In an update on environmental justice, New Jersey has put forth new guidance to promote the use of green and sustainable technologies in remediation. The move stands in the context of an ongoing trend towards increasing costs related to the cleanup of environmentally impacted real estate. The drivers behind this trend are multifaceted and include factors such as the listing of new contaminants and an enhanced focus on contamination pathways, such as vapor intrusion.
Further exacerbating the issue are changes in circumstances brought about by shifts in weather patterns and infrastructure challenges, resulting from increased population density. All these factors pose substantial risks to parties charged with fulfilling cleanup obligations. As reported by ArentFox Schiff, New Jersey’s recent efforts are part of an incremental approach to counter these challenges.
The enforcement of green and sustainable technologies seeks to decrease the long-term impacts of pollution, by reducing the burden of cleanup operations on both an economical and an ecological level. This new guideline demonstrates a shift in policy that underlines the increasing importance of environmental justice in the broader context of legal obligations and policy making.
This focus on sustainability reflects a broader legal trend in favor of preservation and remediation of the environment where possible, and highlights the need for corporations and legal entities involved in property transactions to be acutely aware of these evolving regulatory contexts.