New Jersey § 54:4-3

§ 54:4-3.

The Legislature finds that there are numerous properties that are underutilized or

that have been abandoned and that are not being utilized for any commercial use because

of contamination that exists at those properties; that abandoned contaminated properties

harm society by causing a burden on municipal services while failing to contribute

to the funding of those services; that a disproportionate percentage of these properties

are located in older urban municipalities given the fact that these municipalities

were once the center for industrial production; that the revitalization of these

properties will not only bring tax ratables to the municipality and other local governments,

but will result in job creation and foster urban redevelopment; that one of the central

tenets of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan is to redevelop urban areas

with existing utilities and infrastructure and that the use of these now abandoned

or underutilized sites for commercial purposes will make a significant contribution

toward implementing the plan; that the federal “Clean Air Act” encourages the reindustrialization

of urban areas as this would provide jobs near where people live thus reducing harmful

air pollutants emitted from automobiles needed to travel distances to places of employment;

and that it is in the economic interest of the State and the municipalities in which

abandoned or underutilized contaminated properties are located to encourage the remediation

of these properties so that they can be reused or fully used for commercial , residential, or other productive purposes.