SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 4877

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 1, 2025

      The Senate Environment and Energy Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 4877.

      As amended and reported, this bill would modify certain provisions concerning the licenses issued under P.L.1983, c.392 (C.13:1E-126 et seq.), colloquially known as the “A-901” law, and P.L.2019, c.397 (C.13:1E-127.1 et al.), colloquially known as the “Dirty Dirt” law.

      Specifically, the bill would exempt the “intra-utility transportation or processing” of soil and fill recyclable materials from the provisions of the Dirty Dirt law.  Under the bill, the “intra-utility transportation or processing” of soil and fill recyclable materials would include cases where a public utility, or a utility contractor, generates the materials at a utility facility and the materials are transported by a public utility or utility contractor to a utility facility that accepts soil, fill, and solid waste managed by the public utility or its utility contractor for temporary storage, characterization, and other management prior to final disposal or recycling.  The bill would establish certain requirements, in the definition of “intra-utility transportation or processing,” in order for an activity to be considered exempt.

      The bill would also amend the definition of “key employee” in the A-901 law to exclude brokers, consultants, and salespeople employed by, or who do business with, an applicant for an A-901 license.  Under current law, these persons are considered “key employees” and are thus required to undergo fingerprinting and complete a personal history disclosure form.  This bill would remove these requirements.

      The bill would also amend the definition of “broker” in the A-901 law to clarify that a person who, on the person’s own behalf, retains the services of a licensed business concern to provide for the collection, transportation, treatment, storage, processing, transfer, or disposal of solid waste or hazardous waste, or the provision of soil and fill recycling services, at a property owned by, or under the control of, the person, would not be considered a broker by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

      In addition, the bill would modify the definition of “soil and fill recyclable materials” to modify the types of soil that would be included in the definition.  For example, the bill would exclude alternative fill that is approved for use at a site under the direction and oversight of a licensed site remediation professional (LSRP).  The bill would also exclude, from the definition of “soil and fill recycling services,” remediation activities involving soil and fill recyclable materials at sites where a LSRP has been hired. 

      The bill would also establish a de minimis exemption from the provisions of the Dirty Dirt law, namely for persons that transport less than 200 cubic yards of soil and fill recyclable materials to or from a single site per day, or store less than 200 cubic yards of soil and fill recyclable materials at a single site per day.  The bill would also exempt the generation of soil by an entity governed by the Board of Public Utilities and its contractors, as well as contractors performing work on a public works project for any State transportation agency or any entity governed by the “Local Public Contracts Law,” P.L.1971, c.198 (C. 40A:11-1 et seq.), provided that the removal, transportation, and disposal of the soil is in accordance with the project’s plans and specifications, from the definition of “soil and fill recycling services.”  Finally, the bill would require persons covered under the Dirty Dirt law to submit an application for a soil and fill recycling license within 45 days, rather than 30 days as in current law, after the DEP adopts rules and regulations to implement the Dirty Dirt law.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments to the bill:

      (1) revise an exemption made to the definition of “broker” by the bill;

      (2) reverse certain changes made to the definition of “soil and fill recyclable materials” under the bill, and clarify the use of the term “alternative fill” in that definition;

      (3) revise the changes made to the definition of “soil and fill recycling services” made by the bill, including clarifying that the de minimis exemption applies on a per-day basis;

      (4) exempt the generation of soil by certain public contractors working on public works projects from the definition of “soil and fill recycling services”; and

      (5) revise the definition of “public utility,” which is added to the Dirty Dirt law by the bill.