Bill Text: NJ SR63 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges EPA to expend funds from NJ Superfund settlements to remediate sites at issue.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [SR63 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-SR63-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Urges EPA to expend funds from NJ Superfund settlements to remedy sites at issue.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
A Senate Resolution urging the federal Environmental Protection Agency to expend funds from New Jersey Superfund settlements exclusively for remediating the Superfund sites at issue.
Whereas, The federal Superfund law, or the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act" (CERCLA), was signed on December 11, 1980; and
Whereas, There was continual hazardous waste dumping in the United States, creating thousands of uncontrolled or abandoned contaminated sites, such as warehouses, manufacturing facilities, processing plants, and landfills; and
Whereas, There was an increase in concern over the health and environmental risks posed by these contaminated sites; and
Whereas, The Superfund law addressed the dangers of abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste dumps by developing a nationwide program for emergency response, information analysis, liability for responsible parties, and site cleanup; and
Whereas, Superfund sites are settled by either the party deemed responsible for the contaminated site or a cleanup led by the federal Environmental Protection Agency which the liable party must reimburse; and
Whereas, The Superfund law grants the EPA broad authority to clean up identified contaminated sites and, in doing so, improves the surrounding environment; and
Whereas, New Jersey played a pivotal role in the creation of the Superfund law as two fires, a chemical waste treatment facility in Bridgeport, and a waste storage facility in Elizabeth affirmed the need for hazardous site remediation; and
Whereas, Since the Superfund's inception in 1980, New Jersey has had 2,168 identified contaminated sites considered for inclusion in the Superfund program; and
Whereas, New Jersey has 829 Superfund such contaminated sites that are active today; and
Whereas, New Jersey has 115 sites that are on the EPA's Superfund National Priorities List; and
Whereas, New Jersey has the highest number of Superfund National Priorities List sites that still require remediation as of April 2023; and
Whereas, Funds from Superfund settlements in New Jersey should be expended exclusively for remediating the Superfund sites at issue as opposed to site or program overhead costs in other states; and
Whereas, The EPA should follow New Jersey's best practices for limiting settlement expenditures on agency administrative and oversight costs to a maximum of 10 percent of the total dollar value of the settlement; and
Whereas, It is imperative that the EPA recognize the dire need New Jersey has for the funds resulting from in-state Superfund settlements to be used for remediating the sites at issue and limit the settlement expenditures used for agency administrative and oversight costs; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. The State of New Jersey urges the federal Environmental Protection Agency to expend funds from New Jersey Superfund settlements to remediate the sites at issue and to limit the settlement expenditures used for agency administrative and oversight costs.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and the Regional Administrator of the Region 2 Office.
3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expend funds from New Jersey Superfund settlements exclusively for remediating the Superfund sites at issue and to limit the settlement expenditures used for agency administrative and oversight costs.
