New Jersey § 55:19-57

§ 55:19-57.

a. An owner may remove a property from the list of abandoned properties prior to sale

of the tax sale certificate by paying all taxes and municipal liens due, including

interest and penalties and: (1) by posting cash or a bond equal to the cost of remediating all conditions because

of which the property has been determined to be abandoned pursuant to section 36 of P.L.1996, c. 62 ( C. 55:19-55 ) and posting cash or a bond to cover the cost of any environmental cleanup required

on the property, evidenced by a certification by a licensed engineer retained by the

owner and reviewed and approved by the public officer stating that the cash or bond

adequately covers the cost of the cleanup; or (2) by demonstrating to the satisfaction of the public officer that the conditions

rendering the property abandoned have been remediated in full; provided, however,

that where the public officer finds that the owner is actively engaged in remediating

the conditions because of which the property was determined to be abandoned pursuant

to section 36 of P.L.1996, c. 62 ( C. 55:19-55 ), as evidenced by significant rehabilitation activity on the property, the public

officer may grant an extension of time of not more than 120 days for the owner to

complete all work, during which time no further proceedings will be taken against

the owner or the property. b. If the owner has posted cash or a bond in order to have a property removed from

the abandoned property list and the conditions because of which the property was determined

to be abandoned have not been fully remediated within one year of the date of posting

the cash or bond, or, in the case of a property which requires a remediation of any

known, suspected or threatened release of contaminants, if the owner has failed to

enter into a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection

or an administrative consent order, as the case may be, or if an agreement or order

is in effect but the owner has failed to perform the remediation in conformance with

the agreement or order, then the cash or bond shall be forfeited to the municipality

which shall use the cash or bond and any interest which has accrued thereon for the

purpose of demolishing or rehabilitating the property or performing the environmental

remediation. Any funds remaining after the property has been demolished, rehabilitated or cleaned

up shall be returned to the owner.