Appellate Division confirms that NJDEP is authorized to pursue civil penalties in Municipal Court

The New Jersey Appellate Division in NJDEP v. Alsol Corp., No. A-3546-17T1, recently held that municipal courts have jurisdiction to impose civil penalties under the Spill Compensation and Control (the “Spill Act”) in a summary proceeding conducted in accordance with the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999. The Court confirmed that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) has the option to enforce monetary penalties under the Spill Act in a summary proceeding in either the Superior Court or in the municipal court that has territorial jurisdiction by filing a “Special Form of Complaint and Summons.” The decision may provide NJDEP with a more expeditious way to pursue Spill Act violators by avoiding potential backlog in the Superior Court.