■ Environmental
Continued From Page 18 fact ,” Walter adds , “ A company could be holding the legal liability of a predecessor and may be held responsible for contamination done 150 years ago .” Potential responsible parties might include a company that sold their property or their business 20 or more years ago .
Responsible parties will have plenty of company .
“ It is a big site ,” added Daniel T . McKillop , Esq . of the law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck , also speaking at the CIANJ event . “ This is going to be the most complex and expensive Superfund exercise in America ,” Daniel predicts .
“ It ’ s not just sites along the river ,” cautioned McKillop , “ It is far more complex . The EPA ’ s map includes sites within the entire watershed .” As a result , according to McKillop , potential PRPs include 653 properties that were identified in the 2015 map when the EPA investigated the Hackensack watershed area . And more could be added .
It may take years to identify responsible parties and to come to an agreement over the financial responsibility each PRP may be assessed , and often there is litigation involving various PRPs who may argue why or if they should be excluded from financial obligation . Companies may also be asked by the EPA to perform clean-up actions on their property to bring it into compliance .
While this PRP identification process continues , many of these steps in the EPA ’ s plan will occur in tandem over time . While being added to the National Priorities List is important , it is , in fact , the fourth in a 13-step process . However , the public will soon learn more facts as to what the EPA ’ s response action will be for the river .
The EPA is currently in the search process for responsible parties . Notices will be going out
Environmental Map of the Hackensack River
in the near future ( about a year ) in the form of either general notice letters or special notice letters , which will notify the owner that they may be a responsible party and outlining what they might need to do next .
Next Steps
For companies concerned about their potential liability , attorney McKillop explained that there are a number of defenses and exemptions that owners may have available to them , depending upon their individual situation .
“ With a short amount of time before letters are issued , if you think your site may be
Superfund Sites
Year Established : 1980 Proper Name for Superfund Law : CERCLA , or Comprehensive Environment Response Compensation and Liability Act
Number of Sites currently on the EPA ’ s National Priorities List : 1,329 ( As of August , 2022 )
Sites in New Jersey on the EPA ’ s National Priorities List : 115
Sites cleaned and removed from the NPL since Superfund enacted : 35
Number of federal and non-federal Superfund sites that have new and ongoing uses ( as of year end 2021 ) 1,000
included , it is important to get organized and understand your past and present actions in terms of hazardous materials and how they were disposed . Investigate your corporate history , your waste disposal partners , and the language in your contracts as well as your insurance policies to understand if coverage included hazardous remediation .” McKillop suggests .
If you suspect you will be part of the PRP group , it may be time to garner professional assistance in order to minimize your exposure to what promises to be an expensive remediation endeavor .
The many industrial sites along the shore are apparent in this overview of a section of the Hackensack River .
Photo : Getty Images / iStockphoto / jovannig
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