31. a. After a licensed site remediation professional issues a response action outcome to the person responsible for conducting the remediation, the person shall be deemed, by operation of law, to have received a covenant not to sue with respect to the real property upon which the remediation has been conducted. The covenant not to sue shall be subject to any conditions and limitations contained in the response action outcome. The covenant not to sue shall be for any area of concern remediated and may apply to the entire real property if the remediation included a preliminary assessment and, if necessary, a site investigation of the entire real property, and any other necessary remedial actions. The covenant remains effective only for as long as the real property for which the covenant was deemed to have been issued continues to meet the conditions of the response action outcome. Upon a finding by the department that real property or a portion thereof to which a covenant not to sue pertains, no longer meets with the conditions of the response action outcome, the department shall provide notice of that fact to the person responsible for maintaining compliance with the response action outcome. The department may allow the person a reasonable time to come into compliance with the terms of the original response action outcome. If the property does not meet the conditions of the response action outcome and if the department does not allow for a period of time to come into compliance or if the person fails to come into compliance within the time period, the covenant not to sue shall be deemed to be revoked by operation of law.

Except as provided in subsection e. of this section, a covenant not to sue shall by operation of law provide for the following, as applicable:

(1) a provision releasing the person who undertook the remediation from all civil liability to the State to perform any additional remediation, to pay compensation for damage to, or loss of, natural resources, for the restoration of natural resources in connection with the discharge on the property or for any cleanup and removal costs;

(2) for a remediation that involves the use of engineering or institutional controls:

(a) a provision requiring the person, or any subsequent owner, lessee, or operator during the person’s period of ownership, tenancy, or operation, to maintain those controls, conduct periodic monitoring for compliance, and submit to the department, on a biennial basis, a certification that the engineering and institutional controls are being properly maintained and continue to be protective of public health and safety and of the environment. The certification shall state the underlying facts and shall include the results of any tests or procedures performed that support the certification; and

(b) a provision that the covenant is revoked by operation of law if the engineering or institutional controls are not being maintained or are no longer in place; and

(3) for a remediation that involves the use of engineering controls but not for any remediation that involves the use of institutional controls only, a provision barring the person or persons whom the covenant not to sue benefits, from making a claim against the New Jersey Spill Compensation Fund and the Sanitary Landfill Facility Contingency Fund for any costs or damages relating to the real property and remediation covered by the covenant not to sue. The covenant not to sue shall not bar a claim by any person against the New Jersey Spill Compensation Fund and the Sanitary Landfill Contingency Fund for any remediation that involves only the use of institutional controls if, after a valid response action outcome has been issued, the department orders additional remediation, except that the covenant shall bar such a claim if the department ordered additional remediation in order to remove the institutional control.

b. The covenant not to sue shall apply to all successors in ownership of the property and to all persons who lease the property or who engage in operations on the property.

c. If a covenant not to sue is revoked, liability for any additional remediation shall not be applied retroactively to any person for whom the covenant remained in effect during that person’s ownership, tenancy, or operation of the property.

d. A covenant not to sue and the protections it affords shall not apply to any discharge that occurs subsequent to the issuance of the response action outcome which was the basis of the issuance of the covenant, nor shall a covenant not to sue and the protections it affords relieve any person of the obligations to comply in the future with laws, rules and regulations.

e. The covenant not to sue shall be deemed to apply to any person who obtains a response action outcome as provided in subsection a. of this section. The covenant not to sue shall not provide relief from any liability, either under statutory or common law, to any person who is liable for cleanup and removal costs pursuant to subsection c. of section 8 of P.L.1976, c.141 (C. 58:10-23.11g), and who does not have a defense to liability pursuant to subsection d. of that section.

L.2009, c.60, s.31.