Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

New Jersey's Spill Compensation and Control Act (Spill Act) was enacted in 1977, establishing broad responsibilities for entities that handle hazardous substances, including reporting and cleanup by those responsible for contamination. (The Spill Act predated and helped inspire the national Superfund law (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980). The Act also provides limitations on liability in some circumstances, notably for entities that acquire land that is already contaminated. The Spill Act is administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). On October 21, DEP proposed to expand Spill Act reporting responsibilities to all entities that discover contamination, including those conducting site evaluations as part of their due diligence – “All Appropriate Inquiries” – in support of possible property transfers. 

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In the early 1980s, serious groundwater contamination incidents arising from leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) prompted federal and state lawmakers to issue standards for UST construction, installation, and removal, and to require the registration and monitoring of USTs. In 1984, Congress adopted a national program to regulate USTs storing petroleum and hazardous substances (“federal UST Law”).  The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) creates national standards, which are implemented under delegation by states, the District of Columbia, and territories). The remainder of this note summarizes federal UST requirements; states can generally establish and administer stricter requirements.  

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California has just enacted the first statewide “extended producer responsibility” (EPR) law addressed to “apparel” and “textile articles” (“Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024” (SB 707, Newman). SB 707 will require manufacturers of targeted materials to ensure their recovery and recycling. California’s new program will be administered by the state Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), which oversees solid waste management (including recycling and other EPR programs) in the state.  The EPR approach to recycling – also called “product stewardship” –has been extending to new waste streams in recent years; the national advocacy group Product Stewardship Institute identifies 141 such programs spread among 33 US states (I provide an overview of these US state efforts HERE). The remainder of this note summarizes this new law. 

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