant to the standards of the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), or forcing down part of a building in accordance with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to subsection c. of this section.
"Pest" means rat, mouse, roach, or any other animal designated by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection as posing a significant risk of infesting adjacent properties following a demolition.
b. (1) In addition to requirements under the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), P.L.1942, c.112 (C.40:48-2.3 et seq.), and any other statutory, regulatory, or local requirements, a building shall not be demolished without a certification by either a health officer licensed by the State Department of Health pursuant to the "Local Health Services Act," P.L.1975, c.329 (C.26:3A2-1 et seq.), or a commercial pesticide applicator certified by the Department of Environmental Protection for general and household pest control pursuant to the "Pesticide Control Act of 1971," P.L.1971, c.176 (C.13:1F-1 et seq.). The certification shall indicate that pests are not present in the building at levels that place any nearby building at risk for pest infestation as a result of the demolition. Before issuing such certification, the health officer or another local health agency employee, or pesticide applicator, shall inspect the building for a pest presence. If pests are present at unacceptable levels, then the health officer or another local health agency employee, or pesticide applicator, shall take the steps necessary to mitigate the pest presence down to acceptable levels.
(2) The inspection shall occur no earlier than two months prior to the issuance of a construction permit for demolition. The certification shall be filed with the construction official prior to the issuance of a construction permit. Any certification that is issued by a pesticide applicator, and not by a health officer, shall be filed with the health officer, in addition to the construction official, no later than five days prior to construction permit issuance. At any time prior to construction permit issuance, the health officer shall have authority to disapprove of the pesticide applicator's certification, and require a new inspection and new pest mitigation steps to be taken prior to construction permit issuance.
(3) The certification, and associated inspection and extermination, shall not be required if the construction official determines that an immediate danger is posed by the potential collapse of a structurally unsafe building.
(4) The construction permit applicant shall be responsible for the cost of any pest inspection, extermination, and certification required under this section.
c. On or before the first day of the sixth month next following enactment, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), and in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, and the Director of the Division of Codes and Standards in the Department of Community Affairs, shall adopt any rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this section, including, but not limited to, standards for the types of animals to be designated as pests, standards for the level of a pest presence that shall require extermination, acceptable methods of extermination, and the types of partial building demolitions that shall require inspection and certification. The Commissioner of Health, and the Director of the Division of Codes and Standards in the Department of Community Affairs, shall also adopt any necessary rules and regulations.
2. This act shall take effect immediately, but subsections a. and b. of section 1 shall remain inoperative until the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
In order to prevent pest infestations from migrating to adjacent buildings, this bill requires pest inspections prior to building demolitions.
Specifically, this bill requires either a health officer or another local health agency employee, certified by the State Department of Health, or a commercial pesticide applicator, certified by the State Department of Environmental Protection for general and household pest control, to inspect a building for mice, rats, roaches, and other pests before the demolition, and issue a certification indicating that pests are not present in the building at levels that place any nearby building at risk for infestation. If pests are present in the building at unacceptable levels, then the pesticide applicator or local health agency shall be required to ensure that extermination takes place in the building prior to issuing the certification.
The inspection shall occur within two months of the construction permit issuance for demolition, and the certification shall be filed with the construction official before the issuance of the permit. Any certification that is issued by a pesticide applicator shall be filed with the health officer, in addition to the construction official, no later than five days before the construction permit issuance. At any time before construction permit issuance, the health officer may disapprove of the pesticide applicator's certification, and require a new inspection and new extermination be conducted before construction permit issuance.
Certification shall not be required before demolition if the construction official determines that an immediate danger is posed by a structurally unsafe building. The construction permit applicant shall be responsible for the cost of any pest inspection and extermination required by this bill. The requirements of this bill would become operational on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.
