NJDEP ISRA Compliance and Preliminary Assessments

NJDEP Preliminary Assessments are conducted to identify any potentially contaminated areas of concern (AOCs) on a property. In New Jersey Preliminary Assessments are triggered by the requirements of the Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA) for Industrial Sites defined by NAICS codes. Preliminary Assessments are also required to satisfy environmental due diligence for the NJDEP on all commercial property transactions as discussed at the bottom of this page. Any industrial property or business operating under a regulated NAICS code must conduct an ISRA Preliminary Assessment (PA) when there is a change in ownership including any of the following:

Sale or transfer of a business
Sale or transfer of real property
Sale or transfer of a general partnership interest
Reorganization of a general partnership, corporation, LLC, LLP etc.
Sale or transfer of stock
Cessation of operations both temporary and permanent
Changes in operations that result in a change of NAICS codes

ACER can provide ISRA compliance services and guidance beginning with the General Information Notification (GIN) form and proceeding through the Preliminary Assessment (PA), Site Investigation (SI), Remedial Investigation and Remedial Action (RA) phases. Once investigation and/or remediation are completed ACER's Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) will issue a Response Action Outcome (RAO), which closes out the process.

In the State of New Jersey, in order to satisfy environmental due diligence in the eyes of the NJDEP during a property transaction, prospective purchasers need to conduct a Preliminary Assessment (PA) in accordance with NJAC 7:26E-3.2.

A Preliminary Assessment (PA) is required in addition to a Phase I ESA which may be required by lending institutions or local ordinances to satisfy due diligence or pre-construction investigation. the requirements to qualify for the innocent landowner, contiguous property owner, or bona fide prospective purchaser limitations on CERCLA liability (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. §9601)), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI) Rule, Subsection 312.10 of 40 Code of Federal Regulations 312 (40 CFR §312). CERCLA is a federal law, and provides landowner liability protections under that particular law.

In addition to standalone Phase I and Preliminary Assessment reports, at Acer Associates (ACER) we also provide our clients a single, combined PA/Phase I report that concurrently satisfies both federal and state innocent purchaser protections.