Under the Act, businessesthat are engaged or intend to engage in soil and fill recycling services must register with the Department and apply for a soil and fill recycling license (A-901 license). Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency and pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 136, the deadline to register was extended to October 14, 2021 and the deadline to file an A-901 application was extended to April 14, 2022. The Department recognizes, however, that confusion within the regulated community regarding the Act’s applicability in specific circumstances may have resulted in certain businesses not registering by the aforementioned dates and, as a result, these businesses may be at risk of operating in violation of the Act. The Department also recognizes that the appropriate method to provide clarity and definitive interpretation of the applicability of the Act is through the promulgation of necessary regulations and has begun an extensive and in-depth stakeholder and rule development process. In the interim, the Department has a duty to ensure that the spirit and intent of the Act is followed and to provide clarity to the regulated community regarding its compliance responsibilities. Accordingly, the Department is issuing this advisory to advise regulated entities that: (1) under NJSA 13:1E-127.1d the Department requested on behalf of the regulated community a 90-day extension of the deadline to submit a valid and administratively complete application for an A-901 license, and the Attorney General has determined that good cause exists to extend the deadline by 90 days to July 14, 2022; (2) the Department will accept registrations until that same date, July 14, 2022; and (3) the Department has developed a Certification Program for businesses which exclusively handle “Non-Restricted Soil and Fill Recyclable Materials,” as defined below.
The complete compliance advisory is available at the following URL: https://www.nj.gov/dep/enforcement/advisories/2022-04.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
To comment on said compliance advisory, please click on the following URL: https://www.nj.gov/dep/enforcement/survey.html