Ciesla & Bateman: DEP Makes The Right Decision To Allow Outside Professionals To Shoulder Some Of The Workload

Senators Andy Ciesla and Christopher (Kip) Bateman, members of the Senate Environment Committee, issued the following statement regarding proposed changes to the Department of Environmental Protection's contaminated sites cleanup process. The change would allow highly trained environmental site managers to oversee the cleanup of contaminated sites throughout the state. DEP has a current backlog of over 20, 000 cases and only about 150 case managers.

"We believe that the Department of Environmental Protection is moving in the right direction to allow private sector site managers to oversee the cleanup of all but the worst contaminated sites in the state. The current backlog of more than 20, 000 cases is overwhelming the DEP and it is clear that they need assistance to work through the backlog.

"New Jersey's economic future is being slowly eroded by six years of over taxation and over-regulation. We are pleased to see that the DEP recognizes that cutting red tape and streamlining the cleanup process will be good for both the economy and the environment.

"Swift and safe contaminated site remediation will help preserve open space while giving businesses room to expand. We look forward to working closely with the administration to ensure that a bill that serves the interests of the environment and business is quickly adopted."