58:10C-19 Establishment of permit program.

19. a. The department shall establish a permit program to regulate the operation, maintenance and inspection of engineering or institutional controls and related systems installed as part of a remedial action of a contaminated site. The department may require periodic monitoring, inspections, and maintenance by the person responsible for the engineering or institutional controls and the submission of certifications regarding those activities. The department may issue a permit, permit by rule, or general permit pursuant to this section.

b. The department may require any person who is responsible for the monitoring, operation, and maintenance of an engineering or institutional control implemented before the date of enactment of P.L.2009, c.60 (C.58:10C-1 et al.), and any person required to submit a certification on a biennial basis pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1997, c.278 (C.58:10B-13.1), that engineering or institutional controls and related systems are properly maintained and that periodic monitoring for compliance is conducted, to obtain a permit pursuant to this section.

c. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the department may require that a person issued a permit pursuant to this section maintain insurance, financial assurance or another financial instrument to guarantee that funding is available to operate, maintain, and inspect the engineering controls installed as part of a remedial action of a contaminated site for the period that such controls are required. The person required to maintain the funding source pursuant to this section may petition the department on an annual basis to decrease the amount of funding required to be maintained.

(2) A government entity, a person who is not otherwise liable for cleanup and removal costs pursuant to P.L.1976, c.141 (C.58:10-23.11 et seq.) who purchases contaminated property before the date of enactment of P.L.2009, c.60 (C.58:10C-1 et al.) and undertakes a remediation of the property, a person who undertakes a remediation at their primary or secondary residence, the owner or operator of a child care center licensed pursuant to P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.) who performs a remediation at the licensed child care center, the person responsible for conducting a remediation at a public school or private school as defined in N.J.S.18A:1-1, or a charter school established pursuant to P.L.1995, c.426 (C.18A:36A-1 et seq.), or the owner or operator of a small business responsible for performing a remediation at their business property, shall not be required to establish or maintain a funding source pursuant to this section, for the operation, maintenance, and inspection of the engineering controls installed as part of a remedial action of a contaminated site.

d. A person who is issued a permit pursuant to this section shall retain a licensed site remediation professional to manage, supervise, or perform the requirements of the permit for the duration of the permit.

e. The department may charge, in accordance with a schedule adopted pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), reasonable application fees to cover the costs of processing the application, and reasonable annual fees to cover the costs of the administration and enforcement of the permits.

L.2009, c.60, s.19; amended 2019, c.263, s.24.