Township Council Meeting — Packet

hazardous substances and did nothing or should have known but did not because the owner failed to conduct an appropriate inquiry, the defense is defeated. Like many other states, New Jersey has enacted its own innocent purchaser defense that requires a property owner to demonstrate that it did not know and had no reason to know of discharges of hazardous substance by performing an “all appropriate inquiry” prior to purchase of the property. However, contrary to most states, New Jersey has not adopted the federal All Appropriate Inquiries rule (which requires a standard Phase I assessment) but instead has its own unique definition for satisfying “all appropriate inquiry.” Under N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11g(d)(2), an “all appropriate inquiry” is defined as “the performance of a preliminary assessment, and site investigation if the preliminary assessment indicates that a site investigation is necessary.” Items included in the Preliminary Assessment include a review of the following items: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • General environmental permits Enforcement actions Storage pad including drum and/or waste storage Surface impoundments Dumpsters Loading docks (tanks only) Process area sinks and piping which receive process waste Roof leaders when process operations vent to the roof Drainage swales and culverts Storm water detention ponds and fire ponds Surface water bodies Waste disposal areas, dumps, landfills, or land-farms Spray-fields Open pipe discharges • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Burn pits Incinerators Loading or transfer areas Waste treatment areas Boiler rooms Air vents and ducts Open areas away from production areas Underground piping including industrial process sewers Compressor vent discharges Non-contact cooling water discharges Areas which receive flood or storm water from potentially contaminated areas Rail lines, spurs, or sidings Wastewater discharge history Radioactive materials Protectiveness evaluation of approved remedies Order of magnitude analysis As applicable, the PA data-gathering activities includes the identification, review and summary of investigation and remediation activities previously conducted or currently underway at the Site that have not received a No Further Action (NFA) or Response Action Outcome (RAO) determination. The review includes dates of discharges, remedial actions taken, and existing sample results

t the Site that have not received a No Further Action (NFA) or Response Action Outcome (RAO) determination. The review includes dates of discharges, remedial actions taken, and existing sample results concerning contaminants that remain at the Site. The PA report will include a narrative discussion of the remediation activities that have been conducted at the Site and of known changes in Site conditions and new information developed since completion of the October 2023 ESI Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. The PA will evaluate past ownership, current and historical site usage, and improvements to the site. Chain of Title data and any other specific information related to the property is to be provided to Matrix by the owner. Access to the Site for site inspection activities must also be provided. Our proposal does not include file reviews of adjacent facilities, if needed, ground penetrating radar, or sampling activities (Phase II). 2