On March 18, 2011, the Appellate Division ruled that under New Jersey’s Spill Act, strict liability for environmental discharges also requires proof of a “nexus between the discharge and the need for remediation and consequent damage”. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection v. Dimant, App. Div. (Parrillo, P.J.A.D.). The court’s discussion and comparison of the State and Federal standards for imposition of liability for a release, or discharge, of hazardous substances is particularly instructive. Under CERCLA, a less stringent standard applies in proving that a “release” has affected soil or groundwater. Under New Jersey’s Spill Act, discharge liability will not be imposed from mere passive migration of hazardous materials which are already existing in the soil or groundwater. In this case, plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that the defendant had some connection to the damages caused by contamination, or that defendant exacerbated contamination which had already been caused by prior operations.
