Bill Text: NJ S3437 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires person selling or transporting grease to possess documentation of origin of grease.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-03-20 - Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [S3437 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S3437-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires person selling or transporting grease to possess documentation of origin of grease.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning grease recycling and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Business concern" means any corporation, limited liability company, firm, partnership, sole proprietorship, trust, or other form of commercial organization.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Grease" means (1) used cooking oil, spent shortenings, or any other inedible kitchen grease or waste vegetable oil produced in or by restaurants or food facilities; and (2) residual yellow grease, waste water, and debris principally derived from food preparation or processing, or waste that is intercepted by and contained in grease traps, in any quantity, as generated in restaurants, food facilities, and wastewater treatment plants.
"Grease container" means a container used to store grease prior to or following transport.
"Grease recycling business" means a commercial establishment which, as one of its business purposes, accepts grease for the purpose of resale or processing.
"Grease recycling services" means the services provided by persons engaged in the business of grease recycling, including the collection, transportation, processing, storage, purchase, sale, resale or disposal, or any combination thereof, of grease.
"Manifest" means a document used for identifying the quantity, origin, routing, and destination of grease during its transportation from the point of generation to the point of processing, storage, or disposal.
"Person" means any individual or business concern.
2. a. A grease recycling business shall only accept grease if it is accompanied by the manifest required pursuant to this section, and a person engaging in grease recycling services shall only accept grease if it is accompanied by the manifest as required pursuant to this section.
b. Each vehicle used in the collection or transportation of grease shall have in the vehicle a manifest on a form established by the department pursuant to subsection e. of this section.
c. No person shall accept grease for transportation or recycling unless the grease is accompanied by a manifest on a form established by the department pursuant to subsection e. of this section.
d. The person transporting the grease shall retain one copy of the manifest and provide one copy of the manifest to the source of the grease and one copy of the manifest to the grease recycling business to which the grease is transported. The person transporting the grease and the grease recycling business to which the grease is transported shall each keep a copy of the manifest for at least five years after the date stated on the manifest. A manifest shall be made available, upon request, to the department and to any law enforcement agency or official investigating the possible theft or resale of grease.
e. No later than 120 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall make available on its website a manifest form to be used for the purposes of this section. The form shall require information to ensure the proper identification of the origin of the grease and its intended disposition, including, but not limited to:
(1) the name, address, telephone number, and signature of the person completing the form, certifying, under penalty of perjury, the accuracy of the information in the manifest;
(2) the name, address, and telephone number of the location of the source of the grease;
(3) the date on which the grease was collected for transportation;
(4) the name, address, and telephone number of the grease recycling business to which the grease is to be transported; and
(5) the amount of grease in the load.
3. An operator of a grease recycling business shall:
a. obtain and record the name, decal number, and copies of the driver's license or other government-issued photo identification of any person delivering or selling grease to the grease recycling business, which information the operator shall maintain for at least five years;
b. maintain, for at least five years, a record of all receipts of purchases of grease, including, but not limited to:
(1) the date of receipt or purchase of the grease;
(2) the name and address of the person delivering or selling the grease;
(3) the type and number of the identification presented by the person delivering or selling the grease, along with a copy of the driver's license or other government-issued photo identification;
(4) the amount of the grease received or purchased; and
(5) the signature of the person delivering or selling the grease; and
c. make any records maintained pursuant to subsection b. of this section available, upon request, to the department and to any law enforcement agency or official investigating the possible theft or resale of grease.
4. a. The operator of a grease recycling business shall immediately report to an appropriate law enforcement agency or official any delivery or sale of grease under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to believe the grease may have been stolen or otherwise obtained in a manner inconsistent with this act.
b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a person who reports information to a law enforcement agency or official concerning a potentially illegal delivery or sale of grease shall be immune from any civil liability arising from the report, unless the person has acted in bad faith or with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the report.
5. a. It shall be a violation of this act for any person to:
(1) sell or offer to sell grease to a person for transport or recycling without the manifest required pursuant to subsection 2 of this act;
(2) take possession of grease from a person who does not possess the manifest required pursuant to subsection 2 of this act or take possession of grease that was stolen, other than at the request of the department or a law enforcement agency or officer following impoundment;
(3) steal or damage a grease container owned by another person, or place a label on a container owned by another person with the intent to assert ownership over the container; or
(4) collect, transport, process, store, or dispose of grease in any manner that violates this act.
b. A container in which grease has been deposited that bears a name on the container shall be presumed to be owned by the person named on the container.
6. a. Any person who violates the provisions of this act shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $2,500 for a first offense, not more than $5,000 for a second offense and not more than $10,000 for a third and every subsequent offense. Each day during which the violation continues constitutes an additional, separate, and distinct offense.
b. If a person is found in violation of this act, the court may, in addition to the penalties provided under subsection a. of this section, require the person to perform community service for a term of not more than 90 days.
c. The Department of Environmental Protection, a municipality, or a public entity certified pursuant to the "County Environmental Health Act," P.L.1977, c.443 (C.26:3A2-21 et seq.), shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this act.
d. A civil penalty imposed pursuant to this section may be collected, with costs, in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have the jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999" in connection with this section.
e. All conveyances used or intended for use in the unlawful transportation or disposal of grease in violation of this act are subject to forfeiture to the State pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1981, c.387 (C.13:1K-1 et seq.).
f. Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1981, c.387 (C.13:1K-1 et seq.) or any other law to the contrary, whenever a conveyance is forfeited to the State pursuant to subsection e. of this section, the proceeds from the disposal and sale of the conveyance shall be remitted to the chief financial officer of the municipality wherein the violation occurred, to be used by the municipality to help finance enforcement activities undertaken pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1970, c.40 (C.48:13A-12) or section 2 of P.L.1989, c.118 (C.13:1E-9.3).
7. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require a person person selling or transporting grease to possess documentation of the origin of the grease.
The bill would also require a person accepting grease for transportation or recycling to fill out a manifest, in a form and manner as provided by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The manifest would contain certain identifying information of the person transporting the grease, the vehicle used to transport the grease, the source of the grease, and the facility to which the grease will be transported. The person transporting the grease and the facility to which the grease is transported would be required to keep and maintain certain records and make such records available, upon request, to the DEP or any law enforcement agency or official.
In addition, the operator of a grease recycling business would be required to: (1) obtain, record, and maintain for at least five years the name, addresses, and copies of the driver's license or other identification of any person delivering or selling grease to the grease recycling business; (2) maintain for at least five years a record of all receipts or purchases of grease; and (3) make any required records available, upon request, to the department or any law enforcement agency or official investigating the possible theft or resale of grease. The operator of a grease recycling business would be required to immediately report any delivery or sale of grease under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to believe that grease may have been stolen or obtained in a manner inconsistent with this bill. A person who reports such information to law enforcement officials would be immune from any civil liability arising from the report.
Under the bill, it would be a violation for any person to: (1) sell or offer to sell grease to a person for transport or recycling without the manifest required by the bill; (2) take possession of grease from a person who does not possess the manifest required by the bill or take possession of grease that was stolen, other than at the request of the department or a law enforcement agency or officer following impoundment; (3) steal or damage a grease container owned by another person, or place a label on a container owned by another person with the intent to assert ownership over the container; or (4) collect, transport, process, store, or dispose of grease in any manner that violates the bill. A container in which grease has been deposited would be presumed to be owned by the person named on the container.
A person who violates the provisions of the bill would be subject to a fine of not less than $2,500 for a first offense, not more than $5,000 for a second offense, and not more than $10,000 for a third or subsequent offense. A court may also require a person who violates a provision of this bill to perform 90 days of community service. In addition, any vehicles used or intended for use in the unlawful transportation or disposal of grease in violation of the bill would be subject to forfeiture pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1981, c.387 (C.13:1K-1 et seq.).
While perhaps not widely known, used cooking oil, commonly called grease, is valued for industrial and pharmacological applications, including its use in manufacturing biofuels. A lucrative market for recycled grease satisfies this demand, with private vendors retrieving and reselling discarded cooking oil used in restaurants. However, while there is a legitimate market for this business, there are also some who see a quicker payoff through crime. As such, grease is sometimes a target for thieves who steal the used oil that restaurants intend for pickup by reputable recyclers.
