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ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY UPDATE
ARTICLE
NEW JERSEY:
DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR UPGRADING STATE-REGULATED UNDERGROUND
STORAGE TANKS
Legislation signed July 30 by New
Jersey Gov. Christine Whitman extended by five years, until
December 2003, the deadline for upgrading underground storage
tanks with a capacity of more than 2,000 gallons that are used
to store heating oil for on-site consumption in a
nonresidential building. The tank deadline is still in effect
for all federally regulated tanks and state regulated tanks
(i.e., farm tanks).
Previous state law required all
underground storage tanks, including those not subject to
federal regulation, to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's December 1998 deadline.
To qualify for the five-year
extension under the new law (S. 1159), the owner or operator
of a New Jersey eligible state-regulated underground storage
tank has to enter into a contract by Dec. 22, 1998, to have
the tank tested for leaks using a method generally accepted by
the petroleum industry as accurate and reliable. Testing must
be performed by August 31, 1999, and at least once every three
years thereafter.
The tank owner or operator has to
provide the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
with a copy of the contract and notify the DEP of the test
results within 15 days after it is performed.
For underground storage tanks for
which the compliance deadline has been extended, the measure
also extends by eight months, to Aug. 31, 1999, the deadline
to apply for a loan or grant from New Jersey's Petroleum
Underground Storage Tank Remediation, Upgrade and Closure
Fund. To be eligible for the fund, the tanks need to be
registered and fees to the NJDEP fully paid.
This law is probably in response
to the large number of tanks which have not been upgraded
according to the NJDEP database. With the deadline drawing
closer, resources to meet the deadline will be
scarce.
Should you have any questions
regarding the new deadlines contact Justin Lauterbach in our New
Jersey office at (856)
467-2276.
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