Recently, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (“NJEDA”) announced the launch of the new Brownfields Impact Fund, a new program offering loans and sub-grants to eligible applicants across New Jersey to promote remediation of contaminated sites.

After determining that a facility is subject to the Environmental Justice Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157, et seq., a facility must comply with the provisions of the Environmental Justice Law before the Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") will complete the review process for an application for a new permit for a facility; an application for the expansion of a facility; or a renewal application for a major source permit.

On November 10, 2021, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order 274, which sets a new near-term target for the reduction of New Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions to 50% below 2006 levels by the year 2030. Previously, pursuant to the Global Warming Response Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2C-37, New Jersey sought a statewide reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 2006 levels by the year 2050.

On February 20, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced its proposal of a preliminary determination to regulate two contaminants - perflouorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perflourooctane sulfonate (“PFOS”) – from the polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) family of chemicals.