Using the New Jersey Spill Act Safe Harbor to Protect Lenders

Lenders in New Jersey have come to understand that they may be exposed to environmental liability for hazardous substances affecting collateral under federal and state law. While initially the parameters of this liability were not clearly understood, the New Jersey legislature and the U.S. Congress have enacted amendments to environmental laws in an attempt to clarify the activities that lenders may undertake to protect their interests while avoiding environmental liability, before making a loan, after making a loan but before foreclosure, and after acquiring title through foreclosure. This article describes how lenders can protect themselves from liability under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act by availing themselves of the protections of the act's safe harbor provisions.