Blog

UPDATE- NJ Supreme Court: No statute of limitations on Spill Act claims The New Jersey Supreme Court in Morristown Associates vs Grant Oil Co., recently ruled that the general six-year statute of limitations (contained in N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1) does NOT apply to private claims for contribution made pursuant to the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act (the “Spill Act”), N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11f(a)(2)(a). This ruling significantly impacts those parties that are […]

Brownfields: Opportunities and Obstacles? (Consensus: more opportunities than obstacles) Do the opportunities associated with brownfields development in New Jersey justify the risks for developers and municipalities?  Has New Jersey done enough to remove the obstacles associated with brownfields redevelopment?  These are some of the topics we discussed at the November 5  Stewart J. Pollack Environmental Inn at Court meeting. I was delighted to moderate […]

Ashkinaze to co-chair panel on Brownfields Alan Ashkinaze will co-chair a panel discussion on the obstacles and opportunities of redeveloping Brownfield sites in New Jersey’s urban centers.  The panel will include represntatives from municipal government, the development community, and the lending community.

Alan Ashkinaze accepted as member of the Justice Stewart Pollack Environmental Inn at Court Alan S. Ashkinaze was recently admitted as a Master of the Justice G. Pollack American Inn at Court. The Inn promotes the study and practice of environmental law in New Jersey and collegiality, civility and professionalism among attorneys and judges of all experience levels.

Beware of remediation on adjacent property! The need to review and negotiate Access Agreements Beware of  environmental remediation on property adjacent to yours!  Spurred by new changes to the state’s environmental remediation laws (SRRA), more and more property owners are facing the dilemma of  what to do when  an environmental remediation contractor requests access to your property as part of  an enviromental remediation project ocurring on an adjacent property. […]

Awaiting the New Jersey Supreme Court decision on Morristown Associates vs. Grant Oil. Key decision on statute of limitations for Spill Act recovery/contribution action The New Jersey State Supreme Court will soon decide whether a  six (6) year statute of limitations applies for Spill Act contribution/recovery actions- and at what point does the statute of limitations begin to toll.   Lawyers, developers, property owners, and the business community are awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling in Morristown Associates v. Grant […]

May 2014 Deadline for completing Remedial Investigation! May 2014 Remedial Investigation Completion Deadline is drawing close The May 7, 2014 deadline for  completing the required Remedial Investigation is drawing close.   The  New Jersey Site Remediation Reform Act (N.J.S.A. 58:10C-1 et seq.), or SRRA,  requires NJDEP to undertake direct oversight of a remediation of most contaminated sites when the person responsible for […]

Please visit the newly revised North Jersey District Water Supply Commission website Kudos and thanks to the NJDWSC staff for their work on the newly revised, user friendly website.  Please vist the new site: www.njdwsc.com

Hackensack attorney among three nominated for seats on the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission BY WILLIAM LAMB STAFF WRITER The Record A politically connected Hackensack attorney was one of three people whom Governor Christie nominated on Monday to serve on the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission. Alan S. Ashkinaze of Oradell, whose law practice has offices in Hackensack and Nyack, N.Y., served on the New Jersey steering committee […]

Important Spill Act decision On March 23, 2011, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an important decision regarding a property owner’s liability pursuant to the New Jersey Spill Act. In NJDEP v. Dimant, the Appellate Court held that liability under the Spill Act requires proof of some nexus (or connection) between the use or discharge of a hazardous substance […]

Suggestions on leasing a gasoline station This is an article I wrote for the New Jersey Gasoline Retailers Association in December 2008. Despite the span of time, and the implementation of SRRA, the suggestions here are worth reviewing.  Although this was  written for operating a gasoline station, the suggestions here are also applicable to many other environmentally sensitive or  environmentally contaminated […]

SRRA: so far, so good Since the implementation of SRRA, the pace of obtaining ISRA approvals and final approvals  (RAO) for  current remediation cases  has significantly quickened.  During the last several months, many of my clients have obtained ISRA approvals in  transactions (some “easy” cases, others more difficult) in a fraction of the time they thought possible.  Additionally, many clients with long “open” […]