In Re the J.I.S. Industrial Service Co. Landfill

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLER, J.

J.I.S. Industrial Service Company and J.I.S. Industrial Service Corporation (JIS) disposed of hazardous substances for nearly twenty-five years at a landfill in South Brunswick Township. The landfill was closed by court order in 1980. On May 19, 1986, the New Jersey Department of Envirnomental Protection (DEP) directed JIS to pay $700,000 to the DEP to fund a remedial investigation and feasibility study. This type of study is used to determine the nature and extent of groundwater contamination, and is the standard first step in a cleanup…