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S4142
SENATE, No. 4142
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 11, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� PAUL A. SARLO
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator� ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Space and Wimberly
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes abandoned mine reclamation programs and
funding in DOT and DEP.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning abandoned mines and supplementing
Titles 13 and 27 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in sections 1
through 3 of
P.L. ,
c. (C. )
(pending
before the Legislature as this bill):
���� �Abandoned mine� means a mine
where mining operations have occurred in the past and no mining operations have
occurred for five years or more.
���� �Department� means the
Department of Transportation.
���� �DOT reclamation plan� or
�plan� means the State reclamation plan for abandoned mines developed pursuant
to subsection b. of section 2 of P.L. ,
c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� �Fund� means the �Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Transportation and Utility Protection Program Fund�
established pursuant to section 3 of
P.L. ,
c. (C. )
(pending
before the Legislature as this bill).
���� �Mine� means and includes: �any
mines and mineshafts within the State, whether on the surface or underground
and any mining plant, material, equipment, or explosives on the surface or
underground, which may contribute to the mining or handling of ore or other
metalliferous or nonmetalliferous products; and any quarries, sand pits, gravel
pits, clay pits, and shale pits within the State.�
���� �Program� means the Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Transportation and Utility Protection Program established
pursuant to section 2 of
P.L. ,
c. (C. )
(pending
before the Legislature as this bill).
���� �Transportation and public
utility infrastructure� means any road, street, highway, bridge, or mass
transit facility, and all related structures and utilities, and all public
utility systems, including gas, electric, water, telecommunications, sanitary
sewers, and stormwater sewers.
���� 2.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Transportation the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Transportation
and Utility Protection Program.� The purpose of the program shall be to protect
the citizens of New Jersey from abandoned mines and mine subsidence causing
adverse impacts to transportation and public utility infrastructure in the
State, through the creation and execution of a reclamation plan and mine
reclamation projects.
���� b.��� The department shall
develop, in consultation with the section chief of the mine safety section of
the Department of Labor and Workforce Development established pursuant to
section 3 of P.L.1954, c.197 (C.34:6-98.3), and the New Jersey Geological and
Water Survey of the Department of Environmental Protection, a DOT reclamation
plan for abandoned mines that potentially pose a threat to transportation and
public utility infrastructure in the State.
���� c.���� The reclamation plan
shall provide, at a minimum:�
���� (1)�� a comprehensive mapping
of all abandoned mines in the State that potentially pose a threat to transportation
and public utility infrastructure in the State;
���� (2)�� an identification of the
mines that pose the greatest threat to human life, safety, property, and transportation
and public utility infrastructure, or where evidence indicates that the
subsidence of the mine poses an imminent or continuous threat to the
surrounding transportation and public utility infrastructure;
���� (3)�� a ranked order of the
reclamation projects designed to reclaim, backfill, stabilize, or otherwise
render safe all mine voids present in the State, including an estimate of the
costs of each project;
���� (4)�� information about the
ownership status of each mine identified pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subsection; and
���� (5)�� a recommended course of
action to safely reclaim abandoned mines in the State.�
���� d.��� Employees of the
department, including contractors and consultants thereof and employees of
other state departments providing consultation or assistance to the department,
shall have the right to enter upon any property for the purpose of conducting
exploratory work necessary to develop the reclamation plan or to determine the
feasibility of restoring, reclaiming, abating, controlling, or preventing the
adverse effects of an abandoned mine.� At least two months prior to entry, written
and verbal notice shall be provided to the property owners, if known, or if not
known, by posting notice upon the premises and advertising once either in a
print newspaper of general circulation in the county of the locality of the
land or in an online news publication with viewership from internet provider
addresses within the county of the locality of the land.� The department shall
provide reasonable accommodations concerning the time, date, and manner of
entry, at the request of the property owner.� Any entry pursuant to this subsection
shall be construed as an exercise of the State�s police power and shall not be
construed as an act of condemnation or trespass.�
���� e.���� The department shall
provide all findings, including risk assessments and safety concerns, resulting
from investigations conducted on private property to the owner of the private
property and shall not require a property owner to expend any funds for the
implementation of the provisions of this section.�
���� f.���� After completing the
reclamation plan pursuant to this section, the department shall begin
implementing the plan.�
���� (1)�� To implement the plan,
the department may carry out the mine reclamation projects itself, contract
with private construction firms, or distribute grants to local governments or
private property owners.�
���� (2)�� Prior to implementing a
mine reclamation project, the department shall attempt to gain permission from
the property owner of each property on or under which the mine is located.�
���� g.��� The department shall
have the right to enter upon or have access to any property adversely affected
by past mining practices to restore, reclaim, abate, control, or prevent the
adverse effects, if the department makes a finding that:�
���� (1)�� the adverse effects pose
a threat to transportation and public utility infrastructure; and
���� (2)�� the owners of the
property are unknown, are not readily available, or refuse to give permission
to enter.�
���� h.��� (1)� At least two months
prior to entry, written and verbal notice shall be provided to the property owners,
if known, or if not known, by posting notice upon the premises and advertising
once either in a print newspaper of general circulation in the county of the locality
of the land or in an online news publication with viewership from internet
provider addresses within the county of the locality of the land.�
���� (2)�� The department shall
provide reasonable accommodations concerning the time, date, and manner of
entry, at the request of the property owner.�
���� (3)�� Any entry pursuant to
this section shall be construed as an exercise of the State�s police power and
shall not be construed as an act of condemnation or trespass.�
���� i.���� The department shall
annually apply for any available federal funding in order to support the
program.�
���� 3.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Transportation a special, nonlapsing fund to be known as
the �Abandoned Mine Reclamation Transportation and Utility Protection Program
Fund.�� Monies in the fund shall be held separately and dedicated solely for
the purpose of making expenditures to fund a mine reclamation project or to
support the department�s administration of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Transportation and Utility Protection Program.�
���� b.��� The fund shall be
credited with:�
���� (1)�� any federal grant monies
secured by the department;
���� (2)�� any monies appropriated
by the Legislature or otherwise made available to the fund for the purposes of
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill);
���� (3)�� other gifts, donations,
or other monies received from any source, public or private, dedicated for
deposit into the fund and approved by the State Treasurer; and
���� (4)�� any interest earnings or
other investment income earned or received on the monies in the fund.�
���� c.���� All monies appropriated
or otherwise made available to the fund shall be dedicated for the purposes of
the fund.� Pending use, monies in the fund may be invested and reinvested in
the same manner as other monies of the department in the manner provided by
law.� All earnings received from the investment or deposit of such monies shall
be paid into and become a part of the fund and be available for use pursuant to
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).�
���� d.��� The department shall
establish a grant program to disperse funds from the �Abandoned Mine
Reclamation Transportation and Utility Protection Program Fund� to sponsors of
the mine reclamation projects.� In order to effectuate the grant program, the
department shall:
���� (1)�� establish eligibility
criteria for a program grant award;
���� (2)�� adopt guidelines and
procedures for the submission of grant applications, including, but not limited
to, guidelines and procedures addressing the form and manner in which such
applications are to be submitted;
���� (3)�� establish criteria for
the evaluation and prioritization of program grant applications;
���� (4)�� identify the project
costs that are eligible for financing through the use of program grant funding,
and identify the specific factors that will be considered by the department in
determining the appropriate dollar amount of each grant award issued under the
program; and
���� (5)�� identify the terms and
conditions for the awarding of a program grant, and for the use of program
grant funds awarded, pursuant to this section, including, at a minimum,
conditions requiring the recipient of a grant award to report relevant
information to the department regarding the recipient�s expenditure of grant
funds awarded thereto under the �Abandoned Mine Reclamation Transportation and Utility
Protection Program Fund.�
���� 4.��� As used in sections 4
through 6 of
P.L. ,
c. (C. )
�(pending
before the Legislature as this bill):�
���� �Abandoned mine� means a mine
where mining operations have occurred in the past and no mining operations have
occurred for five years or more.
���� �DEP reclamation plan� or
�plan� means the State reclamation plan for abandoned mines developed pursuant
to subsection b. of section 5 of P.L. .
c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� �Department� means the
Department of Environmental Protection.
���� �Environmental infrastructure�
means private property, public lands, and natural resources, including lakes,
rivers, streams, and drinking water reservoirs, but shall not include any transportation
and public utility infrastructure, as that term is defined in section 1 of
P.L , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).
���� �Fund� means the �Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Environment Protection Program Fund� established pursuant to
section 6 of
P.L. ,
c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� �Mine� means and includes: any
mines and mineshafts within the State, whether on the surface or underground
and any mining plant, material, equipment, or explosives on the surface or
underground, which may contribute to the mining or handling of ore or other
metalliferous or nonmetalliferous products; and any quarries, sand pits, gravel
pits, clay pits, and shale pits within the State.�
���� �Program� means the Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Environment Protection Program established pursuant to section
5 of P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).
���� 5.��� a.�������� There is
established in the Department of Environmental Protection the Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Environment Protection Program.� The purpose of the program shall be to protect
the citizens of New Jersey from abandoned mines and mine subsidence causing
adverse impacts, including water quality degradation, to environmental
infrastructure in the State, through the creation and execution of a
reclamation plan and mine reclamation projects.
���� b.��� The department shall
develop, in consultation with the section chief of the mine safety section of
the Department of Labor and Workforce Development established pursuant to
section 3 of P.L.1954, c.197 (C.34:6-98.3), a DEP reclamation plan for
abandoned mines that potentially pose a threat to environmental infrastructure
in the State.
���� c.���� The reclamation plan
shall provide, at a minimum:�
���� (1)�� a comprehensive mapping
of all abandoned mines in the State that potentially pose a threat to
environmental infrastructure in the State;
���� (2)�� an identification of the
mines that pose the greatest threat to human life, safety, property, and
environmental infrastructure, or where evidence indicates that the subsidence
of the mine poses an imminent or continuous threat to the surrounding
environmental infrastructure;
���� (3)�� a ranked order of the
reclamation projects designed to reclaim, backfill, stabilize, or otherwise
render safe all mine voids present in the State, including an estimate of the
costs of each project;
���� (4)�� information about the
ownership status of each mine identified pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subsection; and
���� (5)�� a recommended course of
action to safely reclaim abandoned mines in the State.�
���� d.��� Employees of the
department, including contractors and consultants thereof and employees of
other state departments providing consultation or assistance to the department,
shall have the right to enter upon any property for the purpose of conducting
exploratory work necessary to develop the reclamation plan or to determine the
feasibility of restoring, reclaiming, abating, controlling, or preventing the
adverse effects of an abandoned mine.� At least two months prior to entry, written
and verbal notice shall be provided to the property owners, if known, or if not
known, by posting notice upon the premises and advertising once either in a
print newspaper of general circulation in the county of the locality of the
land or in an online news publication with viewership from internet provider
addresses within the county of the locality of the land.� The department shall
provide reasonable accommodations concerning the time, date, and manner of
entry, at the request of the property owner.� Any entry pursuant to this subsection
shall be construed as an exercise of the State�s police power and shall not be
construed as an act of condemnation or trespass.�
���� e.���� The department shall
provide all findings, including risk assessments and safety concerns, resulting
from investigations conducted on private property to the owner of the private
property and shall not require a property owner to expend any funds for the
implementation of the provisions of this section.�
���� f.���� After completing the
reclamation plan pursuant to this section, the department shall begin
implementing the plan.�
���� (1)�� To implement the plan,
the department may carry out the mine reclamation projects itself, contract
with private construction firms, or distribute grants to local governments or
private property owners.�
���� (2)�� Prior to implementing a
mine reclamation project, the department shall attempt to gain permission from
the property owner of each property on or under which the mine is located.�
���� g.��� The department shall
have the right to enter upon or have access to any property adversely affected
by past mining practices to restore, reclaim, abate, control, or prevent the
adverse effects if the department makes a finding that:�
���� (1)�� the adverse effects pose
a threat to environmental infrastructure; and
���� (2)�� the owners of the
property are unknown, are not readily available, or refuse to give permission
to enter.�
���� h.��� (1)� At least two months
prior to entry, written and verbal notice shall be provided to the property owners,
if known, or if not known, by posting notice upon the premises and advertising
once either in a print newspaper of general circulation in the county of the locality
of the land or in an online news publication with viewership from internet
provider addresses within the county of the locality of the land.�
���� (2)�� The department shall
provide reasonable accommodations concerning the time, date, and manner of
entry, at the request of the property owner.�
���� (3)�� Any entry pursuant to
this section shall be construed as an exercise of the State�s police power and
shall not be construed as an act of condemnation or trespass.�
���� i.���� The department shall
annually apply for any available federal funding in order to support the
program.�
���� 6.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Environmental Protection a special, nonlapsing fund to be
known as the �Abandoned Mine Reclamation Environment Protection Program Fund.��
Monies in the fund shall be held separately and be dedicated solely for the
purpose of making expenditures to fund a mine reclamation project or to support
the department�s administration of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Environment
Protection Program.�
���� b.��� The fund shall be
credited with:�
���� (1)�� any federal grant monies
secured by the department;
���� (2)�� any monies appropriated
by the Legislature or otherwise made available to the fund for the purposes of
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill);
���� (3)�� other gifts, donations,
or other monies received from any source, public or private, dedicated for
deposit into the fund and approved by the State Treasurer; and
���� (4)�� any interest earnings or
other investment income earned or received on the monies in the fund.�
���� c.���� All monies appropriated
or otherwise made available to the fund shall be dedicated for the purposes of
the fund.� Pending use, monies in the fund may be invested and reinvested in
the same manner as other monies of the department in the manner provided by
law.� All earnings received from the investment or deposit of such monies shall
be paid into and become a part of the fund and be available for use pursuant to
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).�
���� d.��� The department shall
establish a grant program to disperse funds from the �Abandoned Mine
Reclamation Environment Protection Program Fund� to sponsors of the mine
reclamation projects.� In order to effectuate the grant program, the department
shall:
���� (1)�� establish eligibility
criteria for a program grant award;
���� (2)�� adopt guidelines and
procedures for the submission of grant applications, including, but not limited
to, guidelines and procedures addressing the form and manner in which such
applications are to be submitted;
���� (3)�� establish criteria for
the evaluation and prioritization of program grant applications;
���� (4)�� identify the project
costs that are eligible for financing through the use of program grant funding,
and identify the specific factors that will be considered by the department in
determining the appropriate dollar amount of each grant award issued under the
program; and
���� (5)�� identify the terms and
conditions for the awarding of a program grant, and for the use of program
grant funds awarded, pursuant to this section, including, at a minimum,
conditions requiring the recipient of a grant award to report relevant
information to the department regarding the recipient�s expenditure of grant
funds awarded thereto under the �Abandoned Mine Reclamation Environment
Protection Program.��
���� 7.��� a.� The Department of
Transportation shall, in accordance with the �Administrative Procedure Act,�
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary
to implement the provisions of sections 1 through 3 of
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).
���� b.��� The Department of
Environmental Protection shall, in accordance with the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and
regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of sections 4 through 6 of
P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).�
���� 8.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.�
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes
abandoned mine reclamation programs and funds in the New Jersey Department of
Transportation (DOT) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP).
���� Specifically, the bill
establishes the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Environment Protection Program
within the DEP and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Transportation and Utility
Protection Program within the DOT (collectively �the abandoned mine reclamation
programs�).� The purpose of the abandoned mine reclamation programs is to protect
the citizens of New Jersey from abandoned mines and mine subsidence causing
adverse impacts to transportation and public utility infrastructure and
environmental infrastructure in the State.�
���� Under the bill, the DOT and
DEP are required to develop, in consultation with certain entities, reclamation
plans for abandoned mines that potentially pose a threat to transportation and
public utility infrastructure and environmental infrastructure in the State, as
outlined in the bill.
���� To carry out the respective
plans, the bill authorizes employees and certain contractors of the DOT and DEP,
to enter upon any property for the purpose of conducting exploratory work necessary
to develop the plan or to determine the feasibility of restoring, reclaiming,
abating, controlling, or preventing the adverse effects of an abandoned mine.�
At least two months prior to entry, written and verbal notice is required to be
provided to the property owners, if known, or if not known, by posting notice
upon the premises and advertising once either in a print newspaper of general
circulation in the county of the locality of the land or in an online news
publication with viewership from internet provider addresses within the county
of the locality of the land.� The DOT and the DEP are required to provide
reasonable accommodations concerning the time, date, and manner of entry, at
the request of the property owner.� Any entry is to be construed as an exercise
of the State�s police power and is not to be construed as an act of
condemnation or trespass.�
���� The bill requires the DOT and
the DEP to provide all findings, including risk assessments and safety
concerns, resulting from investigations conducted on private property to the
owner of the private property and prohibits the DOT and DEP from requiring a
property owner to expend any funds for the implementation of the bill.�
���� After completing the
respective reclamation plans, the DOT and DEP are required to begin
implementing the plans by taking certain actions outlined in the bill.� While
implementing the respective plans, the DOT and DEP are authorized to enter upon
or access any property adversely affected by past mining practices to restore,
reclaim, abate, control, or prevent the adverse effects if the DOT or DEP makes
certain findings, as outlined in the bill.� At least two months prior to entry,
written and verbal notice is required to be provided to the property owners, if
known, or if not known, by posting notice upon the premises and advertising
once either in a print newspaper of general circulation in the county of the locality
of the land or in an online news publication with viewership from internet
provider addresses within the county of the locality of the land.� The bill requires
the DOT and the DEP to provide reasonable accommodations concerning the time,
date, and manner of entry, at the request of the property owner and any entry pursuant
to bill is to be construed as an exercise of the State�s police power and is
not to be construed as an act of condemnation or trespass.� Annually, the DOT and
DEP are required to apply for any available federal funding in order to support
the respective programs.�
���� Finally, the bill establishes,
in the DOT a special, nonlapsing fund to be known as the �Abandoned Mine
Reclamation Transportation and Utility Protection Program Fund� and in the DEP
a special, nonlapsing fund to be known as the �Abandoned Mine Reclamation Environment
Protection Program Fund.�� Monies in the funds are to be held separately and be
dedicated solely for the purpose of making expenditures to fund a mine
reclamation project or to support the abandoned mine reclamation programs.� The
funds are to be credited with certain monies, as outlined in the bill.� Finally,
the bill requires the DOT and the DEP to establish a grant program to disperse monies
from the respective funds to sponsors of the mine reclamation projects.